Clark County, as everywhere in the country, is anticipating a huge surge in the number of residents aged 60 or better. In two years, one in four Clark County residents will be over the age of 60. By 2045, nearly one in three Clark County residents will be in this age range.
Fortunately, Clark County has an Aging Readiness Plan, which serves as a roadmap for strategies that can be taken in Clark County to improve essential aspects of livable communities as we age, such as housing, community engagement, supportive services, healthy communities and transportation.
The Clark County Commission on Aging, supported by the Clark County Council, is a nine-member volunteer group that implements the Aging Readiness Plan and provides leadership addressing needs of aging community members.
Over the last year, the Commission on Aging has been working with consultants to update the Aging Readiness Plan, since it is now more than 10 years old. In completing the update, the Commission on Aging wanted to make sure the community’s needs and desires were the basis for the plan. We used a multi-pronged outreach approach that included: a community survey; “fireside chats” and focus groups with local experts, agency professionals and interested individuals, and community workshops. As part of this project, through these various engagement opportunities, we have heard feedback from more than 500 people who provided a combination of 425 survey responses and 270 written comments. Seventy-four people participated in six focus groups and three community workshops. We are so grateful for the time and thoughtfulness of everyone who has participated in the project to date.
During our conversations over the course of the project, one thing has become very clear: most aging issues and solutions are interconnected. For example, improving transportation will not only help older adults get around, but will also enable them to live healthier lives by making it easier to access healthcare services and participate in community activities. On the other side, neglecting certain issues will have repercussions in other areas. For example, not addressing the affordable housing crisis will make it more difficult for the aging community to afford or access other resources such as high-quality foods and healthcare. This common finding suggests that strategies should involve supportive collaborations between multiple agencies and organizations and address multiple issues simultaneously to be effective.
Feedback from each step of the engagement process was incorporated into the refreshed Aging Readiness Plan document. As a result of this work, new information has been incorporated, including updated data and maps, as well as new technologies and services. Most significantly, as a result of lessons learned from an unprecedented pandemic, an additional chapter on emergency preparedness has been added.
Overall, we’re working toward an updated plan that is current, relevant and as urgent as ever to be implemented.
A complete draft of the updated Aging Readiness Plan is available for review on the county website: https://bit.ly/agingreadiness. We encourage you to take a look and submit suggestions to improve the plan further.
Cass Freedland
Commission on Aging chair
