Senior Services and Support: Being mindful of a growing population with increasing needs.

• Author: Mottl, Judy
• Position: HEALTHCARE

By the year 2034 Alaska's overall population is expected to grow by nearly 25 percent, and the senior demographic is predicted to more than double in size as the state's Baby Boomer generation ages, hitting the 65-year-old mark.

As of 2009, according to the Alaska Department of Labor, seniors represented 7.5 percent of the state's population, but that number will likely hit 14.5 percent by 2034. Currently, according to the US Census Bureau, 10.4 percent of the state's population is more than 65 years old.

But it's unlikely today's range and depth of services for the state's growing senior population will double in size and keep pace given government funding cutbacks, a declining healthcare workforce, shaky economic tail-winds, and an increasing need for housing and additional support care services.

State, Federal Grant Funding in Play

The state of Alaska, at present, services more than 11,000 seniors (age 60 or older) via community based, senior focused grant programs. The grants are extensions of national Title III funding via the Older American's Act, which is provided to all US states.

The funding pays for a slew of needs, from meals, transportation, case management, respite support, information, and assistance and adult day care to education and training for caregivers regarding Alzheimer's disease. The state provides a sliding scale fee for some services, but for most clients the lone eligibility requirement is being least sixty years old.

"These programs provide assistance to seniors and their care givers so they can remain independent and in their homes longer," says Lisa Moriey, Grants Unit manager at Senior and Disability Services of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

"Sometimes a senior needs a meal or someone to help them with chores; without this help they might have to move into an assisted living home, which is very expensive and causes them to use up their resources, and eventually they have to go on Medicaid, even il they weren't before."

State and federal grants support many local nonprofit agency programs providing care to Alaska seniors who do not meet level of care or income eligibility for the Medicaid Waiver program.

The most commonly supported programs. according to state officials, are nutrition, transportation and support for senior in-home care and family caregivers, and Medicare counseling and outreach, as well as legal assistance, meal delivery, and nutrition education. Thirty-six state grantees...