Are America's Communities Ready For An Aging Population?

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

AA i Are Americ’s Communities Redy For An Aging Popultion? (NAPSA)—A new study, the most comprehensive report ever Wht's Needed on the ging-rediness of Americ, finds tht less thn hlf of Americn cities nd counties hve plns in plce to meet the needs of ging bby boomers. The bby boom genertion—born between 1946 nd 1964—is rpidly pproching Preventive helth cre, such s helth- The study, clled “The Mturing of Americ: Getting Communities on Trck for n Aging Popultion,” ws conducted through  prtnership with the Ntionl Assocition e Home modifiction progrms retirementge. of Are Agencies on Aging, the Interntionl City/County Mngement Assocition, the Ntionl Assocition of Counties, the Ntionl Legue of Cities, nd Prtners for Livble Communities, nd funded by MetLife Foundtion. The results show tht lthough mny communities hve some progrms to ddress the needs of older dults, very few hve fully ssessed wht it would tke to mke their community “elder friendly.” Studies indicte tht the vst mjority of Americns would prefer to remin in the communities where theylive s they ge, in order to sty close to fmily ndfriends. Key findings of the report include the following: Helth Cre—In one-third of communities surveyed, older dults do not hve ccess to  rnge of needed preventive helth cre services, such s helth edu- ction, community-bsed helth screenings nd counseling on prescription drug progrms. Nutrition—Eighty percent of communities hve progrms providing home-delivered mels for older dults, though only 25 percent provide nutrition eduction for seniors. Exercise—More thn onethird of communities do not hve nd lifestyle-eduction Nutrition eduction to promote helthy eting Age-pproprite fitness progrms Lrger nd esier-to-red rod signs e Emergency medicl informtion on every senior, in  community, s well s  system fo trck individuls with Alzheimer’s disese Single pointof entry for informtion nd ccess to ALL ging informtion nd servicesin the community @ fitness progrmsfor older dults, though 86 percent report hving biking/wlkingtrils. Trnsporttion—Mny communities re not ddressing the mobility needs of n ging popultion. For exmple, only 40 percent of communities reported hving rod signge tht meets the needsof older drivers. Aging/Humn Services— Althoughit is expected tht ging bby boomers will demnd it, mny communities do not offer  comprehensive single point of entry for informtion nd ccess to ll ging services. “The ging of the popultion will hve  drmtic impct on Americ’s cities nd counties,” sid Sibyl Jcobson, President of MetLife Foundtion. “This report sheds light on how our towns nd cities cn prepre to hndle the ging boom. By tking ction now, communities cn void problems nd improve the qulity oflife for ll citizens, s well s for older dults.” The report is vilble t www.n4.org.

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