If you travel northbound on I-75 past Bay City, folks tend to be older, with the average age in many counties close to 55 or 60.

But health patterns and aging factors are divided across the I-75 corridor.

Whether it’s people who cannot afford health care or the amount of time it takes to travel to see a specialist, those on the Sunrise Side in the northeast generally have different health outcomes than those in the northwest Lower Peninsula.

Over the past five decades, my experience as a public health professional has allowed me to study, teach, and research the role of aging in our society.

After moving to Iosco County in 2020, I have taken note of how health outcomes here are highly influenced by where you live. It’s an unfortunate reality of our health care system, and it’s important to reduce those inequalities.

Northeast Michigan is at a comparative disadvantage for health care, especially for seniors, and it doesn’t have to be that way. To make our seniors healthier and live longer, we need to confront the mentality that underfunded and hard-to-access senior care is acceptable.

A perfect solution exists, and that’s to form a center right here in Northeast Michigan to provide comprehensive geriatric and gerontology services for seniors.

As an example, for over 50 years, gerontology and geriatric programs at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have served hundreds of people monthly, and it’s a successful model that Northeast Michigan should seriously consider. U-of-M has myriad service programs for patients and principally serves within a 75- to 100-mile radius from Ann Arbor.

If Northeast Michigan had a similar program, in, say, in Alpena, it would have the same reach, from Cheboygan to Standish, and could attract folks in Northwest Michigan, as well.

It’s no surprise that U-of-M’s gerontology and geriatric programs have served Southeast Michigan well, and the same could happen right here. By recognizing the importance of our aging society, U-of-M has created new medical breakthroughs, educational programs, and opportunities for professional development, public education, retention of youth and graduates to the region, and a thriving community of retirees.

Those programs are funded through reimbursable services to Medicare recipients, underwriting grants and contracts, research grants, as well as in-kind contributions from a variety of public and private organizations. Programs like U-of-M’s might look different in Alpena than they would in Ann Arbor, but they would create the same exact positive outcomes.

What makes Northeast Michigan a stellar candidate for gerontology and geriatric programs are the demographic shifts and the resulting need to serve our aging population. Aside from small, local programs through county-level senior centers, nothing has been developed in this region to address this clear and growing demand. Developing senior-focused programs would concentrate a variety of medical, allied health, social, and wellness services to a large population that has been largely underserved for a long time. That kind of effort would serve thousands of seniors, assist their families, enhance the quality of life, draw businesses to serve a more able and thriving retirement community, create employment and professional development opportunities for youth, and establish a new basis for economic development.

We should also pay attention to larger factors at play when it comes to our inability to properly care for our seniors.

With hospitals closing and medical systems subject to corporate consolidation, rural health systems are hurting. We must attract young families who can staff those programs, expand transportation options so people can get to doctor’s appointments, and pay special attention to mental health services so communities can be healthier and more resilient.

Northeast Michigan can act as a model for rural communities if we get serious and act.

Elected officials, business leaders and community stakeholders must start advocating for quality health care services for the bedrock of our community — our senior citizens.

Richard Douglass moved to Iosco County in 2020 after a career of research and teaching at the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Eastern Michigan University, where he is an emeritus professor of health administration and policy.