skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report Highlights Challenges to Health of Older Americans

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 25, 2021   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Even before the pandemic, seniors were experiencing increasing mental- and behavioral-health challenges, according to a new report.

The annual report from the UnitedHealth Foundation showed between 2016 and 2019, there were increases in drug-related deaths, suicide and frequent mental stress among people 65 and older nationwide.

Dr. Rhonda Randall, executive vice president and chief medical officer at UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual, noted although the numbers varied geographically and there were disparities between racial and ethnic groups, the trends were further exacerbated by COVID-19.

"We saw a risk of social isolation continue to increase in this year's report," Randall reported. "We know that there is a significant correlation between social isolation and overall health and, in particular, behavioral health."

The data showed seniors in Florida saw a 28% increase in frequent physical distress in the three years before the pandemic. However, the state's seniors also had the nation's highest rate of access to federal SNAP benefits for low-income seniors, coming in at number one.

Jocelyne Fliger, president and CEO of Elder Care Services, an aging services nonprofit serving Leon County for more than 50 years, said they had to quickly pivot to find new ways to keep the area's seniors active and engaged.

"The pandemic: We found a lot more seniors becoming even more isolated," Fliger emphasized. "We tried to address this through pivoting some of our programs, making telephone reassurance calls. That was one way to try to break down that social-isolation barrier."

The report also showed a higher percentage of seniors in Florida with high-speed internet and the state ranks in the top three for community support expenditures.

Randall noted there were more bright spots in the national data.

"In the good category, flu vaccinations were up in 2019 versus the two-year period prior to that by 6% nationally," Randall confirmed.

By 2050, people older than 65 are expected to be about one-fifth of the total U.S. population. The authors hope the 2021 Senior Report will help leaders set future public-health priorities.

Disclosure: United Healthcare contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021