Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/45928
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CARING FOR THE ELDERLY +++ +++ GSA, AGHE Support Passage of Eldercare Workforce Legislation 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 — to 72 HE GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY of America (GSA) and its educa- tional branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher million people — over the next two decades. The Caring for an Aging America Act 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. This bipartisan bill 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 (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the fi eld of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,400+ members — is to advance the study of aging and dis- seminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA's structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. Fo r mo r e inf o rma t i on , v i s i t www.geron.org. n 26 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton MD NEWS MDNEWS.COM NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011