The Maine Council on Aging Wednesday issued a ‘Blueprint for Action’ on Healthy Aging.
The share of the state's population of seniors over age 65 is growing, and the Council's Executive Director, Jess Maurer, says new models for housing, transportation and care are needed.
"And those can't all be formal,” says Maurer. “Really, the backbone of our care system is informal caregivers, so family and friends."
The blueprint calls for municipal-level efforts to create more age friendly communities. It also recommends creating a state Cabinet of Aging to oversee formal support services and connect them to municipalities.
"That would create an opportunity for leaders of our next administration to come together and collaborate on policy development as well as program implementation,” says Maurer.
The recommendations came out of a 'Wisdom Summit' in September that was attended by 350 professionals, public officials, community members and researchers.
Maurer says the Council on Aging hopes to partner with Maine's next governor to implement the blueprint.
