Published in the June 6 – 19, 2018 issue of Morgan Hill Life
The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce will be convening the area’s senior services providers to form a Morgan Hill Council on Aging with a mission to enhance the lives of our senior population and their families.
The Chamber of Commerce has identified key industries within South Valley that provide services to an integral part of our city’s business and/or residential communities. “Senior Care, Housing and Quality of Life” has been recognized as one of those integral service areas.
Census data shows that the aging population older than 65 has grown upwards of 51 percent from 2010 to 2017 and is expected to continue. In fact, 2017 census data shows that more than 12.3 percent of residents are older than 65, accounting for more than 5,500 seniors.
With more younger families relocating to the South Valley, more aging adults than ever are looking toward retirement. Millennials are parents for 50 percent of today’s children and account for one million new mothers every year.
According to a recent National Retail Federation study, the grandparents of these “Generation Z” children will eventually relocate to close the “zip code gap” and enjoy closer proximity and more time with their families.
Newer senior living communities such as The Huntington and The Lodge, both along Butterfield Boulevard, have already benefited from this trend with 100 percent capacity. They have a long waiting list of interested seniors.
Also on Butterfield Boulevard, the Loma Clara Senior Memory Care Center will be the most recent addition to the senior housing developments when they open their doors with an estimated date of early 2019.
In the realm of rehabilitation, Pacific Hills Manor is a local skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility specializing in speeding recovery times from orthopedic surgery, stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to achieve the highest possible level of function.
Kenneth Tak, president of Fidelity Senior Solutions (doing business as Home Instead Senior Care), is quite aware of the rapidly expanding aging community in the South Valley region and beyond and has been providing non-medical senior care services to Morgan Hill and the surrounding communities for more than 23 years.
Tak echoed our sentiments when he said, “as Morgan Hill continues to transform itself into the preferred retirement community, there is an ever-present need to better serve the aging population.”
The first meeting of the Morgan Hill Council on Aging will be held in mid-June. For more information on the council or to register as a participant, please contact [email protected]. Now is the time to get involved.
Brittney Sherman is the Member and Community Engagement Director at the Chamber of Commerce. Reach her at (408) 779-9444 or at [email protected].
