Seniors' needs pleaded

The battle cry on Capitol Hill over more dollars typically focuses on children and public education — crowded classrooms, lack of adequate supplies and teacher salaries.

But what about the grandparents of those children — the seniors whose numbers represent the fastest-growing segment of Utah's population?

The number of people 85 and older has doubled since 1965; nationally, 1,000 people turn 85 every day. While only 5 percent of the elderly population are in nursing homes, 39 percent of individuals over 70 require one or more assistive devices, state aging numbers show.

It is an issue, local aging advocates warn, that will propel the state into a critical funding crisis unless Utah lawmakers start to address it now.

"My plea is that we start to understand this need, especially as the demographics are changing so rapidly," said Rich Connelly, director of Davis County's Aging Services.

"These are seniors who have been been good citizens who just happen to have outlived their money, are saddled with poor health and have lost their support system. They need some help. Rather than waiting for this huge crisis we need to start thinking about it now."

There is little hope, however, as Utah lawmakers divvy out precious revenue in the final three weeks of the 2004 session that new money will find its way into aging programs.

Consider that the Utah Association of Area Agencies on Aging identified $30 million in critical needs for programs across the state to counter waiting lists that continue to grow.

Aging advocates made their pitch recently to the legislative members of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, where Salt Lake County's director of Aging, Shauna O'Neil, told lawmakers the needs are critical.

The schoolchildren, she conceded, are important, but public-policy makers shouldn't abandon their grandparents.

"Please don't forget them."

Helen Goddard, state director of the Division of Aging and Adult Protective Services, said her budget has grown by about $5 million in the past five years, but it hasn't been close to keeping pace with the senior population boom.