Affordable housing and better access to mainland health care services are priority needs for older Islanders, a recent survey has found. The Healthy Aging Task Force survey is expected to set the stage for future initiatives among the elderly.
A researcher for Brandeis University this week presented the first results of a major survey by the Healthy Aging Task Force that will help set the course for Islandwide aging initiatives.
The coalition of more than 70 volunteers and 37 organizations, will launch a major survey of Island seniors next week in an effort to refine its mission.
The Healthy Aging Task Force, a coalition of more than 70 volunteers and 37 organizations, has spent the last two years working to identify areas of need. Voters will be asked to approve funding for information and referral services at town meetings Tuesday.
The Martha’s Vineyard Healthy Aging Task Force is hosting a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist three-day training workshop from April 30 to May 2 at the Harbor View Hotel.
As a working task force on the Vineyard begins to prepare for a graying population in the decades ahead, the state Secretary of Elder Services paid a visit to the Island last week to hear about their work in tackling the issue of healthy aging.
Secretary Ann Hartstein said there are unique challenges involved in creating supportive services for the elderly on the Vineyard.
The data is clear: like the rest of the country, Martha’s Vineyard is bracing for a sharp increase in the population of older residents. The number of Vineyard residents 60 and older is growing at a faster rate then the rest of the state, and that demographic is expected to grow as the baby boomer generation gets older. Some estimates show that Island residents between 60 and 70 years of age will triple by 2020.
