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AILING: The report says there is only one physician certified in elderly care for every 2,500 older Americans. -- PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - THE United States is drastically unprepared for the 78million baby boomers heading towards old age, and urgent steps are needed to ensure they get the care they will need, say researchers.
A study released on Monday by the federal Institute of Medicine called the health-care workforce in the US 'too small and woefully unprepared', and recommended a series of steps to bolster their number and training.
The 242-page report estimated that there was only one physician certified in geriatrics (elderly care) for every 2,500 older Americans, and that turnover among nurse aides averaged 71per cent a year.
'Just at a time when we need more (geriatricians), we are getting slightly fewer of them,' said Dr John Pynoos, professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California's Andrus Gerontology Centre, which was not a part of the report. 'This is a crisis.'
The first of the country's baby boomers - the generation born between 1946 and 1964 - will begin turning 65 in three years. By 2030, all will have hit that milestone - taking their number to more than 70million.
The report laid out a stark picture of increased demand for health-care workers, unmatched by a stagnant or dwindling supply of trained personnel, according to the Wall Street Journal.
While there were 7,128 certified geriatricians at present, the institute report said, the country would need 36,000 by 2030.
'This could be seen as evidence that our society places little value on the expertise needed to care for vulnerable, frail, older Americans,' said Mr John Rowe, chairman of the committee that wrote the report.
Optimistic estimates put the number of geriatricians rising by 10per cent over the next 22 years, while others predict a net loss of physicians specialising in elderly care.
'There will never be enough geriatricians,' said Dr Joseph Scherger, who served on the committee.
The report also recommended that competence in geriatric care for virtually all members of the health-care workforce needed to be improved through education and career-long assessment. These included physicians, social workers, nurses, nurse aides, physical therapists and home-health aides, among others.
It recommended that hospitals embrace training of medical residents in all settings where the elderly receive care.
'Health-care professionals such as nurse aides and home-health aides - in California and other states - have lower requirements for training than dog groomers and crossing guards,' Dr Rowe said.
The panel urged that the federally required minimum number of hours of training for direct-care workers - those who help the elderly to dress, bathe and eat - be raised from 75 to at least 120.
Some nursing homes are already pairing with medical, dental and nursing schools to provide geriatric training. But such efforts are rare because of the time needed and the expense of implementing them, the Journal said.
Pay is another critical area for improvement, said Ms Susan Chapman, a contributor to the report. The national average is US$10.67 (S$14.50) an hour for a nurse aide at a nursing home, she said.
'Many of these (health) workers live in poverty themselves, without benefits or health insurance,' she said.
Even doctors who specialise in geriatric medicine earn less than their counterparts in other medical fields, she said.
The report recommended 'financial incentives to increase the number of geriatric specialists in all health professions', and said states and the federal government training programmes should waive education loans for those who care for older adults.
REUTERS, LOS ANGELES TIMES, WASHINGTON POST
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