Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aging And Senior Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Peninsula Community Foundation warns York County to prepare for rapidly growing 60-plus population
Summary
Peninsula Community Foundation CEO Adelia Thompson presented a regional aging study to the York County Board of Supervisors on March 4, saying the 60-plus population on the Virginia Peninsula has nearly doubled over 25 years and will drive higher demand for health care, home support and emergency services.
Adelia Thompson, chief executive officer of the Peninsula Community Foundation, told the York County Board of Supervisors on March 4 that the foundation’s pilot study on aging shows the Peninsula’s population age 60 and older has nearly doubled over 25 years and is forecast to grow further through 2030.
Thompson said the foundation convened municipal partners to fund the pilot and worked with the Peninsula Agency on Aging and outside researchers to compile the report. “Our job is to be the guy behind the guy,” Thompson said, describing the foundation’s role in connecting donors, nonprofits and government to address community needs.
The study highlights multiple practical pressures for county governments: a projected increase in older adults’ use of emergency medical services, higher demand for in‑home help and caregiving, and fiscal effects from an aging tax base. Thompson noted Give Local 757, the foundation’s annual day of giving, has raised more than $12.6 million in 12 years and that the foundation has channeled more than $37 million into the Peninsula through endowments and funds.
Margaret (social services), speaking during the presentation, described current adult-protective-services caseloads in York County: “As of today, we have 262 active adult services” and the department also handles ongoing guardianship reports and related expenses. She told supervisors that investigators and guardianship work already strain local resources.
Supervisors and staff discussed implications for local services and the workforce. County officials said EMS calls are concentrated in older age groups and that the county’s community paramedicine and mobile-integrated health programs are intended to reduce avoidable calls by connecting residents to services.
Thompson urged county leaders to use the study as a starting point: identify which audiences need this information, coordinate messages across municipalities, and pursue targeted next steps such as workforce strategies, housing options and “age‑friendly” living improvements.
The presentation prompted board members to ask for further, locally specific analysis and for the foundation to share the study widely with business, health care and education partners.
The report was described as a pilot of the foundation’s newly formed Center for Community Research; Thompson said the project was paid for by the Peninsula municipalities and conducted with researchers led by Elizabeth Hughes.
