September/October 2009

The Future of Eldercare

By John W. Rowe, MD
Aging Well
Vol. 2 No. 4 P. 34

Who will provide medical care for tomorrow’s older adults? The healthcare reform debate brings
daily reminders of the soaring costs of the Medicare program and the need to bend the curve of
healthcare costs, especially as we struggle to expand coverage to all Americans. The problem of
costs is certainly an elephant in the room, but it is not the only elephant in the room.

We face a staggering shortage of qualified care providers for older adults, a deficiency that runs
through the entire spectrum, from physicians, nurses, and social workers to direct care workers.
What will we have accomplished if we find a way to pay for the care but don’t have qualified
providers to deliver it?

An informative report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), “Retooling for an Aging America:
Building the Health Care Workforce,” documents the impending workforce problems and
recommends solutions that, if adopted now, can help forestall a major deficiency in care for older
adults.