Even the most independent among us, if fortunate to live long enough, may experience a decline in mobility or health that can strip away our independence and diminish the quality of our lives. Great advances in medicine have extended our average life expectancy to a record high of 78.7 years. Living longer means more years spent in the struggles that accompany old age. Add to that the increase in geographic mobility of our families and the result is millions of seniors left behind, hungry and alone.
Headlines alert us to the impact of the aging of America. The “silver tsunami” or “age wave” is already here as over 10,000 Baby Boomers reach the age of 65 every single day. One quarter of today’s 65-year-olds will live past the age of 90 and will experience many of their daily chores turning into insurmountable everyday challenges. These seniors already represent the fastest growing population segment in the U.S.
