AGING GROUPS RESPOND TO IOM REPORT

Since its release in April, a number of aging groups have responded to the Institute of Medicine report Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce. "The report's conclusion, that the nation is woefully unprepared to meet the social and health care needs of the burgeoning older population, is not news to anyone currently engaged in provision of care for elders," said the Institute for Geriatric Social Work 's director Scott Miyake Geron. "But the report's call for bold initiatives to address the crisis and the attention the report is garnering are welcome indeed." Of particular interest to social workers and others who provide direct care is the report's recommendation that a top priority be given to expansion of coursework and training in aging for the range of workers who will increasingly encounter older adults in their practice. Also high on the list are financial incentives for social workers, nurses, pharmacists, and others who specialize in geriatric care because their salaries lag far behind those of their counterparts in other fields.

Cecil B. Wilson, a board member of the American Medical Association, also lauded the report's call for more general training in aging. "With approximately 7,000 geriatricians currently in the United States," Wilson said, "all physicians caring for aging patients need to become proficient in geriatric care to meet the increasing health needs of seniors."

Lisa Gwyther, president of the Gerontological Society of America, said, "The pivotal report lays out a much-needed strategy for developing a network of health professionals and frontline workers to avert a crisis in quality care for older persons."

The report sets a target date of 2030-the year by which all baby boomers will have turned 65 or older- for the necessary reforms to take place.

- Adapted from Institute for Geriatric Social Work Newsletter, June 30, 2008.

 

07/08