ATLANTAN FINDS SPECIAL MISSION IN "AGING IN PLACE"

The idea of "home place" has been imbedded in Davis Ison's

ancestry since the first Quaker farmers made their way to piedmont

North Carolina before the American Revolution, but he never dreamed

that keeping older people in their own surroundings - rather than

packing them off to nursing homes - would become a mission.

Ison was barely 20 when he began making four to six trips a year

to High Point, N.C. to help care for a spinster great-aunt and bachelor

great-uncle, then in their 80s.

"I was just a student without a career plan, but 1 never forgot how

much my great-aunt loved her home, woods and gardens, and how

desperately she wanted to stay there," recalls Ison, "especially after

various relatives started putting pressure on my mother and

grandmother to move both of them to nursing homes."

Ison, who had worked for a home remodeler, already knew

enough about construction to replace water-damaged ceilings and repair

faulty electrical and plumbing systems, but he also found himself

clearing kitchen cabinets of wasp nests and sealing exterior openings

that were allowing mice into the old home place.

""Because of the work we did with bankers - arranging a reverse

mortgage and in-home care - and with trying to keep the house safe

and comfortable, my great-aunt was, in fact, able to be at home until

the last three months of her life...

"She died on Christmas Eve in 1993 at age 95; her retarded

younger brother, 81, who she had cared for all of his life, died the

next " day.

Ison did not realize that his sensitivity to older people and his

skills as a handyman would ultimately become a new business. He

earned an electronics degree from DeVry University and enrolled at

Georgia State University to work on his bachelor's while managing the

computer_support and software training services for the school. He

subsequently served as systems administrator for the Biochemistry Department at

Georgia Tech.

Then, Ison, his wife and their four children moved to

Florida for a new job in systems management but, as he continued

working on his grandparents' home in Naples, he realized that he had

missed his true calling. He moved his family back to metro Atlanta.

Last year, Ison, 45, was certified as an Aging in Place

Specialist (CAPS). The course was developed from a collaboration

among the National Association of Home Builders Remodeling Council;

the American Association of Retired persons; the NAHB Research

Center and the NAHB Seniors Housing Council.

Ison, through his training at the Greater Atlanta Home Builders

Association, learned more about concerns and comfort of older people,

business management and the special touches and equipment that

make homes safer, visually appealing and easier to manage.

Some of the fundamentals Ison uses are those developed in 1997

by the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University.

The seven "Principles of Universal Design" are intended to:

. provide usefulness and visual appeal to all types of people

. avoid stigmatizing anyone . allow for privacy and safety.

They include such notions as keeping modifications as simple as

possible, addressing the needs of people with physical or sensory

limitations and minimizing sustained physical effort. The applications

begin with simple ones such as replacing traditional, round door knobs

with lever-style ones that an arthritic hand may operate by pushing

down or up. They continue with modifications such as

. lowered light switches

. elevated wall outlets

. repositioned appliances for easy access

More complicated applications include installing small elevators in

downstairs closets if the home has more than one floor; lowering

kitchen countertops; adding pullout shelves under counter tops and adjusting

living spaces to accommodate wheelchairs.

"These modifications are not only appropriate for people who want

to stay in their own homes as they age," Ison says, "but also for

people with vision, hearing and other disabilities, along with individuals who

are the victims of degenerative muscular disorders."

Ison's own mother and some of her friends were his first

customers. For one, he remodeled a bathroom by replacing a slippery old

floor, some rotted wall areas, and installing new, non-slip tile. For

another, who wanted the modifications to be compatible with her

elegant home, he installed gold-toned grab bars in the master bath. For

his mother, he remodeled the basement laundry room and other areas to

organize them and make using them easier.

He has also begun remodeling a kitchen, a big job that involves

installing an island for sink, dishwasher and storage in the center of

the room.

"This is the most satisfying thing I have ever done," says Davis

Ison, whose own mother thrives - as his great-aunt did - on being at

home and plans to remain in her house, which has a suite of rooms

suitable for a caregiver.

Ison's company, Johnny's Grandson Inc., named for his maternal

grandfather, can be reached at 404-354-0669.