About the Landon Center on Aging

The Landon Center on Aging is a state-funded interdisciplinary center that conducts, sponsors and supports the development of educational, clinical, and research programs related to aging. Most Center activities are carried out in partnership with other academic units of the Medical Center campus, including the schools of Allied Health, Medicine, and Nursing, and with affiliated institutions, such as area geriatric care centers, VA Medical Centers in Leavenworth and Kansas City, the Wichita branch of the School of Medicine, the University of Kansas in Lawrence, state agencies, and service organizations.

Kansas ranks 23rd among states in percentage of persons aged 65 and older--13.0 percent compared to 12.4 percent for the U.S. as a whole (as of 2005, latest data available). By the year 2030, the Census Bureau projects that 20.2 percent of Kansans will be aged 65 or older. However, Kansas now ranks 10th among states in the percentage of the oldest old, that is, persons aged 85 and older. In fact, 7 of the top 17 counties in the U.S. with the highest percentage of the oldest old are in Kansas (Smith, Osborne, Cloud, Elk, Nemaha, Washington and Comanche).

Aware of such demographic realities, a legislative mandate directed the development of a concentrated, multidisciplinary educational, clinical, and research program to address the significant biological, physical, and social issues associated with the aging process. As a result of that mandate, the Center on Aging has been in operation since 1986.