Expert panel urges improvements in elderly care
Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:52pm EDT
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters)
The U.S. health care workforce is drastically unprepared for the coming surge in the number of elderly people, and urgent steps are needed to ensure they get the care they will need, experts said on Monday.
An Institute of Medicine report recommended a series of steps to bolster the number and training of health care workers who care for the elderly amid concern they will be swamped as the 78 million baby boomers begin hitting age 65 in 2011.
"The impending crisis, which has been foreseen for decades, is now upon us," an institute panel headed by John Rowe, a professor of health policy and management at Columbia University in New York, wrote in the report.
The committee called on the federal government to require more training for direct-care workers -- nurse's aides, home health aides and personal care aides who do a lot of the hard work in caring for older people.
It urged the Medicare health program for the elderly to raise reimbursement rates for services by geriatric specialists to attract and keep people in geriatric specialties.
And the panel said medical schools and health care training programs should expand course work and training in treating the elderly. It recommended that hospitals embrace training of residents in all settings where the elderly receive care, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
The nonprofit, independent institute provides advice to U.S. policymakers.
The panel urged that the federally required minimum number of hours of training for direct-care workers be raised from 75 to at least 120.
"Health care professionals like nurse's aides and home health aides -- in California and other states -- have lower requirements for training than dog groomers and crossing guards," Rowe said.
"Recruitment and retention is especially dire among direct-care workers. They receive low wages and few benefits, they have high physical and emotional demands placed on them, and they are at significant risk for on-the-job injuries," according to the report.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and David Wiessler)
Abridged
SOURCE: reuters
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Other countries, must also take note of the recommendations and findings of this report. "Be Prepared", as the ageing population issue is a global problem, not just one for the USA or UK. I believe that specifics may differ, but the main message should be the same. Act now - regarding the care of the elderly.
Going by past experiences, by the time current politicians and law makers get something in place for better care of seniors, they may be the ones requiring those same laws to protect them.
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