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The many shades of gray (cont.) Most are satisfied The high proportion of elderly here isn’t a case of wrinkled migrants flocking to the area, as they have to the Sunshine State. The local demographics were skewed by the loss of many thousands of young people during the economic downturn of the late 1970s and 1980s. Most elderly residents of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania, meanwhile, stayed in place. Combined with a low fertility rate among the remaining population, that difference in out-migration has resulted in a disproportionate elderly population, which is often viewed as a burden, though it provides benefits as well. The elderly population in Allegheny County, for instance, brings more than $167 million a month into the economy from Social Security benefits alone. Older adults also are better off than many people assume. The Kvorjaks don’t know of any neighbor in their working-class community who’s a shut-in, or even in a wheelchair. A national survey by Drexel University researchers this year found 90 percent of the elderly are satisfied with their lives. Social Security and Medicare have virtually guaranteed them a floor of income and health care that younger people can’t claim. The poverty rate among the elderly, 10.5 percent, is less than that of the overall population. Various studies and statistics show that older Americans are living longer and healthier than ever before and are capable of productivity long beyond retirement. Men who reach age 65 this year will live on average past 80. Women should last even longer, to at least 84. "There’s been a shift in expectations of what aging is like," said Dr. George Maddox, retired from heading the Center on Aging and Human Development at Duke University. "We have a new generation of older people who are better educated, more secure financially, in better health, and their attitudes are more positive about the aging process," Maddox said. "You don’t take your eye off the 15 to 20 percent who have problems, but you’re still left with a great majority of the aging population that looks and feels pretty good." Fewer than 5 percent of the elderly live in nursing homes. Of the remainder, fewer than one in eight have trouble with basic activities such as eating, bathing or dressing. That leaves plenty of others to baby-sit their grandchildren, run Meals on Wheels programs, plan church activities and fill tour buses. A diverse group
"I don’t let myself get lonely — I don’t have the time," said Irma Woodson, 72, a widow in Bedford Dwellings public housing, taking a break from a beginners’ computer course in her Hill District senior center. She serves as a volunteer companion to homebound seniors between activities in various social groups. "I tell my seniors, ‘Don’t sit around. Try to do something for yourself, and don’t sit here and look at the four walls,’ " Woodson said, acknowledging that not all of them listen to her. The varying reactions Woodson receives from her companions fit with the viewpoint expressed increasingly by gerontologists and geriatricians: The elderly are a diverse lot, and it would be a mistake to make too many generalizations about them, beyond steady improvements in life span, health and income confirmed by census reports and researchers. In the Pittsburgh area, that means there are older people from the professional ranks, like former school principal Norman Waldman of Waynesburg, 74, who consider old age a time of relaxation, hobbies, volunteering and travel, while still managing the longtime homes in which they raised families. "You get to realize that you don’t have to worry about the daily struggle any more," Waldman said of his contented retirement. "As a member of the golden community, I want to low-key everything really. Why get excited? That’s just going to raise my blood pressure, and I’m already taking pills for that." And then there are others still working, despite mounting health ailments, like Tony Janowski, 81, well-known as Lawrenceville’s "Tony the Tailor." Motorists passing on Butler Street honk in the pre-dawn hours when they see his familiar shop light on, indicating he’s sewing early just like he has for 65 years. He’s among about 12 percent of older people who either work or seek employment, and he says he can neither afford nor anticipate life without putting in a 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. workday.
"This is my routine — it’s not fancy," he said, sitting behind the counter of his shop, which is right across the street from Allegheny Cemetery. "If I quit, I might as well sign my death certificate." There are others who have been forced to give up longtime homes, like Jane McNair, 86, who broke her hip a year ago and entered Newhaven Court in Greensburg, one of the modern assisted-living facilities sprouting up in the suburbs and countryside. A well-off niece helps her pay a $2,600 monthly fee to receive a private apartment, housekeeping, meals, nursing assistance and other help, plus the kind of atmosphere that includes an elegant lobby with a grand piano. "I knew this was the best place for me," said the widow, using a wheelchair to get to the communal lunch of tortellini soup, three-bean salad and pasta. "I didn’t want to live with my children. They live a different lifestyle." McNair’s feelings are shared by many other older people. Most elderly still live in homes they own. Only one of eight, in the latest census count, lived with their children or other relatives, aside from a spouse. Who’s really old? Specialists on aging say the elderly should really be categorized into different age groups. The young-old like Waldman, from 65 to 75, are very much like the people they were in their younger years. The middle-old like Janowski, from 75 to 85, reach the stage where they will probably experience some health troubles and may benefit from government or informal services, but they can usually remain independent. The old-old like McNair, 85 and older, are the group who most often enter nursing homes or other congregate housing, fall prey to Alzheimer’s and require their children’s assistance. The 85-plus category is also the fastest-growing part of the nation’s population. In the 1995-2010 span, these old-old are supposed to grow from 3.6 million to 5.7 million, a 56 percent growth rate, compared with 13 percent growth for those ages 65-84. "Twenty years ago, I saw very few people at all over the age of 90. I see people over age 90 now every day," said Dr. Fred Rubin, a geriatrician at UPMC Shadyside, who finds many of these patients are in decent health. People older than 85 represented just 4 percent of the 65-plus population in 1900, but that has since climbed to nearly 12 percent. There has been a slowdown in the growth of younger members of the elderly population because so few babies were born during the Depression, a lull that will last until the baby boomers mature. Nevertheless, the region’s elderly will continue to become more frail as the old-old group keeps growing. Allegheny County’s population older than 65 is actually expected to decline by 30,000 residents between 1995 and 2010, but the subset older than 85 is projected to increase from 26,254 to 43,508. The frail elderly are the ones who put the biggest strains on government resources. State and local aging agencies have begun recognizing their needs by increasing assistance for in-home services, realizing that these old-old residents desperately want to stay out of institutions. Even though in-home care is less costly than institutions, Pennsylvania has lagged behind some other states in expanding in-home services. "We still have a ways to go to decrease our reliance on the most expensive form of care," Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Richard Browdie said. The state provides nursing homes with more than $2.5 billion annually in medical assistance reimbursements for residents who are poor or who have spent their assets to qualify for Medicaid coverage.
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