Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
September 11, 2002
Catholic elder-care facilities respond to growing senior population
One in 10 people today are 60 years or older, statistics show
By Carol Zimmermann
(CNS) — The phrase "we're not getting any younger" can be used today to describe the world's population.
Current statistics show that one in 10 people today are now 60 years or older; by 2050, one in five will be 60 or older; and by 2150, one in three will be 60 or older.
And the elderly population is not simply growing larger, but older as well. Figures from the Catholic Health Association show that 20 million seniors will be older than 85 by the year 2030.
These statistics are not a surprise to Catholic health care officials. Instead, many of them have already been changing the ways their facilities operate to better accommodate the growing elderly population.
"The transition to an older world is of profound significance to the Catholic Church because we Catholics believe that society must respect life at every stage of development, treating all people with the dignity they deserve as children of God," said Father Michael Place, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, in a recent issue of Health Progress, a CHA publication.
As he sees it, Catholic health agencies with their long tradition of responding to the needs of the community, are "ideally suited to lead the way," in this shift to offering more provisions for the elderly.
"We must begin to think in terms of continuum of care that encompasses extended periods of wellness and illness, rather than episodes of care," he said. "We must think and act beyond the walls of traditional acute health-care institutions to include housing and other community-based services."
That is exactly what many Catholic health care institutions are doing, according to Dan Gray, vice president of elderly services for Alexian Brothers Health Systems, based in Elk Grove Village, Ill., which provides health services in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
He said Catholic organizations have been at the forefront in working with a U.S. government model called PACE — the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly — which provides comprehensive services for the elderly who live in their homes.
The program, which covers chronic and acute care, hospital care, therapy, transportation and adult day care for frail elderly, is financed by Medicare and Medicaid.
Gray said the program was a unique way to ensure that the elderly could remain at home instead of having to be placed in a nursing home.
"Certainly the elderly want to remain in their homes as long as possible," said Susan McDonough, vice president for strategy and system development for Covenant Health System, a Catholic organization with facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Ohio.
McDonough told Catholic News Service that Covenant Health Systems, founded by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, has been keeping an eye on the growing elderly population. Officials for the organization decided in 1995 to develop a broader array of services for older adults. They have grown from having three elder-care facilities in 1996 to 26.
"Essentially," she said, "we saw the needs of the population were changing."
The New England states, in particular, she said, have an older population that is about a percentage point above the rest of the country. McDonough noted that even though many older people move to warmer climates, they tend to return to family and friends when they need more care.
"It's important to offer continued care as much as possible," she said which means providing "community-based services, long-term care and everything in the middle."
Services in the middle often include the work of parish nurses, bilingual adult day-care programs and services for people with Alzheimer's disease.
McDonough noted that the founder of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal had a particular compassion for the elderly which goes right along with the organization's work today.
"There are a lot of challenges ahead," McDonough said, but added that the work "fits the mission of the Church and our innovative means of carrying on the mission of Jesus."
Contact Us
