Plan to Age Better

Letter to the Editor
Kansas City Star
July 13, 2009

We were delighted that issues of aging warranted Ellen Goodman’s attention (7/5, Opinion, Unprepared for this age of millions).

Kansas City is already engaging a host of folks in these issues well beyond taking the car keys away from an elderly loved one. We are designing efforts that could keep seniors mobile by creating aging friendly environments and finding safer passage for younger and older people.

About two dozen organizations are addressing these issues through an initiative called KC4 Aging in Community. The goal is to plan today for tomorrow’s aging population, which we now know will more than double in the next 20 years in Kansas City.

If we shed our Peter Pan notions of never growing old and begin crafting solutions in Kansas City neighborhoods that recognize geriatric genius, our foothold on the future will find steadier ground.

We might just find the journey a little less shaky and a little more rewarding.

John Carney
Vice President, Aging and End of Life
Center for Practical Bioethics