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Make no mistake, the aging tsunami is coming.
When Kathleen Casey-Kirschling became the first baby boomer to start collecting Social Security on Jan. 1, the New Jersey woman was the first of 75 million boomers flooding the nation's retirement and health channels. Not everyone is going to be well-financed in their old age, either. On Monday, officials from around the state made their pitch for more funding for Meals on Wheels, and the Aging Alternatives Program. The first delivers hot meals to senior citizens who can't afford them. It's a free service. "We're in the middle of an explosive need for Meals on Wheels right now," said Scott McBeth, director of the Department of Aging and Family Services for the Mountainland Association of Governments, which serves Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties. The state is looking for $318,000 to augment Meals on Wheels to help nearly 150 new clients. That would hardly make a dent just in McBeth's waiting list of 107, but it's a start. A secondary benefit of the program, say advocates, is the daily contact with seniors who may not otherwise have visitors. That means that often they are the first responders in a medical emergency. "This is a very, very low cost intervention," said Alan Ormsby, the state director of Aging and Adult Services. Also low cost and high return is the Aging Alternatives Program. For about $3,500 a year, the state can provide enough services to low-income seniors to keep them out of full-time nursing homes, which average $72,000 year, Ormsby said. Statewide, nearly 500 seniors have to be turned away from the program. The result is that they often get ill much faster and end up in the hospital, a much higher cost to taxpayers or those with insurance. On Monday, Ormsby requested $500,000 from the Joint Health and Human Services Appropriation Subcommittee to bolster the program as the aging population comes roaring in. "Even in very difficult years the Legislature has found funding for these very important programs," he said. Meals on Wheels in Utah County • 510 seniors served each day • 107 seniors on the waiting list Aging Alternatives Program in Utah County • 100 seniors served • 100 seniors on the waiting list |
