New York State is rapidly aging. Nearly one in five New Yorkers — 18% — is 65 and older. That’s a larger share of the overall population than ever before.
Here in Suffolk County, there are over a quarter of a million residents 65-plus. Only Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan have more older adults in New York State.
There is no doubt in my mind that Suffolk County residents want to remain in their own homes and communities as long as possible as they age.
Keeping a loved one at home is largely up to family members. In fact, a recent AARP New York survey of registered voters on Long Island age 40 and older found that more than 40% say they are either currently caring for an aging loved one or have previously done so.
This survey also found nearly 80% of Long Island family caregivers say they are or were stressed emotionally due to those responsibilities. The survey went on to find that the majority of Long Islanders doing family caregiving are women (62%), with the typical caregiver being a woman caring for her 82-year-old mother.
New York State Office for the Aging (SOFA) funds programs and services which support these family caregivers and help keep their loved ones in their own homes as long as possible so they can live independently with dignity.
These non-Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) are administered by the counties and include home-delivered meals, help with personal hygiene, housekeeping and other home care services as well as transportation to doctor appointments.
But we have a problem. There is a statewide waiting list for these types of services that aging advocates say amounts to about 18,000 services.
In Suffolk County, hundreds of older residents were waiting for elder care services as of last September, according to the latest data SOFA provided to a state budget committee hearing held earlier this year, Newsday reported in a March 21 article.
New York State was aware of the backlogs in Suffolk County backlogs for before 2024-25 state budget proposal was finalized but did not provide enough resources to address these issues.
In addition, a 2023 SOFA report (“New York’s Program to Address Unmet Need in Aging Services”) found that many individuals who were waiting for services required emergency room visits and hospitalizations after suffering injuries due to falls. Some died while awaiting home services.
This needs to change What will families do if they can’t get services? Many will have to consider one of the most difficult decisions families can face: When do we move an older family member to a nursing home?
It shouldn’t have to be this way.
That same 2023 SOFA report concluded that not addressing the service and support needs of New Yorkers on waiting lists would cost New York State’s Medicaid program an estimated $50 million-plus per year.
The next state budget should include an investment of $42 million to end these waiting lists for services that keep our aging loved ones in their own homes, where they want to be.
Older adult New Yorkers and their families here in Suffolk County and all over our state deserve at least that much from our government leaders in Albany.
Edward P. Romaine is the Suffolk County executive.
