Already the sixth oldest state in the U.S., New Hampshire is growing older at a rate higher than the national trend. And an aging demographic could affect many different areas of New Hampshire life - the economy and jobs, health care, housing and community dynamics.
This week, NHPR explores this demographic trend, from the positive and negative implications of an aging state to what, if anything, the state is doing to prepare for this change.
This series was developed in part by responses we received through NHPR's new Public Insight Network. If you have thoughts or comments on this series, we hope you will post them on NHPR.org.
This story was awarded Second Place in the 2007 Best Series category by the New Hampshire Associated Press Broadcasters Association.
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| Demographers agree that New Hampshire's population is growing older. What's still being debated is how broad the trend is and how much of an impact it will have. We'll explore how New Hampshire is growing old, the reasons behind it, and how it may affect the state. |
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| Some say the bigger challenge with an aging population is not the influx of older people, but the lack of a younger generation. We'll look at how and why younger Granite Staters are staying or leaving, what implications they may have, and what some in New Hampshire are doing to ensure residents in their 20's and 30's stay in the state. |
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| As we grow older, almost all of us have to deal with failing recollections. Not every case is extreme, but dementia and Alzheimer's can be the hardest thing a family must go through. We'll explore memory loss through the eyes of playwright Barbara Hammond. Her play "Norman and Beatrice: A Marriage in Two Acts" tells the story of an elderly couple dealing with Alzheimer's disease. |
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| Companies are rushing in to the state to meet the increasing demand for in-home personal care by graying baby boomers. But these companies cater to private-pay clients. The services are harder to come by for lower-income seniors.
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| An aging New Hampshire along with constant medical breakthroughs equals a state that has more people living longer with chronic conditions. But is New Hampshire prepared to care for an aging population? Will we have enough resources, and if so, how will we pay for them? We'll look at how the state is preparing for the caring of our state's aging population. |
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| They're the ones caught in the middle, parents who care both for their children and their own parents. As a larger number of older individuals moves to - or back - to New Hampshire to be close to their families, what is the state doing to possibly prepare and aid them? |
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| As New Hampshire's population ages, more and more calls for an ambulance are coming from senior citizens. But many of those calls aren’t really emergencies.
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| Seniors have more time to volunteer, be politically active and use their years of institutional knowledge to teach and assist historical societies. But seniors can only add their "social capital" to communities if those communities are accessible in terms of transportation, services and access to restaurants and the arts. |
Memory loss photo courtesy Flickr.com user kk+.
