Martha’s Vineyard is Setting a New Example for Care

In some parts of the country, the senior population is much higher than in others. Take Martha’s Vineyard, for example. The data indicates that more than one in six people that live here are over the age of 65 years old. That’s not surprising as this island off the coast of Massachusetts is known for being a popular summer vacation place for New England’s affluent population. Logic says that this population is going to be older. However, it can be very easy to forget that with age comes a lot of extra health problems. Senior care can be a more serious need within this population, regardless of socioeconomic status.

 

It’s also interesting to see how areas like Martha’s Vineyard cope with the aging population and their needs. Martha’s Vineyard is actually a really good model to look at for the rest of the country just because portions of the tiny island have seen the population of seniors grow at a mammoth rate. The island has a population of just 15,000 people, but some portions are seeing the number of people over the age of 65 grow at a much faster rate than the rest of the country is. And so far, the island has handled these growing changes very well.

 

One of the unique things that Martha’s Vineyard is doing is working with local high schools when it comes to the senior population. The philosophy is that a couple generations ago, it was very common to have three generations of a family sharing a house. That is less common today, so initiatives have been put in place to encourage students to spend time with and help seniors. This has encouraged an “aging in community” approach to care where seniors are less likely to become shut ins, and more likely to remain active. Students will go to the store with elderly individuals, go out for ice cream, or even help them to run errands. It allows students to help their community, and encourages the elderly to remain physically and mentally active.

 

The aging in community model that Martha’s Vineyard has modeled is proving to be helpful.

 

Research has backed this approach up. Overall, seniors that stay active are less likely to suffer from disability, both physical and mental. It also helps to slow down the spread of dementia and encourages better cardiovascular health. These are all serious issues that seniors face, and just having a system in place that encourages a community feel has helped to reduce the dependence on the formal senior care system.

 

Martha’s Vineyard has set the tone for a helpful and unique approach when it comes to senior care. This model isn’t realistic at a universal level, but it does have a lot of components that we can take from it. For example, we should encourage the people in our lives to stay active. Seniors need to be engaging with the people around them and avoid isolation. Even an in-home caregiver can help to promote this. There is a lot of potential for this model to be adapted to the needs of your family, and while it won’t help everything, it can do a lot for the mental and physical health of your elderly mom or dad.

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