Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Aging Talks about Demographic-Driven Challenges in Aging

Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Aging, Teresa Osborne  was interviewed on Smart Talk, a Public Radio program in central Pennsylvania on November 16, 2017.  Secretary Osborne is well-spoken, and using the fact that Pennsylvania has one of the fastest growing “older old” populations in the country (usually defined as age 85+), she reports on some of the ways that Pennsylvania is attempting to assist healthy aging, including making available resources better available to age-in-place at home through a program called Community Choice.  One of her observations?  While everyone “hopes” to stay in one’s own home, “‘hope’ is not a plan.”  Active steps to make that happen safely are needed — and one of the boomers interviewed  talked about his own periodic, “five year review” plan.   You can listen to a podcast of the approximately 30 minute interview here.  

The radio interview also introduced a segment from a public television Health Smart series on The Aging Boom-The 2030 Problem, scheduled to be aired for the first time on WITF-TV on November 16 at 8 p.m. (with additional broadcasts planned for various times of day on November 17 and 18).