L.A. TOLD TO PREPARE FOR ELDERLY; REPORT TARGETS NEEDS OF EXPANDING GROUP.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

The senior citizen population in Los Angeles will double by 2020, but the city lacks a master plan for transportation, housing and long-term care needs, according to a new report from a city task force.

``A master plan is long overdue to improve on the services the city provides for seniors, which are now totally fragmented and uncoordinated,'' said Fernando Torres-Gil, associate dean at the UCLA School of Public Policy and co-chairman of the city's Expert Task Force on Senior Issues.

Many of those seniors will be older, more frail and in need of city assistance for basic living amenities, Torres-Gil said.

The report is the result of meetings between experts assembled by the City Council to prepare for the elderly population surge. It will grow from 508,000 now to more than 1 million by 2020, according to the California Department of Finance.

City Councilwoman Laura Chick, whose motion created the task force, said the panel sought to outline the difficulties facing the elderly and their solutions. She said that the challenge will be finding enough money to improve the quality of services for the elderly, including transportation and housing.

Chick, who is running for city controller, said she knows personally about the city's need to focus more on the elderly, as her father is 89 and her mother is 85.

``My sister and I about two years ago engaged in an effort to find better living arrangements for them. And I have to tell you it is pretty grim in the city,'' she said.

A key focus must be helping families take care of elderly members, to keep them out of nursing homes, said Sandra King, the executive director of Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles and co-chairwoman of the task force.

``The older, frailer, lower income people are those that tend to stay in the city and need help, so we better get our show on the road to come up with a plan,'' she said.

``We know very clearly that most seniors don't want to be moved into homes. By staying put, they help preserve neighborhoods and are able to get free help from neighbors, which is beneficial to the city,'' she added.

Task force recommendations include:

Hiring a senior citizen czar to help draft and supervise a master plan to coordinate all senior services in the city with the county.

Conducting a citywide study of crosswalk signal timing to make sure elderly pedestrians can cross safely.

Increasing funds and resources to provide door-to-door transportation for seniors who cannot drive.

Developing volunteer programs to help seniors with household tasks and make daily calls to those who live alone.

Increasing the number of housing subsidies for seniors.

Launching an educational health care campaign for family members taking care of ailing relatives.

``Just about everyone has an elderly relative that needs care,'' King said, ``but very few know what resources there are out there to help them.''

She said the number of Alzheimer's disease cases that require full-time attention will jump from 50,000 to 165,000 nationwide by the year 2040.

The long-term care difficulty was spotlighted this month when former first lady Nancy Reagan slipped at her home, fracturing a rib. She said in reports that she was concerned she might fall behind in caring for her husband, President Ronald Reagan, who suffers from Alzheimer's.