In an understated announcement dramatically overshadowed by a violent insurrection in the nation's capital, California health officials on Wednesday introduced the state's first-ever roadmap on aging in an effort to accommodate its rapidly growing population of seniors.
In introducing the initiative, California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly underscored the COVID-19 pandemic's disproportionate impact on the state's senior population.
"Older Californians have been the group that has shouldered the burden almost the greatest in California," he said, noting that 75% of all deaths have been among residents over 65, while only accounting for about 10% of all cases.
The Master Plan on Aging offers a comprehensive set of guidelines to prepare the state for significant demographic changes, including the anticipated growth of the 60-and-over population to some 10.8 million people by 2030.
The plan includes five main goals by 2030 and a data dashboard to measure the progress of each:
- The development of millions of new housing options for older populations
- Expanded access to quality senior health services for underserved residents, and a subsequent increase in overall life expectancy
- More work, volunteering and other engagement opportunities for older residents
- 1 million new high-quality caregiving jobs
- New programs to improve economic security for seniors
The new plan, Ghaly said, was largely born of the hard lessons learned over the past year, during which many older residents of the state did not receive the care or resources they needed.
"We know that COVID has been difficult, but at the same time it has been accelerant for change, an accelerant for hope," Ghaly said. "The plan that we're unveiling today is the bright hope that I expect us to see more and more throughout the year."