click to enlarge
Local organizations that help seniors are bracing for a crisis.
According to the
Colorado State Demography Office,
El Paso County’s population of those 65 or older will increase by 179 percent in the next 30 years — a far larger increase than is expected in the nation as a whole. And yet local service providers have done little to plan for the increase until recently, when the
Innovations in Aging Collaborative and
Peak Vista Community Health Centers led a six-month project involving 52 service providers and senior stakeholders that focused on aging well in the Pikes Peak region.
Topics included community awareness, the insurance system, care coordination/navigation, and affordable housing, among many more.
Recommendations, which are laid out in a consultant’s report titled “
Convening to Support Aging in Place for the Pikes Peak Region,” focus on bringing in different perspectives, developing expert groups that can help solve and give advice on age-related issues, and increasing awareness of programs for seniors. Some examples are the proposed development of a hub for senior services, an education and navigation system for Medicare, and a better way to identify and meet mental health needs. To read the report, see
innovationsinaging.org.