COLUMBUS – Howard Highsmith, known as the “Senior’s Advisor” and the author of the sales environment guide known as “Silver Bullet,” has become president of Aging Decisions, a business that specializes in offering advice to seniors looking for ways to make their homes more accessible.

Based out of his home in Morgan Chapel Village in Columbus, Highsmith provides consulting and design options to seniors and their families from Asheville to Greenville and across western North Carolina.

Highsmith, who recently retired from more than 40 years in the technology industry, served as a certified management consultant for the last 14 years with a firm in Wilmington, N.C. He has a degree in architectural design from the School of Engineering at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

“I am very excited to help people implement accessibility and safety solutions that improve the quality of life for older adults as they age,” Highsmith said. “With very rare exception, homes built then and even now are simply not designed with accessibility in mind. Even newer homes may require adaptive work.”

He added seniors who are wheelchair bound might need to have their bedroom doors widened to access the room or have bathtubs renovated to be functional for people with limited mobility.

“Aging Decisions has contracted with two trusted firms, One Services and Caliber Home Repair, to work with clients to build access ramps, widen doorways, properly install grab bars and more,” according to a company news release. “They will also work with architects in adapting kitchens and baths for people committed to wheelchairs.”

Historic preservation and home renovation are Highsmith’s interests as he said he completely renovated two homes in Wilmington, N.C. and Lexington, N.C. The Wilmington residence is an Italianate-style house built in 1852 while the other, located in Lexington, is a farmhouse built in 1928.

“Many senior adults are faced with an unwanted decision to ‘stay or go’ from the comfort of their homes,” Highsmith explained. “My mother, for example, went feet first from her home.”

Aging Decisions also distributes “Adapted-Accessible Home” certificates after the home has been renovated to be accessible. Highsmith said these certificates detail what renovations have been done to the house and are useful for realtors to use as a marketing tool when the senior passes or moves into a rest home.

“Senior citizens have become the largest and fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population,” Highsmith explained. “This is a demographic shift that influences everything from consumer behavior to healthcare costs.”

Highsmith can be contacted by email at howard@agingdecisions.com or by phone at 828-302-2222. Highsmith conducts in-home consultations with a document that outlines a home safety assessment. This assessment encompasses all facets of the senior’s home and provides a checklist for needed improvements.