Role of elderly expanding in U.S. The ratio of senior citizens to the total population is increasing yearly, and will soon have "a profound effect on the labor force, politics and economics of the counties and cities most affected." This is the opinion of M.E. "Mike McQueen, director of the Area Agency On Aging for the Panhandle Re gional Planning Commission. McQueens opinions are based on the results of a recent study which shows that on a national basis senior citizens-those 60 and over-will comprise at least 15 percent of the total population in the United States by the year 2020. The report indicated that the Panhandle area of Texas could reach that ratio by 1980, said McQueen," and I believe we are already there." Based on the 1970 census figures, he pointed out, many counties in the Texas Panhandle were well above the national average ratio of 10 percent. "In that census Armstrong County re corded a 24 percent ratio of senior citize ns; Donley County had 29 percent, Hall 25 percent, Wheeler 26 percent, and Collingsworth 28 percent." he said. Nearly all of the Texas Panhandle counties are well above the national ratio, "some with as much as 50 percent at this time," said McQueen. By the end of this century, 28 percent of the people living in the Texas Panhandle could be age 55 and over. At that time, based on information published this year by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, 10 percent of the 55 and over group will be age 90 or over: 30 percent will be age 80 or over; 43 percent will be age 75 or over; 57 percent will be age 70 or over; and 71 percent will be over the age of 65. Stated another way, said McQueen, ir. 1970 the population of the Texas Panhandle that was between the ages of 20 and 54 stood at 174,682, or 51.9 percent of the total population. The ratio of of younger adults to older adults was 6-to-1 in 1970. By 1995 the number of persons under 20 could equal the number of people over age 54, he said the report shows The number of adults between the ages of 20 and 54-the potential caretakers of both the very young and the very old-will be 197,879 leaving a ratio of younger adults to older adults of 2-to-1. Considering that the persons under age 19 also represent a dependency burden for at least 40 to 50 percent of the population aged 20 to 54, the remaining adults will represent a ratio to those 55 and over of only 1/2-to-1. This change in the ratio of elderly to the total population will more than likely result in the emergence of more multipurpose senior citizens centers where the aged can remain more independent and healthy than they might in rest homes or other types of institutions for the elderly. The drastic change will also bring about a new look in the field of labor where a person may develop new skills at various stages in his career. Most of the senior citizens of the new century will need to work-some on a reduced basis-"in order just to live," said McQueen. Industry will be called upon to implement new training programs within their area to retrain their older workers in skills more suited to their advanced ages. "Some industries are doing this already, "McQueen said. A large number of the senior citizens will be retrained through the facilities of community junior colleges, such as Amarillo College, Frank Phillips College, Clarendon College, Way M.E. "MIKE" McQUEEN land Baptist, and others. Mid-career changes will be commonplace after the turn of the century, he said, as will late-year career changes. As the huge population created by the Post-World War II baby boom reaches age 65, the ratio of senior citizens to the rest of the population will increase even more rapidly. For any information on the changing adult population, contact McQuuen at the PRPC office in Amarillo. Calendar of Events PSA Meetings Monday, December 11, 1978 PSA 1 — Dallam, Hartley, Moore, Sherman ⚫ 7:00 p.m., Southwestern Public Service Conference Room 121 East 6th Street, Dumas, Texas Tuesday, December 12, 1978 PSA 3 - Castro, Deaf Smith, Oldham, Parmer, Swisher 7:00 p.m., City Commission Chamber Room 201 East Jones, Dimmitt, Texas Wednesday, December 13, 1978 PSA 2 Hansford, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscoma, Ochiltree, Roberts 7:00 p.m., B and B Industries Conference Room Perryton Highway, north edge of town, Spearman, Texas Thursday, December 14, 1978 PSA 5- Briscoe, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hall, Wheeler 7:00 p.m., Clarendon Country Club, Clarendon, Texas Monday, December 18, 1978 PSA 4- - Armstrong, Carson, Potter, Randall 7:00 p.m., First Floor Conference Room, Amarillo Building, 3rd and Polk, Amarillo, Texas PRPC given grant for health program In an effort to improve health care services to the rural communities of the Texas Panhandle, a new program has recently been funded for $175,000 and placed under the direction of the Panhandle Rural Health Corporation of the PRPC. Heading the program is Kenneth Rascoe, director of health services with PRPC. PRPC was awarded a $175,000 grant October 1,1978, from the De partment of Health, Education & Welfare's Bureau of Community Services, for the purpose of assisting rural communities with their health care services. The purpose of the funds, said Rascoe, is to develop a health care system that will initially serve Armstrong, Briscoe, Donley, Hall and Swisher counties of the Texas Panhandle, by providing personnel and services not presently available. Application has also been made, says Rascoe, for professional staffing through the National Health Service Corps. The National Health Service Corps is comprised of health profes sionals who have received scholar The Panhandle Rural Health Corporation is directed by an 18-member board headed by Jim Hubbard, prestdent of Claude; Jack Robertson,vice president from Silverton; Mabry Greenhaw of Silverton, treasurer; and George Berry of Memphis, secretary. The 18-member board meets each month, rotating its meeting place among the member towns. "Each county within the Corpora tion has different health-related problems," says Rascoe. Under the program, certain specialists-such as doctors, physical therapists, nurses, and others would travel from a primary base on specific days of the week to the various clinics in the area where such specialists are needed, he said. Since there is a very high ratio of senior citizens to the adult population in these communities, he said, one of the primary objectives will be to place special emphasis on health education and preventive medicine pro ships and loans through Federal programs, as well as to address any oth KENNETH RASCOE grams, and in turn have agreed to serve as general practioners in rural communities throughout the United States. "It is estimated that the sharing of health care resources among the rural areas will ultimately result in services that could not be provided by individual efforts," said Rascoe, who served as an administrator on the Amarillo Hospital District until 1975. er problems they face medically. 