Eastern Agency on Aging: Editorial Page

Fuel Assistance

Fuel costs are soaring this year already and we are seeing seniors begin to feel the pinch throughout the coverage area. I am interested in knowing how you are doing this heating season and what things you have needed to do to help cover the rising cost of fuel.

Eastern Area Agency on Aging in an effort to help seniors who are out of options for fuel assistance is accepting donations to assist those people with the cost of heating this winter season. Donations can be made to EAAA-emergency fuel fund. We will make sure that the funds go to the seniors who need help the most.

Val Sauda, Director of Community Services

May is Older Americans Month

Older Americans Month and the Older Americans Act by Noëlle Merrill, Executive Director

Happy Older Americans Month!  This year the Federal Administration on Aging has declared this year’s theme “Older Americans, Making Choices for a Healthier Future”. Be sure to contact us if you are trying to find ways to have a healthier life.  Our EAA-z-Fix program can help your house become safer; our meals program can motivate you to start eating better and Medicare D can help pay for those expensive medications. If none of those suit you, well, volunteering for our agency can keep you active and involved! Give us a call and we will do our best to help you make those good choices!

When Older Americans Month was established by then President Kennedy, only about 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthday. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were very few programs to meet their needs. In April of 1963, after meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens, President Kennedy designated May as Senior Citizens Month. The intent was to celebrate past and current older person’s contributions to our country, particularly those who participated in our country’s defense. In 1980, President Carter changed the May designation name to Older Americans Month and it has been celebrated as such ever since.

Two years later, on July 14, 1965, the Older Americans Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In addition to creating the Administration on Aging, it also authorized grants to the states for community planning and services.  It also allowed for research, training and demonstration projects in the field of aging.  Subsequent reauthorizations of the law has added many amendments over the years, including the National Family Caregiver Program. The Older Americans Act is one of the reasons Eastern Agency on Aging is able to continue to provide valuable information, options and services.

Eastern Agency was formally incorporated in 1974 and was designated as one of Maine’s five area agencies on aging.  Initially Eastern Agency on Aging was known as the Eastern Task Force on Aging.  Later that name was changed to the Eastern Area Agency on Aging and then became the Eastern Agency on Aging.  Many of you still call our agency the “Task Force on Aging”.  There continues to be  5 agencies on aging; Senior Spectrum (Central Maine), Seniors Plus (Western Maine), Aroostook Agency on Aging (Northern Maine), Southern Maine Agency on Aging (Southern Maine) and Eastern Agency on Aging (Eastern Maine).

What is the status of older persons in the United States today? Census figures for 2004 show there are 36.3 million Americans over 65 and 4.9 million of those are over 85. There are 6.5 million persons over 65 still working and 73,000 enrolled in a college. 10.2% of those over 65 are living in poverty, and 81% own their own homes. 12.4 million of those over 65 reported that they exercised regularly with their favorite form of exercise being walking, followed by exercise equipment, net fishing and swimming. There was an estimated 64,628 centenarians (over 100 years of age) living in the US in 2004.

This May we will be traveling to various communities to celebrate the accomplishments of the winners of the Eastern Agency on Aging and  George Hale Silver Frame Awards for Active Aging.  Look for your friends and neighbors as we honor them over the next couple of months in this newsletter ,on our website, and in the media.  And enjoy Older Americans Month!

Facts Behind Maine is the Oldest State

It has been difficult to pin anyone down on what it means when they say, Maine is the oldest state, and people have been saying it for a couple of years.

The March 2007 edition of AARP Bulletin lists the rankings and the source of the rankings for the oldest state.  The calculation described is simply the median age, the age at which half of the residents are younger and half are older.  Maine tops the rankings list by having a median age of 41.2. If you type in on your location bar or click on the following link, you will be able see the complete listings. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R0101&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=US-30&-_sse=on

If you don't have the time to review the full rankings page, suffice it to say that 11of the first 17 oldest states are in the east, and they are Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Delaware. Their median age goes from 40.7 in Vermont down to 37.9 in Delaware.  The youngest median age in the nation is found in Utah at 28.5.

The national median age is 36.4.  There is no doubt that we in Maine are an aging population, and our neighboring states are in much the same predicament. 

The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 American Community Survey also offers a variety of looks at the demographics in our nation, it's a fascinating collection of data that provides rankings nationwide for many different characteristics. 

Noelle Merrill, Executive Director

 

Eastern Agency on Aging New Year's Resolutions

2007 is almost upon us and any new year gives us all a reason to make new goals and plans. Eastern Agency on Aging is no different, as we look forward to the last six months of our fiscal year as well as developing new program and budget plans for the next fiscal year. Of course, those activities all have to do with contracts and funding.

Looking at 2007 from the heart, I offer the following EAA resolutions:

1. We will find the necessary revenue to fund the Eaa-Z Fix It Program, which has served over 200 seniors since its inception in 2005 and continues to help people stay safely and comfortably in their own homes longer.

2. Vest Dressed for Safety – We will continue to provide enough information and easy access to reflective gear to keep our seniors safe when they cross the road for mail or newspapers, or go out to get some exercise. Maine has many months of darkness and harsh weather that reduce visibility for drivers; these vests protect drivers as well as pedestrians from tragedy.

3. Pocket Talkers and other technical equipment — We will offer, at the lowest cost possible, Pocket Talkers and other technical equipment to help people hear better.

4. No Senior is Left Alone – We will develop a “Senior Switchboard” which will link any participating older person with someone who can regularly check on him or her with a phone call or a brief visit.

5. Rides for ME – We will develop volunteer ride programs in as many communities as want such a program, offering social and grocery shopping rides provided by volunteers.

6. Fall Prevention — We will do our best to educate our communities on the issue of falls, which are one of the most costly health problems the elderly face, both in terms of dollars and personal longevity.

7. Meals for Me — We will provide better marketing and signage to enable equal access for all seniors.

8. Meals for Me — We will improve our meal site activity offerings.

9. Advisory Council — We will recommend to the Board of Directors that the Advisory Council meetings be changed from quarterly meetings in Bangor to quarterly meetings in which EAA staff travels to each of the four county regions. The hope is that these meetings will become Advisory Council forums, focusing on the needs of each individual county.

10. Area Plan — We will begin working on the 2008 Area Plan, but this time combine its work with strategic planning. Also, instead of waiting for public input at the end of the process, we will solicit public input as it is developed.

These ten items are good beginning goals for 2007, but I have no doubt that more will surface as we work to continue to be the best source of information, options and services for you, members of all the communities of Eastern Maine.

--Noëlle Merrill, Executive Director