At May’s Senior Network meeting, Jim Riesberg, chair for the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging, discussed his committee’s strategic plan for helping Colorado seniors with quality of life issues through 2030. Their vision: Colorado will be a place where all residents can maintain a healthy, mobile and vibrant life as they age.
The 23 member committee is creating a comprehensive strategic plan on aging to prepare Colorado’s older population for changes in the needed services. Their goal is to identify the long-term impacts, on the state’s workforce, businesses, and economy, including private-pay long-term care services and infrastructure, creating both challenges and opportunities.
The group created last year by the legislature is charged with the task of creating a plan to prepare the state for the wide-ranging effects of this demographic shift. The plan, to be delivered by November 2016, seeks to examine potential issues with seven focus issues.
Jim said they are looking for input and ideas on how communities can support the aging population, as well as ideas on how to meet those needs. The group’s meetings and information about its work are posted at its website: colorado.gov/agingstrategy/.