PLATTSBURGH -- New York's population is aging, and that growth in the number of senior citizens is already impacting the health-care system.

As the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age and beyond, health-care providers will be facing a double-edged problem: many more patients needing lots more care, and fewer providers available to meet that growing demand.

The message that health-care officials have begun to promote is quite simple: Maintain a healthy lifestyle now to prevent growing health concerns later.

MORE ACTIVE

"The Baby Boomers are one of the most well-educated generations of all time, with the highest disposable income available to them," said Laurie Williams, education coordinator for the Clinton County Health Department in Plattsburgh.

"They are a generation that has high expectations for their quality of life. They want to continue with that quality well beyond retirement, so they also have high expectations on health care."

With an expected increase in years spent in retirement and more money available to spend during that time, Baby Boomers are taking health care into their own hands today, Williams added.

"You're seeing more Baby Boomers participating in physical activity. You can seem them in the weight room, working on conditioning, in the pool, working on water aerobics. They are involved in more physical activity."

Debra Donahue, vice president of ancillary services at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh, said nearly half of the facility users of the hospital's physical-therapy and recreation facility -- located at a renovated gymnasium-pool on the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base -- are age 50 and older.

"We might be seeing a very different focus on acute care," said Donahue, explaining that health care will continue to emphasize wellness activities throughout life to combat chronic disease during the senior years.

"We've seen increased enrollment in our diabetes-management program and our cardiac-rehab program. We're seeing people who want to get to a better place in their own lifestyle, so chronic conditions will be more controlled and patients will need less acute care in the future."

THE NEW 40'

As more Baby Boomers reach retirement and health care continues to make advancements in the overall care of the advancing population, the nation is seeing a change in the population numbers.

"Sixty is the new 40," said Nancy Smith, a registered nurse and coordinator of the Clinton County Health Department's Health Services Unit. "As people approach their golden years, they're not looking at a life of shuffleboard. They're active; they're out and about."

Health-care services for seniors are steadily being broken into two age groups, she noted: the 65-to-85-year-olds who are still involved in active lifestyles, and the over-85 people who are beginning to need increased health-care services.