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16 tstouffvillesimtribunewrhursday july 19 2007 now theres more heatitsmart les your hewspapei3 qome m a plastic bag please help us help the environment by recycling your bags collect your bags and put them out the first saturday of every month leave the bags in the same spot you receive your paper your carrier will be rewarded if you participate in this program partners working together for the environment if you have any questions please call your distribution department at 9052948244 tok hfcgion media gouf bonnie stern is back with more heartsmart recipes theyre nutritious and delicious available at your local heart and stroke foundation office 38 more seniors means more work for hospitals agencies heart and stroke foundation of ontario this message brought to you as a community service of the economist sun by david fleischer staff writer york is aging along with the rest of canada but some of the regions numbers are remarkable nearly 70 per cent of yorks residents are in the crucial 15 to 64 category accord ing to the latest 2006 census data released by statistics canada but the number of seniors has grown 386 per cent since 2001 nowhere else in ontario saw such an increase in its percentage of residents 65 and older there are 12 per cent more seniors in ontario than five years ago across the country for the first time ever there are more than four million senior citizens our population of frail elderly will increase said betty neale director of cli ent services at community home assis tance to seniors whether or not that number will be so great that it will put pressure on service delivery is the ques tion the nonprofit organization helps more than 3500 york seniors and caregiv ers with home and community support the census data will be crucial in help ing plan for the future particularly with baby boomers on the verge of senior sta tus ms neale said the more energetic and independent generation of seniors will no doubt have an effect on senior ser- awwwhwafliffwwmnlmbi vice organizations we need to see when they are going to need require or accept services ms neale said its definitely going to change the look of our typical client at richmond hills york central hospi tal the aging population is complicated by the multiethnic mix of patients clinical director and chiefofcontinuing care brian bergersaid in response york central has volun teers visit with senior patients making their stay easier the hospital is also a hub for stroke cancer palliative and renal care all of which are problems for seniors as a result elderly care eats up a big portion of the budget and keeping pace is a challenge the sheer volume of growth partic ularly in the form of immigration is one of the biggest challenges for the region said alison gomes acting director with the regions child and family health depart ment while the percentage of seniors is grow ing the number of people between ages 15 and 49 has also grown by 19 per cent an increase of more than 70000 people in only five years ms gomes pointed out that means immigrants from south asia for example have their own chal lenges and barriers no matter what their age with so many of childbearing age the region is aiming to ensure pregnancies go smoothly ms gomes said a lot of people are talking about the fact we have an increase in the senior pop ulation but were seeing a general increase in all age groups said cordelia abankwa- harris the regions director of policy and program support services york is one of the few areas in the greater toronto area with an increase in the number of children younger than 14 there are nearly 180000 such residents an increase of more than 14 per cent since 2001 census data can be viewed at wwwl2statcan caenglishcensusindexxfm 0ctoli6rp28i wrr v v -v- v 2007 saturday 10am 5pm sunday 1 0 am 4pm call carrie emerson for more info to keep halogen and regular light bulbs away from anything that can burn place them where children and pets cant knock them over this message brought to you munity service of the suntribune