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Do sidewalks in Pierce County meet handicap-accessible requirements? That’s the question county officials are answering with the public’s help.
The community was invited to public meetings in November in Spanaway, Puyallup and Tacoma that county officials hosted as part of an effort to bring pedestrian facilities located in public right-of-way in unincorporated areas of the county into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Citizens were asked for feedback on which types of issues pose the biggest impact to accessibility, such as obstructions in the sidewalk or steep ramps, and which locations are most important for the public to be able to reach without barriers to accessibility, such as schools, libraries and shopping centers.
“This is an opportunity for our community to share their input on bringing existing pedestrian facilities into ADA compliance,” said Brian Stacy, Public Works and Utilities county engineer. “We will then develop a transition plan that will help us prioritize future projects to bring the facilities into compliance.”
In addition to community input, the county will use ADA guidelines and standards to identify project locations with the highest need, a spokeswoman said. The plan will guide the county when scheduling projects and requesting and allocating funding to complete the project list.
Ultimately, all existing pedestrian facilities must be brought into compliance with ADA. The plan won’t address expanding existing pedestrian facilities or building facilities in new areas, officials said.
Pierce County has spent the past year assessing sidewalks, curb ramps, pedestrian crossings, and traffic signal systems for their compliance with the ADA. Preliminary findings and an online survey are available at www.piercecountywa.org/ADAtransition.
According to AARP and other sources, a pedestrian dies in a traffic accident every two hours in the U.S., and 21 percent of the casualties are people 65 years old or older.
Between 2003 and 2012, crashes killed 47,025 pedestrians nationwide and injured another 676,000.
In Washington alone, 678 deaths were reported. Of those, 196 were in the 65-and-over age range.
According to AARP, older adults in Washington represent a disproportionate number of pedestrian deaths. While they comprise 11.7 percent of the state’s population, seniors 65 and older accounted for 26 percent of pedestrian fatalities statewide in 2003-10.

srmedia by — January 14, 2015 in News

There’s a place to go each Tuesday night in January for help finding affordable health insurance.
State-certified, in-person assisters will provide information and enrollment help with Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) and qualified health plans under the Affordable Care Act on Tuesdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Parkland-Spanaway branch of Pierce County Library System.
The library is at 13718 Pacific Ave. S. Drop-Ins are welcome, or call 253-722-2154 for an appointment.
Assistance is available in English and Spanish.
The sessions are a partnership of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and Pierce County Library System.

srmedia by — January 6, 2015 in News

“And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
When the 2015 Washington Legislature convenes on Jan. 12, the development of a state budget will likely create one of the most difficult sessions in decades. On the table are the state Supreme Court-mandated McCleary obligations and budget requirements to fulfill voter-approved Initiative 1531. In total, the Legislature needs to find $3.28 billion in 2015-17 and an additional $4.9 billion for 2017-19. Funding education is important, and equally important is the protection of the social safety net and policies impacting our aging population.
The United States population is growing older and more diverse as the first baby boomers began reaching retirement age in 2011. Over the next 15 years, the number of people over the age of 65 will surge and, each day, thousands more will reach retirement age. For Washington, that means by 2030, one out of five Washingtonians will be age 65-plus. It is time to prepare for this huge demographic shift.
AARP recommends smart budget and policy measures to take pressure off future state budgets and create a more age-friendly society that helps people maximize their lives. AARP will work with the legislature to support:
Long-term care
Most people are uninsured for long term care. Medicare covers only short-term time limited services, private long term care insurance is expensive or non-existent and Medicaid requires people to be impoverished to qualify for the services they need. To help families struggling to care for loved ones, the 2015 Legislature should:
• Support a study on alternative public and private long term care financing options.

• Ensure money generated by the Community First Choice Option supports the Family Caregiver Support Program.

• Build support for passage of the CARE Act’s goals including identification and training of family caregivers by hospitals to prevent costly hospital readmissions in 2016.

