A Letter from the President

Howard County, Maryland, is located between two large and growing metropolitan areas – Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. The county enjoys a rich history, andits suburban, urbanizing and rural components make it a microcosm for economically viable communities across the country. In 1960, the County’s population age 60 years and older was less than 3,400. By 1995, the number was 20,000, projected to increase more than 25 percent to 26,000 by 2000. The Howard County Commission on Aging estimates that the number will rise to 72,000 by 2020, an increase of 260 percent in 20 years.

A major portion of this growth will occur within the planned community of Columbia. Columbia creator James Rouse chose Howard County for the new town because of its strategic location between the two cities, a place that seemed inevitably destined for population growth as the East Coast megalopolis extended itself.

As a 1999 survey by the Columbia Association, the group that governs the new town, says: “The planned community of Columbia began with virtually no seniors.” The original town design focused on attracting younger fam-ilies and businesses that would generate a viable tax base. But “as the young adults who first settled Columbia have aged and more seniors have moved into the community,” Howard County faces a crucial new challenge: how to provide the quality services that will be needed by the fast-growing older population.

Following extensive planning, in 1999, The Horizon Foundation’s Trustees determined that the health and wellness of older adults would be a major, continuing priority. Both the Howard County Commission on Aging and the Maryland Department of Aging confirmed that, in light of compelling demographic trends, we should place high priority on enhancing the ability of elderly county residents to remain in their homes.

Meetings were held with the local Office on Aging to articulate the first phase of a long-term aging in place strategy. A group of public and non-profit agency leaders then met in the Foundation office to discuss the current service delivery system and to propose modifications intended to enable older adults to remain in their homes as long as possible. In October 1999, we approved a grant of $450,000 for the “Aging In Place Initiative.” The Office on Aging serves as the hub of this project. In addition, we made a series of coordinated grants to three local non-profits: Developmental Services Group, Family and Children’s Services and Our House.

In support of the effort, the Foundation assembled faculty and clinicians from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland to address state-of-the-art issues associated with aging in place. This involvement, in the form of three joint university task forces, is aimed at predicting the service demands of an aging population and developing effective techniques to facilitate aging in place.

In total, the Initiative was designed to weave the threads of community services – some already in existence, and some not – into a fabric of support enabling older adults to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. It is a pioneering effort that we hope will serve as a viable and inspirational model. And it comes at a time when the entire nation is grappling with the issue of how to best prepare for the challenge of making the later years of the rapidly-growing baby boom generation as comfortable and productive as possible.

Richard M. Krieg, Ph.D., President and CEO

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