Much like the rest of the country, senior citizens in the Wood River Valley are leading much more active and independent lifestyles than in years past, said Brenda Shappee, executive director of the Blaine County Senior Connection.
This shift has much to do with the nations' approximately 78 million baby boomers, the oldest of whom will begin turning 60 this month, Shappee said.
In the coming years, the primary challenge for policy makers, local governments and nonprofit organizations will be to provide the services necessary to keep senior citizens connected to their communities and to keep them independent, she said.
Tackling the question of how to keep future senior citizens active and independent was the primary objective of a large conference Shappee attended in Washington, D.C., in December.
There, Shappee and approximately 1,200 other delegates from throughout the country converged for the fifth White House Conference on Aging. The mission of the conference attendees was to focus on the aging population of the U.S. and to make recommendations or resolutions to the President and Congress on national aging policies for the future.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, nominated Shappee to attend the conference.
Shappee said the event was a great way to meet and share ideas about aging with people from all corners of the United States. "It was an excellent opportunity," she said.
In addition to the list of resolutions conference delegates compiled, they also worked on ways to implement them on both the local and national levels.
While some of the delegates' recommendations, like those related to strengthening the Medicare and Medicaid programs, will require national leadership, many others will require a strong presence at the local level with various agencies and organizations, Shappee said.
Especially in places like the Wood River Valley, senior citizens want to maintain active lifestyles, Shappee said. Creating programs like ski clubs and hiking clubs for seniors is one way of helping them to keep active, she said. Making sure that adequate transportation exists is also important, Shappee said.
"The seniors of today, they want that," she said. "There's no reason we can't get the ball rolling. If we just keep our minds open there's nothing we can't do."
