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Buckeye Hills works on strategic plan for area seniors

Community participation welcomed Thursday

The challenge of meeting the needs of the elderly is becoming more acute for Washington County as time goes along.

In 2000, the proportion of people over 65 in the county was just under 15 percent; in 2017, even though the total population had declined by nearly 3,000, the number over 65 had increased by the same number, making up more than 20 percent of the remaining population.

The Buckeye Hills Regional Council in 2017 approved grants amounting to more than $16 million in its eight-county region, which includes Washington County. The grants paid for services ranging from in-home health care to nutrition programs and renovation work on senior centers.

This year, Buckeye Hills has to complete a four-year strategic plan, and the public will have a chance Thursday to offer suggestions.

Jennifer Westfall is the agency’s director for aging and disability programs. She said the strategic plan begins with goals set by the federal Association for Community Living, which are then adapted for Ohio by the state Department of Aging, then pushed down to the eight regional councils in Ohio.

“It involves, for example, using evidence-based programs to address chronic issues like diabetes, engaging older adults for volunteering, programs related to preventing injuries from falling, transportation, all the way down to caregivers and aging at home, and advocacy at legislative levels,” she said.

Westfall said the state for the first time this year involved the regional councils in drafting the goals for the strategic plan.

“We had to look through it to see what’s unique in our area, which includes the resilience of the people here and the lack of resources,” she said.

Issues for seniors are becoming more acute as the population ages and social norms evolve.

“Dollar-wise, things are spread even further than they have been,” Westfall said. “We run on the Older Americans Act, Senior Community Block Grants and those are things that are threatened.”

The opioid crisis has thrust greater family responsibility on aging grandparents, many of whom are caring for their grandchildren, she said. And there is also the opposite end of the spectrum, in which seniors have no family members to care for them.

“There are ‘senior orphans’ as fewer and fewer children are staying with their aging parents,” she said.

That circumstance has created increasing demand for home health caregivers, which allows aging people to remain at home rather than moving into assisted living facilities, but the field is not an attractive choice.

“There is a struggle to keep providers, because being a home health aide is not everybody’s idea of a dream job,” she said.

Although the demand for home health care aides is high – according to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, last year in southern Ohio the occupation accounted for 15 of every 1,000 jobs, equal to the demand for store clerks, secretaries and administrative assistants – the pay is poor in view of the demands and responsibility involved in the job. The median wage in the profession for southern Ohio is about $10.50 an hour.

Washington-Morgan Community Action is one of the major grant recipients from Buckeye Hills. Carrie McNamee, senior and community services director for community action, said Monday her programs depend on grants from Buckeye Hills for continued service.

Community action programs directed at seniors include meal centers, meal deliveries, homemaker assistance and other services, she said. The organization’s stake in the Buckeye Hills strategic plan includes continued funding for those programs and more.

“Our stake is continued efforts to fund these programs and advocacy for more funding,” she said. “When they make their plans, they need to plan for the fact that there will be more seniors. Federal funding over the years has not shown enough recognition of that need. People are aware of it, but I’m not sure that equates at the federal level.”

Westfall said the regional council partners with senior centers, community action agencies and home delivery meal providers, and also offers service directly to individuals, including long-term care planning and community education for people who are aging or have aging parents.

The planning session will be held Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon at 1400 Pike St., and everyone is invited.

Age and population, Washington County

2000

•Population: 63,251

•Over 65: 9,463

•Percentage: 14.96

•Median age: 39.1

2010

•Population: 61,778

•Over 65: 10,794

•Percentage: 17.47

•Median age: 43

2017

•Population: 60,418

•Over 65: 12,430

•Percentage: 20.57

•Median age: 44.2

Population change, 17 years: -2,833

Change in population, 65 and over: +2,967

Source: Census 2000 and Census 2010, Population estimates 2017

If you go:

•What: Public input meeting for Buckeye Hills Regional Council 2019-22 Strategic Area Plan for aging population.

•When: 10 a.m. to noon Thursday.

•Where: 1400 Pike St.

•For information: 740-374-9436.

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