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Senior News September, 2004 Vol. 25. No. 9
Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Age wave Berg outlines aging plan California residents older than 60 will increase 84 percent by the year 2020 and 154 percent by the year 2040. This increase, known as the "age wave" or the "baby boomer cohort" results from the post WWII babies born between 1946 and 1964, the first of whom are soon to turn age 60. State Assemblywoman Patty Berg, chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care, unveiled her Master Plan on Aging to a crowded meeting room at the North Coast Inn in August. She convened three committees in June and July which met to address these challenges. Hearings to discuss legislative priorities from their recommendations will be held during September. In the executive summary of the Strategic Plan on Aging advisory committee, Berg writes, "California is at a crossroads. We face an unprecedented growth in our aging population, yet we also are dealing with a critical budget crisis that threatens the core of services essential to keeping our senior population in their homes and communities. The aging baby boomers will impact every area of policy development.... Neither California, nor the nation, have the luxury of time - the time has already come." She cited emerging trends. • Policy makers will need to redefine who is "old" and reconceptualize aging services. Many have ignored the impending aging of our population, focusing too much on dealing with the crisis of the moment rather than following through with visionary planning. • The standard for health care will not relate only to physical health, but the holistic health of the person - including physical and mental health and wellness. • A significant percentage of older California adults face serious housing problems. • Policy makers will have to develop alternative transportation services, walkable communities and better access to public transportation. • Aging baby boomers have not prepared financially for their long futures. • Financial abuse is expected to be one of the most prevalent crimes against seniors, both by corporations and family members. • Adequate professionals will need to be trained: now there is only one trained geriatrician for every 4,000 Californians age 65 and older. Only three percent of social work students specialize in gerontology, and only five percent have taken a course in aging. • Family caregivers for disabled elderly people may be less available as aging boomers change the characteristics of the typical family unit. For more information, call Berg's Eureka office at 707-445-7014 |
Senior News