This Changes Everything #7: California's Plan for Your Senior-Citizen Years

COVID-19 caused the early deaths of many seniors, but even as we see the light at the end of the tunnel, the big issues of aging and senior care in California won't be easing up. The new Census data shows that California keeps getting older, and by the year 2030, nearly a quarter of our population will be over age 65. That affects nearly everything in this state, including housing, pensions, jobs and of course, healthcare.
That’s why California has created a new Master Plan of Aging to address the issue of aging in the Golden State, and how we’re all going to handle it, no matter how old we are.
We talk with Kim McCoy Wade, director of California’s Department of Aging, who's in charge of rolling out this Master Plan and preparing America’s most populous state for massive demographic change over the next decade. She explains what you need to know, and prepare for, as a California resident who’s getting older by the day.
PODCAST PLAY BY PLAY
* 0 to 5:15 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and why we're focusing on aging
* 5:15 min - How California's aging demographics affect all of us
* 8:35 min - What the pandemic has shown about the problems of aging in California
* 12:40 min - How to build seniors-suitable housing in a state that's infamous for making housing available for people of any age
* 15:50 min - How to improve nursing homes and give them a "Golden Girls" quality of life
* 19:40 min - How will California innovate healthcare delivery and Medicare?
* 24:05 min - How to use technology to improve seniors' lives
* 26:55 min - Reducing age-ism and keeping seniors productive in society
* 30:30 min - Where's the money going to come from, and how will the Master Planners be held accountable for making this work?
* 36 min - What California citizens can do to make "aging in place" work better in this state
RESOURCE GUIDE
* California's Department of Aging -- check out its "How DO I?" section - https://aging.ca.gov/
* California's Master Plan for Aging - https://mpa.aging.ca.gov/
* Local Playbook for communities, companies and philanthropists can use to help with the plan - https://mpa.aging.ca.gov/LocalPlaybook/
* How to Build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, or "granny flats" for short) in California - https://www.hcd.ca.gov/policy-research/accessorydwellingunits.shtml
Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto