A doctor with 32 years experience in treating elderly patients offers chilling statistics regarding the growing number of aging Americans and the diminishing number of those trained to care for them.
Writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://www.star-telegram.com/245/story/1134276.html, Dr. Jerald Winakur, whose father died from complications related to Alzheimer's disease, pointed out these disturbing facts:
A member of the “Baby Boom” generation reaches ages 60 every eight seconds in America, but the number of certified geriatricians has dropped by 19 percent to 7,000 over the past 10 years.
The number of doctors entering the medical profession as geriatricians increases by 315 each year, which is a smaller number than those retiring.
Going back six years to 2003, only 2 percent of those in residency programs intended to pursue geriatric medicine. And by 2005, for 5,000 patients over age 65, there was one physician.
There is a shortage now of 14,000 geriatricians on average, with that number expected to increase to 34,000 by the year 2030.
What are possible solutions to this coming shortage of doctors and other health workers who specialize in elder care?
Winakur suggest the following:
- Increase funding for specialized training in medical care for the elderly, particularly in improving quality of life.
- Improve the nation's systems of caring for the elderly.
- Give improved assistance to those who hope to keep their relatives with Alzheimer's at home, which, he says, is the cheaper alternative.
- Create certification processes to add to the professionalism of those caring for the elderly.
Winakur is on staff at the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
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