Financial Security: Encourage individual savings

Washington is facing a retirement savings crisis. A recent National Institute on Retirement Security study found that the average household had only $3,000 in retirement savings. Such low savings rates endanger the financial security of individuals as they retire, but also the state’s Medicaid budget, which could explode if personal savings rates do not improve. To help people prepare for a secure retirement, the 2015 Legislature should:\
• Encourage saving by making it easier for small businesses to offer workplace retirement and savings accounts.

• Oppose reductions to promised benefits for current state pensioners. Oppose moving to defined contribution schemes, and retain traditional defined benefit pensions for future retirees.

Vulnerable Adults: Strengthen protections

Reports to Adult Protective Services (APS) of adult abuse, neglect and financial exploitation are rapidly increasing. In the past five years, investigations have increased by 25 percent, while APS staffing grew by just 9 percent. To ensure a timely and effective response, the 2015 Legislature should:
• Increase penalties for crimes against and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.
• Reform APS to ensure improved support for victims and training for investigators.
• Fully fund the partners in abuse response, including the Long Term Care Ombudsman and the Office of Public Guardian.
In 2013, AARP Washington advocated for the creation of a Joint Legislative Executive Committee on Aging and Disability to set strategies for the aging population. We will continue to support this key committee.
For more detailed information about these and other issues of importance to older adults and their families, visit www.aarp.org/wa

Cathleen MacCaul, who wrote this article, is AARP’s Washington advocacy director.

Contributing Author by — January 6, 2015 in News

In an effort to help protect the public from influenza, health officials in Pierce and King counties are issuing reminders that that flu vaccinations – some of them free or low-cost – are widely available as a primary defense.
Flu can cause fever, coughing, sore throats and body aches for several days, and can be fatal in severe cases. Nationally, as many as 49,000 people have died annually from the flu, including 10 in Pierce County in the past year. In King County in 2012-13, 15 deaths were attributed to flu, including eight people 65 years old or older.
Vaccine provides protection against three or four strains of influenza, depending on the formulation you receive, according to the Seattle-King County Public Health Department. Officials said this flu season may be worse than others because the dominant circulating flu strain typically causes a more severe illness leading to more hospitalizations. Although so far the vaccine does not appear to be closely matched to the dominant circulating strain, the vaccine can still offer some protection against severe illness. If you are having flu-like symptoms, especially if they are severe or if you are at higher risk for complications, contact your healthcare provider right away to see if antiviral medication is recommended.
“Getting a yearly flu vaccination through a shot or nasal spray is the single most important means of protection against the flu,” said Nigel Turner, the communicable disease control director for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Annual flu immunizations help protect particularly vulnerable people such as infants, the elderly and immune-compromised individuals. Immunizations also keep doctor visits and sick days down, and they can prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths, according to Turner.
He said getting a flu vaccination is especially important for people at high risk, including children, people 65 and older, pregnant women and those with chronic conditions, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and neurologic conditions. Babies under six months old are too young to get vaccinated, but people in close contact with babies should get vaccinated to protect the infants.
Flu vaccines are available at healthcare professionals’ offices, pharmacies and some local health agencies.
Information on vaccination locations is available from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department at www.tpchd.org/flu and from Seattle-King County Public Health at kingcounty.gov/healthservices.
In addition to getting a flu vaccination, other steps you can take to prevent or reduce the spread of the influenza virus include:
• Washing hands. Frequent washing is one the most effective ways to reduce the spread of germs. Wash with soap and warm water, scrubbing all parts of your hands and wrists for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water isn’t easily accessible.
• Staying home if you’re sick. Viruses can’t spread as quickly if they aren’t shared with co-workers and classmates.
• Covering coughs. Use your elbow or a disposable tissue, not your hand, to cover your mouth when coughing.
• Keeping it clean. Use sanitizing wipes or spray to clean counters, door knobs, telephones, computer keyboards and mice, and other surfaces you touch frequently.

srmedia by — January 6, 2015 in News