New Hampshire's Department of Health and Human Services is holding 13 listening sessions throughout the state to hear the concerns of seniors.
The sessions are so the state can collect public input before its next Plan on Aging, which is required to receive federal support for things like delivered meals and in-home care.
Some common themes at the session in Keene on Friday included isolation in rural areas and a lack of affordable, senior-friendly housing.
Adult Protective Services Programs Operations Administrator Rachel Lakin was on hand to present the group gathered at Cheshire Medical Center with some statistics. Lakin said, for the last fiscal year, her department investigated about 3,100 calls. “Of those, roughly two-thirds are for self-neglect,” Lakin said.
Christine Parshall said she's a caregiver for her 84-year-old mother and worries about transportation since moving to a more rural town.
"We cook the meals, we do the laundry, we drive her to medical appointments,” Parshall said. “But we work... and now I've placed her in a position where she's isolated during the day."
Susan Ashworth is with Home Healthcare Hospice & Community Services in Keene. She said retaining a workforce of in-home healthcare workers is also a major concern.
"Because of state reimbursement being so low, we are only offering a wage that is not a livable wage for these people at the lower end of the scale," said Ashworth.
The starting pay of $9 an hour isn't commensurate with the type of work required from those who care for seniors, according to Ashworth.
The state’s next Plan on Aging is due summer 2019.
A full list of listening sessions is available here.
DHHS is also asking older residents to talk a survey, found here.
