A Crisis Of Care: As America Gets Older, Who Will Pick Up The Slack?
Changing demographics have sparked questions about how to care for aging Americans — as both a society and as individual caregivers.
The older population of the U.S. is skyrocketing, with the number of seniors expected to approximately double in the next few decades – while the population over 85 nearly triples.
The aging of the baby boomer generation means millions of job openings for elder care workers, as well as geriatricians, geriatric nurses and other healthcare workers, and soaring health expenses.
“We’re absolutely unprepared,” says Elizabeth Eckstrom, Chief of Geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and author of “The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents.”
