Retirement News : Seniors : High costs of housing, medicine hurt seniors

High costs of housing, medicine hurt seniors

Date Added: 08-08-2005

SAN MATEO — Seniors and caregivers face an array of problems as San Mateo County's population heads toward its golden years, experts say.

Topping the list of troubles is the lack of affordable housing, limited nursing home spaces, the high cost of medical care and a limited number of geriatric specialists.

"We don't have a great system in place do deal with these issues," said Dr. Susan Ehrlich, medical director at San Mateo Medical Center's senior care center.

While the county's general population is expect to rise 16 percent between 2000 and 2040, the over-60 population is expected to double, Ehrlich said. But the county's over-80 population, which is expected to grow by about 150 percent by 2040, will dwarf even that.

San Mateo senior Margie Alexander knows firsthand the difficulty of finding affordable housing. "I had to move into the Rotary Hacienda four years ago because I just couldn't' afford [my rent]," Alexander said. The Rotary Hacienda, which has 50 one- and two-bedroom apartments, is one of the few complexes to offer low-income housing for seniors in the area.

After living in her 22nd Avenue apartment for more than 33 years and watching as the rent cut into her limited income at the rate of about $1,000 a month, Alexander applied for the Rotary Hacienda's housing lottery and got in after just a couple of months. "I was fortunate, but some people have had to wait two or three years."

Seniors who need assisted-living facilities face a different problem than Alexander: the high cost of nursing care. "If you can afford $5,000 a month there are places for you to go, if you can't there are almost no places," Ehrlich said. Many seniors end up moving to nursing facilities in the Central Valley, hours away from their families, making visitation difficult, officials said.

Among the top complaints from the seniors she sees on a regular basis is the skyrocketing cost of medicine, said Nancy McGinnis, senior community service supervisor for the San Mateo Senior Center. "To get affordable medications for seniors is very difficult," McGinnis said. "That's why you hear about seniors going to Canada or using the Internet."

Geriatric specialists are in short supply in the county, officials said. The Ron Robinson Senior Care Center at the county hospital — with just 11 full-time staff members, including three medical doctors and four nurses — is the only such facility in the area, Ehrlich said.

Since opening in March 2004, the center has seen about 1,600 patients and accommodated about 6,500 visits. That demand is expected to increase dramatically in coming years, Ehrlich said, highlighting the need for similar senior care facilities before the county reaches a crisis point.

For More Information:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/08/04/peninsula/20050804_pe05_housing.txt