With an ever-increasing population of older adults in the Prairie State — mirroring a national trend — the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) encourages residents to stay well and to be responsible for their health.
The Springfield-based agency hopes to address the rapidly growing senior sector through resources and services. Collaborating with the Rauner administration and industry counterparts, IDoA is working to establish and maintain access to programs designed for older citizens such as financial education, mental health services and funding for accessibility enhancements in residences.
“We all experience the day-to-day challenges of maintaining our physical and mental health; the Department understands the increased danger this can have on seniors dealing with various medical issues,” IDoA director Jean Bohnhoff said. “We’ve found a way to provide older adults with greater access to services that can help them maintain healthier and more independent lifestyles.”
IDoA recommends that older adults stay active, eat healthily, manage their finances responsibly and set out to accomplish reasonable goals, as well as nurture social connections. Awareness of one’s own health is important, the department says. So it encourages citizens to see a doctor for a yearly physical to establish a baseline for one’s health profile.
Atlanta’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has predicted that by 2050, the number of Americans living into old age (65 and up) will become double what it was in 2010.
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