This former coal-mining town usually isn’t a trendsetter.
Located 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Pottsville, Pa., with about 17,000 residents, doesn’t have cellular phone towers. Doughnuts — not bagels — are the preferred breakfast treat. And don’t look for a Starbucks.
“We’re still getting them accustomed to flavored coffee,” chuckles Mary Ann Price, who runs Sage Coffeehouse & Tea Garden in the town’s historic downtown.
But the Pottsville area is two decades ahead of the nation in one unique manner. A quarter of its residents are older than 60 — far more than most regions of the country, except for Florida, Arizona and pockets of the Midwest.
One in four U.S. residents is expected to be older than 64 in 2030, as Baby Boomers gray and become the largest elderly generation ever. Their era, from 2011 until at least 2050, will transform the nation’s health system, economy and culture, many say.
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Those who are already demographically at that point say other cities can benefit from how they are handling the demands of an older population. Sure, Baby Boomers are expected to be different from today’s elderly. But there are many issues in housing, transportation and family relations that the two generations will share, some say.
“Have cities and states done enough to prepare for this inevitable increase in the elderly population that you see in a few states like Florida or Pennsylvania? The answer clearly is no,” said Sara E. Rix, a senior policy adviser at AARP and co-author of “Life in an Older America.” “Some cities have had to look at these issues but for most, there is a bunch of things we have not even begun to articulate about what an aging population means.”
Wedged into the hills and deep valleys of eastern Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County is a stark contrast to bustling Philadelphia.
Everyone knows everyone else at the busy Dunkin Donuts on Saturday night. Because being “new to town” lasts five years, most residents have known each other for 20 or 30 years.
“People know you around here — that’s nice. But the problem with this area is no new young people and they don’t do anything to keep them,” said Lou Fernando, 61, eating dinner with his wife, Barbara, 61, at the Pottsville Diner.
The Fernandos had just left their daughter’s house a few miles away. Like many in Schuylkill County, the Fernandos are depending on nearby family members to help them in their senior years.
Family obligation has kept Pottsville Police Chief Dale Repp in the area where the population is shrinking and the annual median income is less than $23,000.
His 82-year-old mother has a pacemaker and many health problems.
“I’ve had opportunities to leave the area and there are opportunities I would have sought,” Chief Repp said. “But I can’t even think about it. It’s important to me to be near her.”
He and his mother have argued recently over her ability to live on her own.
If everyone’s son were like Repp, Marie Beauchamp’s job would be a lot easier.
As director of Schuylkill County’s office of senior services, Beauchamp and her staff field calls every day from adult children who can’t get Mom or Dad to the doctor because they don’t live in the area.
“I get a lot of calls from a son or daughter in California saying, `Gee, my Mom’s alone and I need to get her somewhere. Can you take her?”‘ Beauchamp said.
Beauchamp worries about the trend of families becoming more far-flung, shifting more family responsibility to county caseworkers.
There are 270 seniors on the county waiting list for everything from transportation to adult day care to home repairs. The calls, half of which result in a visit from a caseworker, have increased in number and severity since 1997.
The increase in calls and the worsening condition of clients, county officials suspect, are because of increases in the number of people who are 85 years and older. That age group is the fastest growing in Schuylkill County and nationwide, according to the Census Bureau, projected to quadruple by 2020.
While the waiting list grows, so do other problems. The demand for rides exceeds the number of drivers that the contracted service is willing to pay. That means more calls from seniors who have spent the whole day on the van or in a doctor’s office, awaiting pick-up or drop-off.
Beauchamp’s staff is trying to recruit more volunteer drivers. They’ve already got dozens.
Beauchamp’s 85-year-old mother was recently picked up at 7 a.m. and rode in the van for nearly three hours while others were picked up and dropped off. Her 10 a.m. appointment was over by 2 p.m. but she wasn’t picked up until much later and got home at 4 p.m.
“She was exhausted — she can’t handle it. She’s had a bypass,” Beauchamp said. “I said that’s it — you need to call me from now on. But she likes to stay independent.”
Beauchamp is seeking grants to fund more pick-ups. She is also talking with doctors and hospitals to create a system that clusters appointments for patients who are headed to the same medical firm. But those are minor, temporary solutions for a growing problem, she adds.
Doctors’ offices, urology offices and ear and eye clinics dot a major artery through the county. With a population of 149,000, the county has four acute care hospitals and 23 nursing homes or assisted care centers, including four specialized Alzheimer’s units. There are more than 15 home-health agencies and four adult day care centers.
There are other signs that point to an older population.
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The local newspaper gives obituaries prominence on page two. But county officials say that many of Schuylkill County’s seniors don’t stay busy, living alone and staying isolated because they can’t drive. Depression — one of the most common health problems among seniors — is widespread in the area.
Combating isolation and depression among seniors was listed as a main goal in the county’s four-year plan. The area’s suicide rate is significantly higher than the national average, and most victims are men age 80 and older
Despite the problems, officials and residents say they value having an older population. They boast about their sense of community, volunteer pool and base of knowledge and experience that younger cities with shorter-term residents don’t have.
“Senior citizens are not seen as a drain here,” said John Phillips, head of the county’s human services. “Counties that don’t have that expertise can really miss out.”