3. To Emphasize programs of prevention and health education. The Board of Directors of the Panhandle Rural Health Corporation will be sponsoring meetings to discuss services that are wanted in a community, said Rascoe, who has been a health planner with PRPC since early this year. "All persons who are residents of these communities are invited to contact the Board, and to participate in the business meetings of the Board, he said. 46-585 079-31 New criminal justice exec assumes post The brand new Criminal Justice Coordinator for the Panhandle Re gional Planning Commission-which encompasses all of the Texas Panhandle counties-is Melanie Kinderdine, a recent graduate of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The main thrust of her job at the present time is to visit the entire region as quickly as possible in order to get to know the people and their problems on a first hand basis. The Criminal Justice Advisory Board, which meets each month, has the task of reviewing all requests for federal and state grants connected with law enforcement from this region This year, the CJC Board is in the enviable position of getting more money than it had anticipated, said Ms. Kinderdine, and as a result is able to fund more programs than it had originally planned CJC activities are funded each year by Congress through the Law En forcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), she said. Funds for LEAA projects are usually cut each year. and the State of Texas made it's annual budget based on that expectation. But Congress in fact gave more funds to the State of Texas this year. which in turn distributes the money to the various planning regions in the state. That, plus the fact that the state freed up some deobligation funds (state money which had not utilized as allocated funds). The total allocated for this region, she said, was $198,727, for the entire 25-county area." The State s normal budegt calls for four different programs to be funded with CJC funds They include: Law Then, in October, the CJC Advisory Board met to set priorities on a regional basis. The largest requests from law enforcement agencies involved acquisition of new radio equipment, as well as various pieces of technical equipment such as cameras and fingerprint units. "It looks very favorable," said Ms. Kinderdine, "that the State will approve the new budget. This budget comes closest to meeting the guideleines set forth by the State Criminal Justice program than any we have ever submitted before. Overall it is better-balanced than any prior budget request," she said. agency Health systems benefits entire region The Health Systems Agency of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission is designed to plan and implement ideas which promote the health of everyone living within the 25 counties of the Texas Panhandle. This is the definition of the duties of the HSA as defined by Amarillo attorney Jerry Kolander, who serves as president of the HSA's board of directors. The agency is also designed to encourage health service care at a minimum cost to everybody, and to prom. ote cooperation with all health providers and educate the health consumer as to what is available and how to obtain it, says Kolander. HSA is governed by a board consisting of 30-members, he said, each of whom has been selected in accordance with Federal regulations regard ing the number of health consumers and health providers who must be included. The HSA basically stems from the Department of Health, Education & Welfare, with responsibility going to each state and subsequently to each local area through such organizations as HSA. "One of the main jobs of the board," he says, "is to review all applications for grants involving Federal funds. This procedure is accomplished through the work of a review committee and by the HSA staff," he explained "The final decisions for acceptance or rejection of the application, bowever, are made by open vote at the HSA's regular monthly meetings -which are always open to the public," he said. The board relles strongly on the work of the HSA staff of which Eddie Melin is director. "The HSA staff is highly informed and knowledegeable," said Kolander, "and renders a great service to the area served by HSA." In futher explaining the application review procedure, Kolander said the first step involves a screening of the application by the HSA staff. The application is then presented to the re view committee which is a subcommittee of the HSA Board of Direc tors), and then the application is reviewed by the board with recommendations from the review committee. "It is a pretty legalistic procedure. Very similar to a court proceeding in which witnesses may be sworn and testimony taken and presented. "The procedure, however, discourages any political or other motivational influence from interfering with the board's decisions, "he emphasized. The State of Texas is divided into 12 HSA's, said Kolander "and this one has working agreements with all contiguous HSA's in the state, as well as those adjacent HSA's in New Mex. ico and Oklahoma." Since the first of the year, the HSA board has been involved mainly in planning operations. "We are now starting to implement some of those plans," he said. Among the programs being discussed around the Panhandle are ideas involving people helping themseleves such as Wellness Programs, which were explored recently by spe cialists from other parts of the country during a seminar here. "People need to learn how to maintain their own health, he said. "And I would also like to point out that those programs were open to be public without charge, as are all of our programs and meetings," said Kolander. The Amarillo attorney, who has been involved with a variety of civic problems and studies over the past years, says be believes that the HSA is the one source to look to for the development of new health services and facilities. To make use of existing services and facilities, and to see the rural areas adequately provided with health care and to alleviate the shortage of doctors." There is a definite need in the Panhandle area for the remodeling of some health facilities, for new equipment and the expansion of facilities and services at others, he said. When application of funds are made to the HSA governing board, some of the criteria they feel must be met include: the necessity for such a program or service; the fact that it is not a waste of public funds; not a duplication of someone elses efforts; and that it will be beneficial to the overall medical delivery of the area. "HSA is providing a service that |