Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen's recent commentary asserts that we cannot create well being in Baltimore without also ensuring the health and wellness of older adults ("Supporting Baltimore's seniors," Aug. 8).
This includes supporting the ability of residents to age in their communities with choice, independence and dignity.
Dr. Wen, of course, is right on. But when will "we" — Baltimore City and the state of Maryland — start taking real steps to make that a reality?
While well-intentioned, current and future plans to support older Marylanders are really just a patchwork of underfunded programs cobbled together across multiple agencies at the local, state and federal levels. What we need is a coordinated, robust, forward-thinking strategy that addresses the needs of a mushrooming segment of the population.
Maryland should appoint an aging czar along the lines of what's being done for the heroin epidemic. Our seniors deserve a better-funded, more-coordinated approach to care and services, one that truly helps them age with choice, independence and dignity.
Isabella Firth
The writer is president of the LifeSpan Network, an association of senior care providers in Maryland and the District of Columbia.