Interview with Wade Buchanan: Colorado’s longevity landscape and his role in shaping its future

In an effort to address the State’s quickly changing demographic, in 2015, Colorado established the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging, or SAPGA.

The group set out to examine the impact this shift will have on everything from the economy and workforce to state and local revenue budgets and fiscal policies and released a report of its findings and recommendations in late 2016.

At the top of SAPGA’s list of proposals was creating a permanent position within the state’s executive branch to coordinate and oversee Colorado’s work on aging issues.

Funded by a grant from the NextFifity Initiative
Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Wade Buchanan as the state’s first Senior Advisor on Aging this past January.

Longevity Colorado recently sat down with Wade to find out more about his role and what are some of the issues and challenges the state is addressing in the longevity sector.

Seniors Older Adults Colorado Longevity Economy

One out of every five Coloradans will be 65 years or older by the year 2030.

Longevity Colorado: Tell us a bit about what your job entails.

Wade Buchanan: Our society is changing. We’re living longer, and older people are going to be a much larger share of our communities. I think that’s good news, but we have to adjust to it. My job is about helping Colorado adjust to it.

Colorado state government has at least 100 programs, services, educational opportunities and benefits related to aging. Each was created for a specific purpose or a specific need, and we’ve never taken a step back and asked what it all adds up to. Collectively, do they amount to a rational strategy? If so, can we make it more effective? If not, what do we do? That’s what I’m working on – along with the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging.

And the best thing I’ve learned is that a lot is already going on – in government, but also in the private and non-profit sectors, and in families. I don’t think I've encountered a single issue that is not already being addressed by someone, somewhere in Colorado. So a key part of my job is raising awareness, building connections, breaking down the silos to see if we can bring all these pieces together into a strategy that improves the welfare of an entire population.

 First, we need to understand what we are already doing – I’ve already talked about that part. Second, we need to help communities prepare for this new reality. People don’t live in Colorado – they live in individual cities and towns. It’s at that level that we really need to bring change. That’s the idea behind Lifelong Colorado, which we just announced. We want to make the state a partner in helping cities and counties become age-friendly. I’m very excited that we’re one of only three states that are members of AARP’s age-friendly network.

Third, we need to help families cope with the challenges, whether it’s saving for retirement or caregiving for a loved one or having those tough conversations about transitions – like when Mom should stop driving. It’s not just about older people. It’s everyone – how they care for family members and how they prepare for their own aging.

We need to help employers prepare – both to serve more older people when they become frail and to take advantage of the fact that a lot more people are going to want or need to stay in the workforce past the so-called “retirement” age.

I want Colorado to be a place where this all just happens out of habit. Where people know how to get help, get information, who to call, how to help. Where caring for loved ones is a shared experience. Most essential services already exist. But maybe one in twenty knows where to turn. I think it is our moral and monetary obligation to bridge this gap.

Somewhere around 80% are uncompensated family members, friends, or neighbors. They are the backbone of our caregiving system, but it’s probably unrealistic to expect this to continue. In fact, we should expect the number of unpaid caregivers to decrease over time. So where will the people or resources come from? What do cohesive policies look like? What role will technology play in easing the burden? If we don’t figure that out, then more and more will rely on paid caregivers – and financially that will be very difficult.

For non-health-related inquiries, I think the best place is the local Area Agency on Aging. They have their finger on the pulse of most issues affecting older Coloradans, so they almost provide a one-stop shop for information. If they don’t know the answer, they probably know who does.

If it's health-related, then the obvious choice is a health care provider. On that note, I feel the entire medical system has ample room for improvement. The notion of a single professional addressing the entirety of a patient's situation is unrealistic. But they can build networks to create a much more holistic, patient-centered approach.

Traditionally, we've approached aging almost exclusively as a medical perspective. There is certainly a lot of conversation about health care, but I am looking beyond one specific area. Our holistic approach views the aging issue from three broad perspectives – family, community and workplace. Virtually everything seems to fit one of these areas, and there is a lot of overlap. So if we want to make sure Colorado is ready, we need to make sure families, communities and workplaces are ready. And, of course, the health care system – so I guess that’s four areas. But they’re all interrelated, and looking at things in this way we can push the “longevity revolution” from all directions.

A tsunami is a catastrophe that comes out of nowhere, destroys everything in its path and then recedes. Nothing about that is appropriate. We’ve seen this coming for decades; it’s good that we are living longer; and it isn’t ever going back to the way it was before. This change is permanent. It’s the new normal. I don’t have an equally dramatic term to suggest. That’s probably okay, because we need to normalize how people think about this anyway. Society is changing. We need to change with it. It’s as simple as that.

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State kicks off Lifelong Colorado Initiative

AARP designated Colorado as the third age-friendly state in the nation last month.

The designation launched the state’s Lifelong Colorado Initiative designed to address the challenges of a growing older population. It aims to significantly increase the number of cities and counties that are ‘age-friendly’ in the state.

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Interview with Wade Buchanan: Colorado’s longevity landscape and his role in shaping its future

Longevity Colorado: Tell us a bit about what your job entails.

NEWS: TOP PICKS

COLORADO

Colorado’s Next Silver Rush | LC Guest Blog

Colorado Among 10 Best States for Family Caregivers | Next Avenue

This Company Couples Up Aging Baby Boomers and Younger People—As Roommates | CPR

Colorado's hidden hunger story: The elderly | Confluence

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The Giant Market Opportunities Investors Are Overlooking | Milken Institute

AARP Bulletin Reveals 10 Ways the Midterm Elections Could Change the Future for Older Americans | AARP

This Ageist Ad Got the Longevity Market Angry | Stria News

Courts Force States to Provide Costly Hep C Treatment | Pew Trusts

State kicks off Lifelong Colorado Initiative

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