CAPITAL REGION Growth in ranks of elderly a challenge BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter
With people living longer and demand for nursing home beds changing, Capital Region counties are rethinking how they provide long-term care to the elderly. County nursing homes are expensive to run and spend millions of dollars each year. And with costs and losses climbing, many counties are considering options such as more home-based care, adult day care and assisted living facilities. Courtney Burke, director of the New York State Health Policy Research Center at the Rockefeller Institute in Albany, said the trends point to a future with fewer and smaller nursing homes. “There have been changes in people’s personal preferences,” Burke said. “There’s been a movement to deinstitutionalize people. ...............>>>>.................>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....1&Continuation=1
Boomers’ looming retirements can look scary BY GAIL MARKSJARVIS Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Following the job and investing horrors of the last three years, many Americans fear they will end up in retirement like Old Mother Hubbard. But while their cupboards are likely to contain more than a bone, a sobering study released Tuesday shows the fantasy isn’t far off the mark. About 47 percent of early baby boomers, now 56 to 62 years old, are not expected to have enough money to cover basic living expenses like food, utilities and health care through retirement. That’s actually an improvement over seven years ago, but still a dreadful reality for many. “Their Social Security alone will not pay for all they need,” said Jack VanDerhei, research director for the Employee Benefi t Research Institute study. Members of Generation X, ranging from 36 to 45 years old, should be in better shape because they have more time to prepare. Nevertheless, 44.5 percent of them also are expected to run out of money, the study said. Inadequate savings will be disastrous for individuals who want to live as comfortably in retirement as they lived their working years. Even those who have saved adequately could be affected: New taxes or limits on Social Security may be required to help an overburdened system cope with so many needy people. Although middle- and lower-income people are most at risk of running out of money in retirement, even the highest-income people, baby boomers now making more than $72,500, could be at risk if they have a disease or accident that requires them to enter a nursing home early in their retirement years, said VanDerhei, who led the study. Nursing-home costs average $200 a day. VanDerhei estimates about 13 percent of the high-income group would exhaust their savings prematurely. When Social Security was established in the 1930s, people lived on average to 61.7 years old. Now, the U.S. Census estimates that a 65-year-old can expect to live to 78.3. About 40 percent of women live to 90. ....................>>>>>...................>>>>>>.......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00402&AppName=1
Aging boomers strain cities built for the young By LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer | AP – Sat, Jul 9, 2011 ADVANCE SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011, AT 9:00 A.M. EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — America's cities are beginning to grapple with a fact of life: People are getting old, fast, and they're doing it in communities designed for the sprightly. To envision how this silver tsunami will challenge a youth-oriented society, just consider that seniors soon will outnumber schoolchildren in hip, fast-paced New York City. It will take some creative steps to make New York and other cities age-friendly enough to help the coming crush of older adults stay active and independent in their own homes. "It's about changing the way we think about the way we're growing old in our community," said New York Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs. "The phrase 'end of life' does not apply anymore." With initiatives such as using otherwise idle school buses to take seniors grocery shopping, the World Health Organization recognizes New York as a leader in this movement. But it's not alone. Atlanta is creating what it calls "lifelong communities." Philadelphia is testing whether living in a truly walkable community really makes older adults healthier. In Portland, Ore., there's a push to fit senior concerns such as accessible housing into the city's new planning and zoning policies......................>>>>..........................>>>>......................http://news.yahoo.com/aging-boomers-strain-cities-built-young-130207113.html
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