IRVINE, Calif. — According to the 2023 “Report on Aging in Orange County,” in 2022, 15.7% of Orange County residents were at least 65 years old.

According to the 2022 Orange County Community Indicators Report, older adults are the only portion of the OC population expected to see expanded growth between now and the year 2060.

Janeen Hill, dean of the Crean College of Health and Behavior Sciences at Chapman University, said that the need for health care workers will grow locally.

“We have people leaving the workforce and we don’t have enough of the health care professionals entering the workforce to even replace that number,” Hill said.  

Chapman University offers a training program for students to help the population with cutting-edge technology, combined with traditional methods, to provide better quality of life for their patients.

One student is Marcelino Martinez, who is a second-year physical therapy student who is given the opportunity to learn while working with real-life community members.