Early in my career as a community pharmacist, most of the clients at my counter were older adults. The stories I heard about their daily health challenges continue to motivate me today. While many measures of senior health have improved over the past decades, the 2023 Senior Report demonstrates that gaps remain across a variety of interrelated areas. It is critical that we address the health of older adults through a holistic approach — not just in the clinical setting, but also in the home and the community.
In this year’s Senior Report, we see a range of trends we need to address. For example, millions of seniors are at risk for social isolation, poverty and physical inactivity continue to rise and volunteerism has declined. When local and national leaders use the data in this report to promote real-world solutions, they should look to senior centers as places that can effectively address many of these concerning trends.
As a hub for nutritional, financial and social support and a delivery site for wellness programs, senior centers are uniquely suited to meet older adults’ multifaceted needs. Senior centers can foster social connection and physical activity through activities like book clubs, dancing and poetry classes and volunteering, while also mitigating food insecurity — providing the only warm meal some older adults will receive all day — and helping older adults apply for federal, state and local benefits and assistance programs.
At the beginning of the pandemic, senior centers were forced to shut down the in-person versions of many of these services — but they did not stop supporting older adults through home-delivered meals and virtual programming, as well as COVID-19 vaccination efforts to help seniors get back to in-person participation. As the report’s findings on early death imply, centers lost to COVID-19 many of the older adults they once served. But many also adapted to reach even more older adults who may not be able to visit centers in person due to disabilities or caregiver responsibilities.
A “senior center without walls” is one model to meet older adults where they are — in person, online and/or at home — and address these pressing threats more comprehensively. While volunteers like Dianne Tucker see seniors experiencing a “great sense of joy [to be back] at the center” in-person, we must build on the progress of the past few years, including the continued increase in high-speed internet, by offering hybrid programming and digital literacy lessons.
It’s clear that the biggest issues this year’s Senior Report shows, from socioeconomic challenges to behavioral health, are intertwined and can’t be addressed by any one program or health professional. As we reimagine what “modern” senior care looks like going forward, we must empower senior centers to do what they do best and bring people together, from health providers and social workers to caregivers and volunteers, to tackle these health challenges holistically. By collaborating through senior centers and other channels, we can address the challenges we see in the data and improve well-being for all older Americans.