Health Care Work Force Too Small, Unprepared for Aging Baby Boomers; Higher Pay, More Training, and Changes in Care Delivery Needed to Avert Crisis

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care work force that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The report calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers -- not just specialists -- in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans should pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides,...

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