WELLINGTON COUNTY – The aging population of the Wellington-Dufferin Guelph region is facing several challenges, according to a report that will go before public health on Wednesday.
According to the low-income measure, after-tax, older adults are more likely to live in low income (8.8 per cent) compared to both youth ages 0 to 17 (8.2 per cent) and adults ages 18 to 54 in the WDG region.
The report goes on to say older adults are much more likely to not have a high school diploma or equivalent than those ages 25 to 54.
It also states those aged 65 years and older now outnumber those aged 0 – 14 years in the region for the first time ever, and that in Canada, people over the age of 65 account for approximately 18% of the population but they consume about 45% of all public health care spending.
Overall, older adults accounted for 34.6 per cent of ED visits in WDG with 22.8 per cent being from the 75-plus age group this year.
To address challenges faced by older adults, public health say they aim to provide evidence-based data and strategies to community partners on the diverse needs of the aging local population.
The information will be received by public health staff at the meeting beginning at 2 p.m.
