Alaska Ill Prepared for Growing Elderly Population: State faces shortage of senior services programs, funding, healthcare workers.

• Author: Mottl, Judy
• Position: HEALTHCARE

Alaskans close to retirement are in good company as the state's senior population is experiencing the fastest growth rate of any state in the nation. As of 2015, for example, there were 120,444 Alaska residents age sixty and older, according to the Alaska Department of Labor, with an average annual growth rate of 5 percent for those sixty-five years and older. By 2027 the number of seniors age sixty or older is expected to hit 175,000 or roughly one-quarter of the state's total population.

But while the senior demographic is growing, the number of senior services and programs is not keeping pace for a slew of reasons: stagnant funding, Alaska's economic climate, and decreasing senior services occupations.

The shortage of workers to help run senior programs and provide services is partially related to the state's declining population. As of mid-2017, Alaska's population was 737,080, a dip from a year prior when the population was 739,709, according to an Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development report.

In a nutshell, Alaska's fastest growing population--the senior citizen--is heading into retirement at a time when services, programs, housing, and healthcare support for the aging are facing great challenges--especially for elders in need of living assistance and those who live in remote regions.

State Services, Government Support

Funding for senior services and programs is a mixed bag of state taxes, grant funding, and money from programs such as the federal Older Americans Act. State grant-funded programs run the gamut from adult day care services to case management, meals, transportation, and disease prevention services. There is also family caregiver support, information, and training regarding health issues such as Alzheimer's, independent living services, housing accommodations, and other services, according to Alaska's Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS).

An Alaskan resident must be sixty years or older to receive services. Those under sixty dealing with a severe disability may receive an exemption to obtain needed services. State services are provided on a sliding fee scale dependent upon income, according to DHSS.

But while the range of services and programs is long, money is falling short.

"Funding for home and community based services for seniors has remained relatively flat for the past decade while the senior population has increased," says Lisa Morley, manager in the DHSS Grants Unit.

But money is just one challenge facing the senior population. "It is very difficult to provide senior services statewide due to distance and workforce capability. Services are spare or nonexistent in many rural areas," Morley says.

In fact, in terms of challenges, Morley views the shortage of qualified senior services professionals as the biggest obstacle to seniors receiving needed services, followed by "a lack...