Former State Official Forms Coalition For Elderly Ohioans

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former state official will lead a coalition of Ohio seniors and their families to identify and solve problems facing the population. The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2bShhc3 ) reports that Barbara Riley, the former director of the Ohio Department of Aging, recently announced the formation of the Ohio Aging Advocacy Coalition. Ohio has the sixth largest older population in the country, said Robert Applebaum, the director of the Ohio long-term-care research project at Miami University in Oxford. “Between now and 2040, the overall state population is projected to grow only about 2 percent, which is relatively stable, but the older population is expected to go up by 50 percent,” Applebaum said. Many of the seniors will develop disabilities and other health concerns, he said.