AGS Highlights Geriatric Care Crisis During Healthy Aging Month

In the future, who will care for our seniors?
American Geriatrics Society Sheds Light on Lack of Geriatric Care During Healthy Aging Month

A century ago only four out of every hundred people in the U.S. were age 65 or older. Today older adults represent the fastest growing segment of the population. As more people enter the later stages of life, it has become increasingly important for them to work with specialists that will provide guidance on maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. A key component of this is geriatric medicine an expertise that is currently in short supply.

Geriatricians specialize in managing a patient's overall health and treating the medical disorders that frequently affect people age 65 years and older. As a result of their specialized training, geriatricians can knowledgably consider and address a broad spectrum of health-related factors including medical, psychological and social, when treating their patients. "We take care of people, not just their diseases so that we can maintain a patient's health and prolong their independence," states David Reuben, M.D., president of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS).

Unfortunately, the AGS warns that there is currently a shortage of geriatricians and health care professionals trained to care for older Americans. And while today this is a significant concern, it may reach crisis proportions in the next 25 years as millions of Baby Boomers hit retirement age. In fact, by 2030 there will be only one geriatrician for every 7,665 older adults unless major steps are taken to recruit and train geriatricians.

FACT: Of 100,000 medical school faculty members, fewer than 1,000 list geriatrics as their leading specialty.

According to Dr. Reuben, "Geriatrics labors under the misconception that it deals only with dementia, depression and deterioration. Yet even doctor's modest efforts can improve patients' lives."

The benefits of geriatric care have been proven to include:

• Decreased disability
  
• Increased patient and family satisfaction
  
• Decreased time as an inpatient in a hospital or nursing home
  
• Improved social functioning
  
• Decreased rates of depression
  
• Increased access to social support services
  
• Preservation of physical function
  
• Slowing of decline in health

SOURCE: American Geriatrics Society (AGS)