The first baby boomers turned 60 last year. By 2030, the number of Kentuckians reaching their 60th birthday will double. Is government prepared to provide the services that will be demanded? Is business prepared to accommodate shifting consumer needs and interests?
Dr Graham Rowles is director of the University of Kentucky component of and principal investigator for the Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative (KERI), an initiative of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Dr. Rowles has directed UK's contribution to a study that has produced a preliminary statewide report, as well as one focused on the Bluegrass. In a discussion with Business Lexington's Tom Martin, Dr. Rowles details findings that carry important implications for both the private and public sectors of the commonwealth. It was an extensive interview and appears here in an edited form to accommodate space. The statewide and Bluegrass studies are available for download at /www.mc.uky.edu/gerontology/keri.htm.
TM: What inspired this study?
GR: The last needs assessment for the elder population of Kentucky was conducted in 1985, believe it or not. And given the aging of the baby boom cohort, it was felt by the state and by the university that what we need to do is take a real look at what the implications are going to be of the aging of the baby boomers.
TM: Your investigation looked into many areas of concern ó retirement, awareness, finances, employment, transportation, housing, health and safety, life quality, community involvement. Could you highlight the findings?
GR: In our pilot work ó in our focus groups ó we found a remarkable and alarming lack of awareness of this particular issue. People are not aware of the doubling of the population who will be 60 and over that's going to occur by 2030. There was surprise expressed throughout the focus groups. And so one of the (survey) questions asked was, "How aware are people throughout the state of this issue? What we found out from the survey was very interesting in that there was a higher level of awareness than in the focus groups. So maybe the KERI projects are having some effects already. Sixty-six percent of the people considered that they were very much aware of this issue. On the other hand