We, the baby boomers, will change the demographics of the community more than any generation before. We will make an impact on the community, our province and the country.
Look to our right and look to our left within our community - what do we see? We see more white hair than ever before - Get used to what we see. These are going to be the new normal sites in our city.
More and more Canadians are living to enjoy a longer retirement. We are slowly but surely becoming a nation with a very aging population. The demographic trends confirmed our population is aging very quickly; we have thousands of people reaching the age of 100 years and beyond; something nearly unheard of fifty years ago.
Is our community ready for this change of life style? I would think not! Let's look at senior affordable housing; and we see that demand is great, and cities can't keep up with the demand for affordable housing for our seniors.
Our building codes are not made for seniors. Have you ever tried to get into a bathroom with double doors while in a wheelchair? The task is impossible. Even just try to open a door that pulls outward toward you while in a wheel chair- again a difficult task. We need bathrooms where we just go around the corner instead of bathrooms with double doors.
We have many elderly people that are able to live alone and shop and get around in the community - but we are making it harder instead of easier for them to live independently.
We would all benefit from more handrails and better transit system for seniors. Simple things like longer lights at crosswalks. It takes an older person longer to cross the street; and we want them to be safe while walking. I think if we look around our city we would see endless opportunity to make the lifestyle of a senior more comfortable and much safer.
Our aunt is living in a private care home today. The room is so small one has to back the wheelchair into her room. The room contains one dresser and one chair. There are two bathrooms in the hallway for eight residents.
The staff wake the residents around 5am for their morning care. They get one tub bath a week. This to me is abuse of the elderly. I would like to see changes made to their schedules. Most of these residents are up at 5am to sit in a chair for hours on end during every day. Many of these facilities exist throughout our province.
Would we like to live in a facility like this? I think not! We each would want our own bathroom in our rooms. The room dimensions will need to be larger than 9x9.
We, the Baby boomers will expect more comfortable senior housing because we have enjoyed the best life style the world has to offer.
Each time we see an opportunity to improve the lives of seniors we can step forward and speak out. It is in sharing our thoughts, our dreams and our information that we can make care facilities a better place for our seniors. And just remember these facilities are going to be our homes one day.
The most beautiful leaves on the trees are the ones that are mature and are growing older. Their last days are full of brilliant bright colors.
Margaret Anne Yost nursed for 35 years. Returning back to school I completed classes from the Red River College in the areas of Gerontology, Bereavement, Death and Dying. For twelve years I worked in bereavement support at a Funeral Home.
I was employed as Parish Worker at a Lutheran Church. At present I am enjoying my role as homemaker, wife, mother and grandmother.
