Arkansas earned an overall ranking of 40th in a new study released by AARP ranking long-term services and support for older people. The state
scored in the bottom quarter of states for each category of the five categories assessed. AARP associate state director for Arkansas, Herb Sanderson, says Arkansas needs to act now for the future.
“We’re on the front end of the aging baby boomers and our state’s aging population is going to increase by 40% by 2030. The current system is unsustainable,” he says.
Arkansas AARP has received a 67-million-dollar grant from the federal government, which Sanderson hopes can transform the system.
Dr. Susan C. Reinhard, a senior vice president at AARP, stresses the disparity between states.
“States that are very high performing minimize disruptive transitions between hospitals and homes, homes and nursing homes…. so that they can successfully return home,” she says.
Reinhard says all of the states improved in some ways from the previous study in 2011.