What’s wrong with aging?

As I've read the Ground Level news articles and listened to the discussions, both formal and private, one of the most forceful statements I heard was, "What's wrong with getting old? You can age and still be healthy." That's true. We can do our best to stay active and healthy. If that helps us age well, we'll succeed in getting truly old and still, at some point, reach the point when we'll need help.

The problem, revealed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is that Todd County "health outcomes" rank 66 out of the 85 counties of Minnesota and 80 out of 85 in "health factors."

So, not only do we have a higher percent of elderly folks than other counties, we're also more unhealthy and, as we've been told for decades, poorer.

With a need for hope, let's dig into these statistics that have been pouring at us. At last night's forum, Ben Winchester of the Center for Community Vitality admitted that the median age of Todd County is skewed, not because we have more elderly but because we have fewer young people.

The University of Wisconsin's study reveals that Todd County's "physical environment" ranks high: 10th out of 85. We do have a healthy environment.

And someone suggested recently that Todd County's poverty level is also deceptive since, historically, folks whose main income is derived from animal husbandry have tweaked their profit / loss reports and actually have a higher standard of living than statisticians can detect. That's opinion. But we're all about opinion, here, and we want to hear what you think.

Are we poor, old and sick or is that what we like "outsiders" to think?

Weigh in on the discussion, but before you do, check out those health statistics because they tell much more that the three bits that I gleaned.

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