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South Dakota State Plan on Aging – 2009-2013

Overview

Like many other states, South Dakota has a growing older adult population, and while the state has a high rate of nursing home use, the state ranks second from the bottom in the country in use of skilled home health services. In order to manage the expected population growth, it is essential that South Dakota increase home health service capacity. The South Dakota Department of Social Services organized this plan, as mandated by the Older Americans Act, to respond to the growing continuum of care needs of seniors living in South Dakota and combat the challenges they are faced with, including the low rate of home and community-based services used by this older population.

Key Points

South Dakota faces challenges in providing services for its older adult population. While many older South Dakotans are interested in staying in their current homes and communities for as long as possible, the state suffers from a current deficit of in-home and community-based services. The aging plan acknowledges that this raises a number of issues that need to be addressed, including the geographic mismatch between where services exist and where older adults are expected to live, low rates of home and community-based services which allow seniors to remain independent for as long as possible, aging nursing facilities, shortage of health care workers, and inadequate individual planning and financing of long-term care costs.

Beyond addressing these issues, the South Dakota plan highlighted the following:

  • The availability of home health, homemaker, respite care, nutrition, adult day, and transportation services are necessary for adults to age in place.
  • The number of older adults age 65+ is expected to double by 2025, reaching 24 percent of the state’s population. Additionally, the number of disabled residents living in the community is expected to increase.
  • Currently, South Dakota spends $150 million on institutional care and less than $10 million on home and community-based services.

How to Use

The South Dakota plan on aging provides great information for officials or planners living in a community that wants and needs to modernize the long-term care system in their area, and specifically needs to expand home and community-based services. This plan provides a great deal of information on why South Dakota feels this is a statewide priority, and how they intend to accomplish this overarching goal to improve their care system.

View full report: South Dakota State Plan on Aging – 2009-2013 (PDF – 1.7 MB)


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