By the year 2020 one-quarter of the Vineyard will be over the age of 65.

By the year 2025 that number is expected to jump to 30 per cent, according to findings by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.

As a wave, or tsunami rather, of baby boomers is expected to populate the Vineyard in the coming years, the Island faces a number of challenges delivering health care to its seniors. Six rural health scholars from the University of Massachusetts Medical School recently documented those challenges in a report on the current mental health needs of the Island’s elderly population. Transportation, isolation and access to mental health services emerged as major areas needing improvement.