By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri state officials are working to see into
the future to best address the needs of an aging population.
To do that, they want to hear from Missourians.
Officials with the Missouri Health and Senior
Services Department met with St. Joseph residents at InterServe in south St.
Joseph Wednesday morning in one of 10 town hall meetings being held in each of
the state’s Area Agencies on Aging. Feedback during the town hall meetings will
be used in developing the state master plan to best offer services to senior
citizens.
Gov. Mike Parson signed an executive order last
year establishing Aging with Dignity:
Missouri’s Master Plan on Aging.
State Chief of the Bureau of Senior Programs,
Mindy Ulstad, says the state wants to prepare for a shift in demographics.
“Missouri, like the rest of the nation, is aging.
By 2030, older adults will outnumber children for the first time in our
history. And then as the years progress and as we get to 2060, they’re
projecting that older adults will greatly outnumber children,” Ulstad tells
KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, we have to be prepared as a state and in our local
areas to make sure that we are prepared for that aging population.”
If you missed the town hall in the south end,
don’t worry. Ulstad says there are other opportunities to provide input.
“And in addition to the town halls that we are
having across the state, we’re going to do two virtual town halls on March 21st,
one in the morning and one in the afternoon,” Ulstad says. “They can go to the
website to register for either one of those.”
Or, you can leave comments on the Department of
Health and Senior Citizens website.
Click HERE for the website.
Ulstad says she enjoys leaving Jefferson City to
talk with residents throughout the state.
“Every area of the state is different. Missouri’s
a very varied state when it comes to access to services and what’s available in
each area,” Ulstad says. “So, getting out and hearing from each area of what
they need to be able to prepare has been very valuable.”
Ulstad says input from the town halls will be
used by seven subcommittees working toward compiling the master plan on aging.
That plan is to be delivered to the governor by the end of next year so it can
go into effect in 2026.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.