Marcia Lieberman has spent the last 10 years of the nearly 70 she has been married caring for her husband, Bill, who has Alzheimer’s disease. She feeds him, bathes him, navigates complicated systems to secure support services for him, and she fiercely protects his dignity as a once well-known professional in the community. She is a caregiver, and she is not alone here. Beaver County has one of the oldest populations in the country, and with nearly 20 percent of its residents now age 65 and older, the median age is eight years higher than that of the United States. The county is spread out, has transportation and other infrastructure challenges and its younger generations are not coming home after college, opting for Pittsburgh and beyond. In fact, local government officials have been cautioned by a nationally renowned city planner who did consulting work here that the “silver tsunami” is on its way, and Beaver County is not ready for it. That was our call to action. We started planning in October 2013 for a year-long series that would dissect the issues surrounding Beaver County’s challenges. We knew we had the obvious health and medical issues that come with aging, but we also looked at development, personal and government financial hurdles, supports and services and just everyday life, which has greatly affected members of the sandwich generation who are raising their own families while taking care of parents and grandparents. Health and Wellness Reporter Jenny Wagner wrote more than two dozen stories, and with the help of editors and a digital team, built up a dedicated page on The Times’ website that stands as a resource for readers, where they can learn more about the local issues as well as find a wealth of easy-to-understand information on programs and services, notices of community events and more. The web page also was home to two incredibly moving video components that accompanied the Alzheimer’s and dementia stories in June, and an end-of-life story in December. The series found that while most people are aware of our rapidly shifting demographics, the local response has been slow-going. Our work has spurred numerous conversations among government leaders. The issue comes up in board meetings, public meetings, at holiday parties and over coffee at local breakfast spots. It has gotten political leaders’ attention and become an election issue, both statewide and locally. As Beaver County’s economic growth potential rises with the oil and natural gas industry and with the possibility of Shell Chemicals building a plant here, the timing for addressing these major concerns never has been better.
