Scheyett: How South Carolina can prepare for silver tsunami

Most people like to be prepared for what may come in the future, whether it is something good like a child’s wedding or something dangerous like a hurricane. Well, something is coming, soon, and South Carolina is not prepared.

Some call it the “silver tsunami,” others the “graying boomers.” Whatever moniker you choose, South Carolina has seen and will continue to see unprecedented growth in the number of older adults in our population, with increased health, social and daily living needs.

We are not nearly ready to meet them.

In 2014, more than 730,000 South Carolinians were age 65 and older. From 2000 to 2010, our older-adult population grew by 32 percent, putting us among the 10 states with the fastest growing older populations. It is expected that by 2029 our state’s older-adult population will exceed 1.1 million, with one in five South Carolinians 65 or older.

The need for services and supports for this growing population is enormous. While each individual is unique in his or her needs, our service system will need to grow in a range of home- and community-based services, support for family caregivers and residential-care options. Our current capacity will be no match for this growing need if we don’t prepare now.

This past year, the S.C. Institute for Medicine and Public Health convened a task force on long-term care to examine these issues and make actionable recommendations. The task force was comprised of more than 60 health-care providers, advocates and researchers.

I was privileged to be part of this group, and was heartened by the pragmatic and action-oriented recommendations the group made. These included specific recommendations to strengthen the system of long-term care, promote efficiencies in the system, ensure an adequate and trained workforce, protect vulnerable adults, support family caregivers and promote choice and independence. I hope our leaders turn these recommendations into action.

As a university educator, I know the universities are committed to educating the workforce to serve older adults — in social work, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health. I know we need to redouble our efforts, given the growing needs in our state. But I also know that workforce isn’t enough. We all need to be focused on expanding the entire service system in efficient and effective ways.

Our current system is disjointed, confusing and simply lacks the capacity to meet the current — much less future — demands. Older adults deserve to live with dignity in their homes for as long as possible and, if needed, in safe and comfortable residential settings. Family members deserve support in ensuring that their loved ones are well-cared for.

Among all the competing and very real needs in South Carolina, sometimes the voice of older adults can get lost. My hope is that the long-term-care report will remind people about the important and growing needs of our older adults and move us all to action. We need to grow and prepare our service system for the coming silver tsunami. We need to do this now for our parents and grandparents and, soon, for ourselves.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 1:41 AM with the headline "Scheyett: How South Carolina can prepare for silver tsunami."