Barbara Quirk: Planning for an aging state

Barbara Quirk  —  8/25/2008 5:21 am

There was a statewide conference held recently in Madison, sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association. Sen. Herb Kohl welcomed the participants. As chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging, Kohl has been an outspoken champion of issues that affect older Americans and has been adamant that senior citizens deserve the best quality of life our country can afford.

The conference theme was "Opportunities and Challenges of an Aging Society." Lee Rymer, president of the Wisconsin Counties Association, welcomed participants, saying, "I believe it is important to examine the impact Wisconsin's aging population will have on society as a whole, as well as on governmental services."

In his remarks, Rymer noted that Wisconsin will face some challenges over the next 30 years as our population grows older. Rymer asked if the audience knew that:

The population of people 65 and older in Wisconsin is higher than that of the nation as a whole.

In all, 702,553 people in Wisconsin are 65 or older, and 95,625 of these are 85 or older.

Of the 2,084,544 households in Wisconsin, 479,787 include at least one person age 65 or older.

By the year 2030, Wisconsin's elderly population will nearly double while the number of 18- to 64-year-olds will actually decrease.

Rymer spoke of both the challenges and the opportunities. "Our aging population has much to offer, including opportunities for volunteerism and lifelong learning," he said.

The conference covered a wide range of topics. The session on modernization of the aging network was of great interest to anyone who has been working within the traditional configuration of providing services. With the rapidly aging population, the network needs to adapt. Change is always difficult. The more people know about these new configurations, the more easily they will adapt.

One workshop dealt with the coordination of transportation. It is difficult for me to imagine a more important yet complex issue, especially for Dane County with its rural, urban and suburban bases. What good are all of our wonderful programs and medical centers if our older citizens cannot get there?

Another session addressed lifelong learning. This included an introduction to the University of Wisconsin-Extension. Their mission is access and lifelong learning with emphasis on the fact that wherever people live and work, they can participate. The handouts from this session (generously shared with me by a colleague) talk about "benefits for all ages and stages," and say UW-Extension's "flexible delivery methods, including the use of distance learning technologies, let people enjoy the benefits of 'anytime, anyplace' education."

Many older adults and their mentors do not know of all the learning-in-retirement programs available throughout Wisconsin. There are special institutes for senior learning opportunities and noncredit classes and programs offered by local university faculty and staff. The opportunities are endless.

"Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I'm 84?" This offering from the Scripps Gerontology Center of Miami University mixes humor and facts and includes a "quiz" on signs of a baby boomer:

You know where you were when JFK was shot.

You owned a pair of striped bell bottoms.

You went to Woodstock, knew somebody who went to Woodstock, or told somebody you went to Woodstock.

You read "The Joy of Sex," while baby-sitting.

The list of common experiences goes on, but you get the point. Not only do the boomers share many common experiences, they also share systems such as Social Security, Medicare, retirement accounts, employment, re-employment and civic engagement (the third age). Is it payback time? Is it time to serve on the boards, committees or planning commissions?

It is exciting and encouraging that a group as large and as powerful as the Wisconsin Counties Association is looking at the ramifications of an aging population in such depth. We need this type of leadership and information if we are going to truly make Wisconsin a great place to live, work and age.

Barbara Quirk is a Madison geriatric nurse practitioner.

Barbara Quirk  —  8/25/2008 5:21 am