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Disabled Oregon Senior Services Article
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Services For Seniors Increasing In Years To Come
from:The first of baby boomer generation will be eligible for retirement by 2008. This demographic of American citizens were born between 1946 and 1964 with an estimated 82 million people in the baby boomer category, as reported by the 2000 U.S. census. This means that services for seniors will begin to increase to serve the needs of the aging population. Just what kind of services might be impacted?
Health Care Services
As seniors begin their last stage of life, many begin to exhibit chronic health conditions that need treatment. Diseases that are age dependent, like Alzheimer’s, might suddenly make an appearance. In-home health aides are sometimes needed for seniors with limited mobility. Prescription medications may increase and cost of health care can soar in old age.
Baby boomers, however, have been known to be fanatical about maintaining their health and this is one of the many services for seniors that is sure to grow. Exercise and health programs for seniors might become highly innovative and fun.
Social Services
Baby boomers love to live life to the fullest and savor every drop. This probably will not change in retirement. Many already suggest they will continue in some sort of part-time or volunteer employment to continue to be productive and active members of society. It’s clear that they don’t intend to stay home and do nothing.
Social services for seniors will probably begin to expand to provide more opportunities for senior travel, dating, community meetings, mentoring, volunteerism, and religious affiliations. Many housebound seniors may even take to the Internet in record numbers to maintain a sense of community.
Housing and Transportation
The shift in demographics to older citizens is already starting to impact housing and transportation. There is a movement to revitalize urban areas into locuses of shopping and commerce with residential apartments nearby. Sidewalks and social events are planned within these mall communities and they are attracting a great number of older citizens. The appeal is that everything is close by and available and also provides a venue of community interaction for everyone. Senior living communities benefit greatly from this arrangement and provide a wealth of services for seniors in one central spot.
Downtown areas are also becoming more centralized into one-stop community centers for shopping and entertainment. Many cities are expanding their bus and train networks and hoping to provide low-cost transportation that will increase visitors to their cities. All these services are very helpful to seniors who live on limited incomes and may have mobility issues. In addition, senior living communities provide support for their members and planned activities to brighten their days.
Spiritual Services
The baby boomers have been on a life-long spiritual quest, often rejecting their traditional religions for unorthodox beliefs. Services for seniors in this area may also explode into an area of creativity and reformation as boomers begin to choose exactly what type of death arrangements they might want to make. Any service dealing with legal wills, funeral arrangements, and spiritual services will be impacted. It’ll be inspiring to see what they come up with.