With the population aging, is Butler County ready to care for them?
"We take care of one another here," said Courtney. "If there is trouble, someone can always help."
That help happens for most residents, like
Courtney and Bishop are among thousands of seniors in
Data from
The county has taken steps to address both the medical and financial issues that can rise with an aging population. population so far, including
"It takes everything from the community to be age-friendly," said Wilson. "There is always a need for housing, transportation, a community services."
Addressing medical concerns
Lifespan has increased over the past century due to breakthroughs in the world of medicine, said Dr.
"There is not just one illness, but rather a constellation of illnesses," Romanello said.
Arthitis is also on the rise. The
Romanello said that more services and more providers will be needed as the population ages. That process will be a challenge.
"We have not seen an immediate toll on hospitals," Romanello said. "But more on families and nursing care facilities."
The demand for older resident care remains high in
Dr.
"Even though we have a lot more older people than we did in 1993, nursing home occupancy rates have actually dropped," Applebaum said.
Occupancy rates fell to 81 percent last year, a reduction from 92 percent in 1993. Seniors instead have been looking into more assisted living or at-home care options, Applebaum said.
According to Butler County Elderly Services Program's 2018 Annual Report, at-home services cost
Nursing homes in the state are regulated by the
"Sometimes the citations are really minor and trivial," Applebaum said. "Sometimes the citation are dramatic and they'll even identify if a resident is in immediate jeopardy."
Of the 25 Butler County nursing homes identified on the
Several organizations that provide services for seniors, such as Community First Solutions, one of
"In the last seven years, we have added 142 new independent living units, bringing (our) total capacity to 531," said
Since 2012, it has built such structures as the
Seniors have access to services like these primarily through COA's continued support of Butler County Elderly Services. In 2017, after a 20-year contract, the two groups agreed to a new five-year,
Through the deal, seniors can receive medical care at home or receive transportation to doctor's appointments, among other services. Yet, because of these medical services,
Gmoser says that seniors should take a hard look at their medical bills as it is quite possible that there will be extra charges for short visits or medication that is supposed to be taken care of through insurance.
"In these cases, the beneficiaries are those who make the mistake," said Gmoser, who added that these charges drive up the cost for health care for everyone.
Addressing financial concerns
There were 191 cases of elder exploitation reported in
Gmoser said that seniors are preyed on by scam artists because of their assets and they are often less cautious, more trusting, and sometimes far away from family and friends.
This high volume of elder exploitation cases led Gmoser to create the Butler County Crimes Against the
He said the task force has had many successes over the past eight years, but that the threat of scammers still persist. These scammers can come from as close as a nearby family member to as far away as someone from
One example if a "grandparent scam," a fraud technique used for many years that includes claims family members have been arrested in
"Now, the way it works is the scammer looks up the name of a person, looks up the Internet and finds out who their relatives are, then they call up," said Gmoser.
Gmoser said this bill falls short because it is very hard to actually catch scammers, with most of them living overseas outside of
"There is an inundation in society right now of telephonic communication with the elderly in an attempt to obtain money from them," said Gmoser. "The frequency of attempts is much larger than the success rate, but even with that, there is significant amounts of money that is involved when they're successful."
The bill would also require the attorney general to "distribute at least six public awareness publications each year that provide information on elder fraud and financial exploitation of the elderly," something of which Gmoser is in favor.
When financial exploitation comes from a family member, these often go unreported and are more successful for the scammers. Many of these cases go unreported because seniors are aware that they could be responsible for prosecuting a relative.
"There's also an embarrassment factor that they allowed it to happen and they also have a conflict about whether or not to report it and eliminate the caregiver that is providing some level of service," Gmoser said.
While medical and financial issues remain a concern for
"Just because someone has a disability, that doesn't mean they stop living," Applebaum said. "They still have the need for social interaction, they still have the need to see family and friends, they still have the need to engage in leisure activities."
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