ELDERCARE WORKFORCE
LEGISLATION Supported by GSA, AGHE
Education (AGHE), applaud the recent reintroduction of a U.S. Senate bill to address the critical shortage of healthcare professionals able to meet the needs of the country's older adults. The Caring for an Aging America Act
T
(S. 1095) was reintroduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on May 26. This legisla- tion is designed to bolster the ranks of doctors, nurses, social workers, and other skilled health care workers required to care for a population of seniors that is projected to almost double over the next two decades. It is expected to attract health professionals to gerontology and geriatrics by providing them with loan repayment opportunities in exchange for agreeing to work in underserved areas, and expands the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration's National Health Service Corps Program to include primary health care professionals with training in gerontology and geriatrics. The legislation addresses recom-
mendations found in "Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce," a report issued by the Institute of Medicine in 2008. The publication called for a labor pool of adequate size and competency to care for the rapidly growing population of American seniors. The Gerontological Society of America is
the nation's oldest and largest interdisci- plinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. Its mission is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. n
14 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton MD NEWS MDNEWS.COM SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2011
HE GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY of America (GSA) and its educa- tional branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher
