The State of Missouri Master Plan on Aging, "Aging with Dignity," was released earlier this month. The roadmap produced by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is designed to help Missourians age with dignity, safety and connection, according to the agency.
The Master Plan on Aging was established by then Governor Mike Parson by executive order in early 2023. It was developed with input from more than 10,000 residents statewide, according to DHSS, including older adults, caregivers, individuals with disabilities and service providers.
"Missouri, like the rest of the nation, is aging, said Mindy Ulstad, chief of the Bureau of Senior Programs at the agency. "And we know that the number of Missourians is going to continue to grow with estimates showing that, by 2030 to 2034, older adults will outnumber children for the first time in our history. And so, the plan is meant to be a 10-year roadmap for both local entities and state government to be able to plan for that growing, aging population."
In 2023, Missourians over age 60 comprised more than 25% of the state's population, according to the plan. And more than 30% of the state's residents who were 18 and older reported living with a disability, which was higher than the national average.
Ulstad said Parson wanted Missouri to be a leader in working to ensure services are in place in the future for older adults and those with disabilities and their caregivers.
The plan outlines seven domains for aging well: Housing and aging in place; transportation and mobility; whole person health; safety and security; family caregivers; daily life and employment; and long-term services and supports. It offers a local implementation toolkit for residents, organizations and local leaders interested in shaping age-friendly communities.
It's meant to guide action, for anyone who contributes to shaping the future for the state's aging population.
"This is a call for all Missourians to do what they can to make the state a better place for healthy aging for all," the plan states.
Ulstad said they knew there would not be a lot of funding to implement the plan, "especially in the initial years." Because of that, each of the action items it contains is labeled as low, moderate or complex, depending on what it takes to implement them, "so there's low and moderate action items that really won't take financial funding that we can make sure that we implement in the first couple of years," she said.
The plan places an emphasis on family caregivers, according to Ulstad, because "family caregiving really is the backbone of our public health at this point." She said there aren't enough paid caregivers who work for companies that provide care for older adults, and they know that family members are going to be taking on more and more responsibility to care for their loved ones.
"We need to make sure that we're caring for those family caregivers," she said, "because we all know, if you don't take care of yourselves, you can't take care of someone else."
The project was led by an advisory council with seven subcommittees. Ulstad said there were around 350 individuals that worked either on the council or a subcommittee. More than 7,600 Missourians completed a statewide needs assessment survey to help shape the plan, and there were several town halls. She said they also added an ad hoc advisory council for individuals with lived experience.
The advisory council and subcommittees will continue to work to implement the plan and make sure it’s being followed. Anyone interested in joining can contact DHSS.
"I hope that everybody would just look at it (the plan) and see how it might be able to be implemented locally with their own governments," said Ulstad, "and to try to make Missouri the best place to age."
