Certified Environmental Access Consultant (C.E.A.C.) is administered by AHIA. The C.E.A.C. credential brings professionalism and diversity to your current high-end rehab business. The physically challenged and catastrophically injured patients you currently assist are often in great need of independent living solutions, products and services that will help them to live more independently and support their choice of aging-in-place. Accessible home modifications, accessibility products and barrier-free design can greatly promote the independence and functional ability of physically challenged and aging individuals.
Environmental Access is the process of adapting the workplace, residence and/or general environment to promote the independence and functional ability of physically challenged and those who are aging-in-place. Adaptations may include physically changing portions of an environment to create functional access according to an individual’s specific needs. Terms often associated with environmental access include independent living solutions, universal design, barrier-free design, architectural access, assistive technology, accessibility, retrofitting, accessible home modifications and medical remodeling.
In the U.S., the physically challenged population is a rapidly growing segment already estimated at greater than 49 million. Recent advances in medical technology have enhanced the life quality of catastrophically injured and seriously ill individuals. People are also living longer, and in terms of accessibility, the physically challenged population now includes the elderly, who add significantly to the number of persons depending on specialists in accessible home modifications and independent living solutions to address aging-in-place. Current figures indicate the fastest growing segment of the population is persons over the age of 80.
The Certified Environmental Access Consultant (C.E.A.C.) is a recognized certification for professionals such as: Independent Living Specialists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Remodeling Contractors and Builders, Interior Designers, Engineers, Rehabilitation Specialists, Case Managers, Public Health Nurses, Assistive Technology Specialists, Life Care Planners and other professionals creating accessibility or working in the environmental access field.
The C.E.A.C. credential is recognized by payers (i.e. claims adjusters, grant administrators, case managers, risk managers, health care professionals, federal and state social service directors, professional organizations, consumers) and others who continually seek qualified specialists in accessible home modifications and independent living solutions to complete design specifications, building, remodeling, code compliance consulting, ADL assessments, and aging-in-place needs.
These individuals view the Certified Environmental Access Consultant certification as a symbol of competence that separates the environmental access and accessible home modifications industry from a para-professional trade. Professionals possessing the C.E.A.C. have further been approved by various states’ legal systems as expert witnesses, and have a broadened field of consulting opportunities.
Mission of the C.E.A.C.
The C.E.A.C. certification was created to reduce the disparity in training and practice found among professionals who evaluate the environmental access needs of the aging-in-place and physically challenged, and to promote independence and empowerment among the physically challenged and elderly. The Certified Environmental Access Consultant credential was launched to answer the distinct need for formal education, validation and credibility in this rapidly exploding field. Professionals certified in independent living solutions and accessible home modifications gain valuable career enhancement that can be immediately applied to their professional careers.
