Area counties offer more than lower Bootheel to seniors

~ Many elderly residents continue to work to meet their health-care costs.

Elderly people in Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger and Scott counties fare better than many in Southeast Missouri, a new statewide report says.

Cape Girardeau County ranked 24th in the state; Perry County ranked 48th; Bollinger County, 66th; and Scott County, 67th.

In contrast, Pemiscot County ranked 114th, second only to the city of St. Louis as the worst place for senior citizens. Dunklin County ranked 113th. Ripley County ranked 112th. New Madrid County ranked 102nd.

Boone County ranked as the best place for senior citizens. County rankings were based on everything from availability of transportation and jobs to health-related issues.

The 143-page report was issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in conjunction with the University of Missouri's office of social and economic data analysis.

Cape Girardeau County's ranking indicates elderly locally have a good quality of life, said Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging spokeswoman Ruth Dockins.

But she said the study does indicate where improvements are needed. "Even at 24, there is room for improvement," she said.

Her agency will use the study to help design programs to address needs such as obesity and high blood pressure, she said.

More than a third of the elderly in Cape Girardeau County don't exercise and more than 24 percent are obese, according to the report. More than half of them suffer from high blood pressure. More than 10 percent or 862 of the county's senior citizens live in poverty, the report says.

In contrast, more than 23 percent of Pemiscot County's elderly live in poverty.

Based on 2000 Census data, more than 17 percent of Bollinger County's elderly live in poverty. In Scott and Perry counties, more than 13 percent of elderly are poor, the report says.

Laverne Nothdurft, 69, lives in the small town of Delta in southern Cape Girardeau County. She volunteers with AARP and helps seniors fill out their income tax forms.

"I think Cape County has a very good quality of life for the majority of seniors," she said.

More than 12 percent of the county's elderly are holding down jobs. That's higher than the 10.9 percent figure statewide.

Elsewhere, 10.5 percent of Perry County's elderly are working. In Scott County, the figure is 8.6 percent. In Bollinger County, only 4.1 percent of its elderly residents are employed.

Covering costs

Elderly are working to cover their medical costs including prescription medicines., Nothdurft said. "A lot of people who retired five or 10 years ago didn't think they would ever have to go back to work."

In Bollinger County, senior citizens suggest the percentage is low because few jobs are available.

The number of elderly age 65 and older grew by 5.8 percent in Cape Girardeau County over the past five years. That's a faster rate than the 3.5 percent growth in the county's total population, the report says.

Cape Girardeau County's elderly population grew at a much faster rate than in neighboring Bollinger, Perry and Scott counties.

Cape Girardeau County has more than 10,000 senior citizens. Scott County has more than 5,500. Perry County had more than 2,900, followed by Bollinger County with more than 1,800.

Cape Girardeau County ranks sixth in the state in access to health care with 7.8 primary-care doctors per 1,000 senior citizens. In contrast, Bollinger County ranks last in the state with less than half a doctor per 1,000 senior citizens.

Bollinger County's senior citizens typically travel to Cape Girardeau to get medical care, said Marble Hill resident Geraldine Barks, 87.

"My own doctors are in Cape Girardeau," she said. "There is nothing here for a physician to want to come here."

Many of the elderly, she said, rely on Medicaid to pay their medical bills.

Barks, who serves on the board of director of the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging and volunteers at her local nutrition center, said some of Bollinger County's elderly depend solely on Social Security income to pay their household bills.

Behind the wheel

Driving is a necessity for elderly in Bollinger County, she said.

Nearly 85 percent of Bollinger County's senior citizens have driver's licenses. That's higher than in Scott, Perry and Cape Girardeau counties.

But Barks said elderly may feel more comfortable driving in rural Bollinger County. "Driving out here is not like driving in Cape Girardeau," she said. "You are not likely to run over somebody."

Earl Sewing, 84, of Perryville isn't ready to embrace all the statistics detailed in the report.

But he knows there are few primary-care doctors in Perry County. According to the report, the county has 2.7 primary-care physicians per 1,000 senior citizens.

Sewing said he personally knows elderly residents who don't have family doctors.

"They end up using the emergency rooms of Cape hospitals," Sewing said.

Still, Sewing believes Perry County is a good place to retire because housing costs are low.

Cape Girardeau County's growing elderly population includes those who have moved into the county from elsewhere to be closer to medical services.

"When you are really elderly that does make a difference," said Susie Kinder, 62, of Scott City.

Kinder, who helps out with the Area Agency on Aging's Elderly Volunteering for Elderly program, said the area has various programs that serve the elderly.

But she said many senior citizens aren't aware of them. "We need to connect the programs with the elderly," she said.

When it comes to quality of life for seniors, Kinder, who has battled cancer, has a suggestion. "Do something for others. If you quit thinking about yourself, you will feel better," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123