B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel MackenzieB次元官网网址檚 job is to inform the provincial government about the issues of concern to seniors in communities throughout the province.
But on Wednesday, July 6, she started off a Town Hall type meeting held at the Campbell River Seniors Centre informing the small gathering about some surprising data about the state of senior living in the province.
B次元官网网址淪o overall, in British Columbia, there are over a million people over the age of 65, thatB次元官网网址檚 about one out of five, so 20 per cent of British Columbians are 65 and over,B次元官网网址� Mackenzie said. B次元官网网址淲hich is what we expect, that the proportion of the population 65 and older is going to continue to grow.
B次元官网网址淲hat is interesting to note is that overwhelmingly, the majority B次元官网网址� 90 per cent of seniors B次元官网网址� live independently in their own home. I want to emphasize that. I want to emphasize that even at 85 and older, 77 per cent of people live alone B次元官网网址� 85 and over. And that number rose in the last census.B次元官网网址�
RELATED:
And those one million or more seniors are living longer and are living healthier for longer. They are also driving for longer. We are still dying, she said, but what we are seeing is what is called compressed morbidity where people are ill for only a year or two at the end of their life.
B次元官网网址淪o, that is the general pattern and that is not changing,B次元官网网址� Mackenzie said.
Other eye-opening data that Mackenzie presented dealt with dementia and how it is not as inevitable as you think.
B次元官网网址淓ighty per cent of people over 85 donB次元官网网址檛 have dementia,B次元官网网址� she said.
As you keep going up, if you looked at 90, 95 and 100 years old, the percentage of those with dementia would rise, it is a condition that rises with aging, Mackenzie said.
B次元官网网址淏ut this notion that we live into your 80s and into your 90s, that youB次元官网网址檙e going to automatically develop dementia or have significant cognitive impairment is actually not true,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淵ou might, that is true, but not, necessarily, you will.
B次元官网网址淢ost people will live the entirety of their life not just in their home but with most of their marbles, however many, or few, they ever had.B次元官网网址�
Mackenzie added that while more people are developing dementia in terms of the sheer number, the proportion of people is not increasing, in fact, indications are itB次元官网网址檚 actually decreasing but B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 still early days on that,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淪o, I think that is good news,B次元官网网址� she said.
On the B次元官网网址渓ess good news side,B次元官网网址� though, is that B次元官网网址渨hile youB次元官网网址檙e likely to live on your own and youB次元官网网址檙e likely to have most of your marbles, youB次元官网网址檙e also likely to go from driving a car to not having a car,B次元官网网址� Mackenzie said.
B次元官网网址淎nd youB次元官网网址檙e still going to want to get out and about,B次元官网网址� she said.
That will be more challenging in communities like Campbell River than in the west end of Vancouver, for example.
B次元官网网址淎nd so we have to think about that,B次元官网网址� Mackenzie said, B次元官网网址渁nd decisions we make and how weB次元官网网址檙e going to deal with that.B次元官网网址�
Another factor that will impact the senior years is the fact that for those who are part of a couple, one person is going to pre-decease the other. One person will go from living with somebody to living alone. And the age of which that is likely to happen is getting older.
Challenges facing the elderly across the province involve funding for services.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the biggest issues is the lack of, in B.C., any funding for anything other than health care. Dental care tops the list followed by hearing aids and eyeglasses,B次元官网网址� Mackenzie said.
These are followed by podiatry or, if people need a walker or a wheelchair, thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing that covers that cost in B.C. There is some work being done on low incomes and Mackenzie hinted that something was in the works on that front.
Which is important because one of the realities of being old is lower income. The median income of B.C. seniors is $31,000. So that means 50 per cent of B.C. seniors live on less than $31,000. Meanwhile, the average income B次元官网网址� if you donB次元官网网址檛 include housing B次元官网网址� is actually $46,000. But the problem with the average income is that itB次元官网网址檚 skewed by very high incomes, Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie also outlined issues like the lack of family physicians but the biggest issue out there is the lack of support of seniors who live in the community, who do not want to move to long term care but are because of the lack of supports in the community.
MackenzieB次元官网网址檚 visit to Campbell River followed a similar visit to Port McNeill the day before.
RELATED:
editor@campbellrivermirror.com
Like us on and follow us on
