Grandma Living in Your Backyard?

While many seniors would like to remain in their own homes as they age, they often face health problems that prevent them doing so. According to a recent New York Times article, rather than place seniors in long-term care facilities, some families are choosing a new option: MEDCottages. Nicknamed “granny pods,” these structures are single-occupancy, mobile medical homes that can be temporarily placed on a caregiver’s property, allowing seniors to receive extended care near their family members. 

MEDCottages were developed in 2010 by N2Care and currently can only be purchased in Virginia. The company is in the process of adding distributors in eight states along the I-95 corridor this year and in the New England states by 2013.

Each unit costs $85,000 and can be sold back to the distributor once it is no longer needed, making it generally less expensive than nursing home care. It essentially creates a free-standing hospital room equipped with the latest technology, including monitoring vital signs, filtering contaminants, communicating with offsite caregivers via video and cell phone, sending medication reminders, and altering caregivers if an occupant falls.

While MEDCottages were designed to comply with local ordinances, some states may prohibit their use. Local zoning ordinances often prohibit the placement of a second dwelling on a single-family property. But some states, including New York, are considering legislation to explicitly permit their use. Virginia passed such a law in 2010. See OLR Report 2012-R-0081 for more information.