Nineteen area senior community leaders gathered Tuesday morning in the Granite Falls senior center in the basement of the Granite Falls Library to discuss community aging and how to face the fact of an aging population throughout the area and the state.
Jess Luce, current Leadership Fellow with the Bush Foundation and part of the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging (MNLCOA), was the featured presenter for the morning. His presentation covered the myths and realities of the coming baby boomer age wave and questioned whether communities would be properly able to handle a large percentage of their population entering varying types of senior care situations.
Luce said that the baby boomer generation will enter retirement and senior living much different than what we’ve believed traditionally; working and staying in their own homes longer than previous generations.
Luce shared national survey statistics that said over 50 percent of possible retirees ages 45-70 had thought of working during retirement and the same percentage had considered working part-time. Also, in Minnesota, 93 percent of baby boomers say they plan to continue living in their own home rather than renting space in senior living apartments, assisted living, nursing homes, or other residential senior care options.
With 21.1 percent of Yellow Medicine County’s population age 65 or older and with 19 percent of Chippewa County’s population within that spectrum as well, local leaders in senior living are beginning to prepare for a large number of seniors that will be ready to take advantage of senior services in the next 10-15 years.
Luce’s figures said that by the year 2030 about one-in-four people in Minnesota will be age 65 or older. By 2020, Luce reported, there will be more people over age 65 than in elementary, middle and high schools put together.
For aging communities, Luce’s predictions for the future looked bleak with budgets remaining tight, programs and services likely to continue to be cut. He said organizations will rely more heavily on volunteers and as baby boomers age in-home services and care will expand and employers will become more flexible in keeping seniors at work.
Luce’s solution, for communities dealing with an aging population, is based on a community planning framework called “Communities for a Lifetime”, which is The MNLCOA initiative that became statewide legislation in 2009. The “Communities for a Lifetime” legislation, “provides a framework for communities to an infrastructure that will successfully serve the changing demographics of Minnesota,” as outlined by the MNLCOA.
Luce said that cities and towns are on the front lines in their ability to sustain a high quality of life for all residents and should set a vision for age-friendly communities. He pointed out that “Communities for a Lifetime” initiatives and projects help older residents remain independent longer and helps maintain a community’s values.
To begin creating an age-friendly community Luce recommended that a community begin to identify and map its assets, determine a community’s needs by conducting a community-wide focus group and prioritizing while selecting issues depending on their ability to engage and empower residents.
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Nineteen area senior community leaders gathered Tuesday morning in the Granite Falls senior center in the basement of the Granite Falls Library to discuss community aging and how to face the fact of an aging population throughout the area and the state.
Jess Luce, current Leadership Fellow with the Bush Foundation and part of the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging (MNLCOA), was the featured presenter for the morning. His presentation covered the myths and realities of the coming baby boomer age wave and questioned whether communities would be properly able to handle a large percentage of their population entering varying types of senior care situations.
Luce said that the baby boomer generation will enter retirement and senior living much different than what we’ve believed traditionally; working and staying in their own homes longer than previous generations.
Luce shared national survey statistics that said over 50 percent of possible retirees ages 45-70 had thought of working during retirement and the same percentage had considered working part-time. Also, in Minnesota, 93 percent of baby boomers say they plan to continue living in their own home rather than renting space in senior living apartments, assisted living, nursing homes, or other residential senior care options.
With 21.1 percent of Yellow Medicine County’s population age 65 or older and with 19 percent of Chippewa County’s population within that spectrum as well, local leaders in senior living are beginning to prepare for a large number of seniors that will be ready to take advantage of senior services in the next 10-15 years.
Luce’s figures said that by the year 2030 about one-in-four people in Minnesota will be age 65 or older. By 2020, Luce reported, there will be more people over age 65 than in elementary, middle and high schools put together.
For aging communities, Luce’s predictions for the future looked bleak with budgets remaining tight, programs and services likely to continue to be cut. He said organizations will rely more heavily on volunteers and as baby boomers age in-home services and care will expand and employers will become more flexible in keeping seniors at work.
Luce’s solution, for communities dealing with an aging population, is based on a community planning framework called “Communities for a Lifetime”, which is The MNLCOA initiative that became statewide legislation in 2009. The “Communities for a Lifetime” legislation, “provides a framework for communities to an infrastructure that will successfully serve the changing demographics of Minnesota,” as outlined by the MNLCOA.
Luce said that cities and towns are on the front lines in their ability to sustain a high quality of life for all residents and should set a vision for age-friendly communities. He pointed out that “Communities for a Lifetime” initiatives and projects help older residents remain independent longer and helps maintain a community’s values.
To begin creating an age-friendly community Luce recommended that a community begin to identify and map its assets, determine a community’s needs by conducting a community-wide focus group and prioritizing while selecting issues depending on their ability to engage and empower residents.
