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Case Study

Long Term Strategic Planning: The Older Dominion Project

There's a huge change taking place across the country, and in Virginia, that no one wants to talk about. The population is rapidly growing older. One day soon, people will call Virginia the "Old Dominion" and really mean it.

By 2025, Virginia's population over the age of 65 will have doubled to more than 1.4 million citizens. That's about 20% of the total population. One out of five people across the commonwealth will be older than the traditional retirement age -- and Virginia isn't ready.

Already there are shortages in affordable senior housing, professional healthcare workers, and funds for care management and home care, to name just a few essential support elements. If left unchanged, entitlement programs and health and social service delivery systems will be stretched financially beyond the breaking point. Moreover, those programs, created for traditional seniors, may be less relevant in the past. Boomers are attacking the challenge of growing older very differently and will have different requirements.

While Virginia's governmental agencies and non-profit organizations are invested in providing solutions and services, it is time to make dramatic shifts in policy making and planning to ensure that all people age with dignity and security. Part of the challenge is changing the mindset that older people are liabilities, not assets. So, let's acknowledge the impending age wave, identify its impact on major areas such as healthcare, and start preparing for it.

As Virginia is our home state, the Boomer Project initiated a strategic planning initiative -- the Older Dominion Project -- inviting Virginia's business leaders, government agencies, universities, non-profits and philanthropic organizations serving the aging population to come together to recommend long-term strategies to get Virginia ready for the demographic tsunami.

We have recruited two cabinet-level offices, AARP, eight Virginia-based Fortune 500 companies, all of the top universities, and numerous statewide associations and organizations to serve as founding members of The Older Dominion Project. The next step in our planning process will include a comprehensive marketing study to gain a shared perspective and accurate reading on Virginia's "state of aging preparedness."

Our hope is that the final outcome of The Older Dominion Project will be a viable, long-term plan to help Virginia successfully ride the age wave.