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US Retirement Population Grows:

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- As the U.S. retirement population grows, increasing demand for workers providing long-term care will become more of a problem because of the overall shortage of nurses, experts told United Press International.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that jobs for direct-care workers in long-term care settings will grow by about 800,000 by 2010, or roughly 45 percent, while more than 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed across the entire medical field by 2012.

At present, nearly 96,000 nursing positions are vacant in long-term care facilities in the United States, with a staff turnover rate that exceeds 50 percent, according to an "Act Now for Your Tomorrow," issued last April by the National Commission on Nursing Workforce for Long-Term Care.

The current long-term-care nursing workforce exceeds 1.9 million individuals, the commission reported, with over 54 percent of long-term-care employees consisting of nurses and nursing aides.

Vacancy rates in 2002 reached over 15 percent of registered nurses in nursing homes, 13 percent of licensed practical nurses and 8.5 percent of certified nurse`s aides, the report found, while the turnover rate averaged 49 percent for RNs and 71 percent for CNAs in nursing facilities.

"The shortage is costing long-term care facilities an estimated $4 billion a year in recruitment and training expenses," the report said. "The high rate of turnover of nursing workers decreases the quality of care due to inefficient and inexperienced staff and increases costs because of the need for recruiting and training of new staff."

Suzanne Weiss, senior vice president for advocacy of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, told United Press International the long-term care industry is not experiencing shortage as acute as it was a few years ago, despite nursing shortages across the medical spectrum.

AAHSA represents 2 million members that serve assisted-living facilities, continuing-care retirement communities, nursing homes, outreach programs and senior housing.

Weiss said the nursing shortage affects who long-term facilities can admit. For instance, the shortage could restrict admittance of patients on ventilators, patients with serious wounds, feeding tubes and conditions that require a lot of nursing attention.

She said the high turnover rate presents a particular difficulty.

"There is a lot of catch-up work for new staffers," she said. "Change alone can be disruptive."

In long-term care, Weiss said, the system is rebalancing itself because more people desire home-based care, taking away possible nurses from the nursing homes.

"It`s a challenging situation right now," she said, adding that the healthcare system is trying to solve the shortage, and more nursing programs need to emphasize the geriatric field for aspiring nurses and nursing aides.

"Nursing homes have been making a lot of progress, especially making sure that the working environment is more positive," Weiss said.

The nationwide nursing shortage also has been affecting nursing schools, which are struggling against a lack of space, faculty and financial resources to produce enough nurses to address the growing shortage.

To help the shortage in long-term care facilities, Weiss suggested more courses in geriatrics, an improved working environment for nurses and raising public consciousness to respect professionals in geriatric nursing.

Other experts think the growing nursing shortage is degrading standards of long-term care.

In June 2002 the Alliance for Retired Americans released a study entitled "Nursing Home Care: When Will We Get it Right?" blaming the lack of quality care in nursing homes on understaffing.

George J. Kourpias, the ARA`s president, said "a major conclusion of the report is that much of the neglect and abuse suffered by nursing home residents is due to a severe shortage of trained nursing staff."

If quality of care is to be improved, those in charge must solve the issue of staff shortages, he said.

"Nursing home staff and management cannot produce a decent environment for residents until there are vast improvements in staffing ratios, staff and management training, decent pay, benefits and incentives and safety protections," Kourpias said in a 2002 statement during the study`s release.

Dianna Porter, director of policy at the alliance, told UPI that quality of care remains a big concern for the ARA`s 3 million members.

"Not much has changed," Porter said. "We`re still encouraging nursing homes to improve staffing. Overall, there still isn`t good quality of health in nursing homes. When is it going to get better?"

According to Porter, more legislation is needed to solve the nursing shortage and level of quality care in all medical sectors, but particularly in the long-term-care sector.

She said many bills have been attempted at both the federal and state levels to address the issue of understaffing and working conditions in long-term care, but few federal bills have passed, and those in the state legislatures have been too lenient on the nursing-home industry.

"Family members have to be vigilant and be advocates for their family, and you really have to worry about those people who have no one," Porter said. "There`s a tendency, for people not to pay attention until it happens to someone in their family, there is a certain sense of denial that they aren`t going to be dependent, disable, or in a retirement home."

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that by 2030 the number of U.S. adults age 65 and older is expected nearly to double, from about 36 million now to 71.5 million. By 2050 that number is expected to grow to 86.7 million.

Many of those older Americans are expected to seek long-term care. Currently, about 12 million people receive formal long-term-care services each year.

As the over-65 population grows, experts said, so too will unbalanced nurse-to-patient ratios, mandatory overtime, emergency-room overcrowding, discontinued patient-care programs, reduced service hours, delayed discharges and canceled surgeries.

Stokely Baksh is an intern for UPI Science News. E-mail: sciencemail@upi.com

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- As the U.S. retirement population grows, increasing demand for workers providing long-term care will become more of a problem because of the overall shortage of nurses, experts told United Press International.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that jobs for direct-care workers in long-term care settings will grow by about 800,000 by 2010, or roughly 45 percent, while more than 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed across the entire medical field by 2012.

At present, nearly 96,000 nursing positions are vacant in long-term care facilities in the United States, with a staff turnover rate that exceeds 50 percent, according to an "Act Now for Your Tomorrow," issued last April by the National Commission on Nursing Workforce for Long-Term Care.

The current long-term-care nursing workforce exceeds 1.9 million individuals, the commission reported, with over 54 percent of long-term-care employees consisting of nurses and nursing aides.

Vacancy rates in 2002 reached over 15 percent of registered nurses in nursing homes, 13 percent of licensed practical nurses and 8.5 percent of certified nurse`s aides, the report found, while the turnover rate averaged 49 percent for RNs and 71 percent for CNAs in nursing facilities.

"The shortage is costing long-term care facilities an estimated $4 billion a year in recruitment and training expenses," the report said. "The high rate of turnover of nursing workers decreases the quality of care due to inefficient and inexperienced staff and increases costs because of the need for recruiting and training of new staff."

Suzanne Weiss, senior vice president for advocacy of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, told United Press International the long-term care industry is not experiencing shortage as acute as it was a few years ago, despite nursing shortages across the medical spectrum.

AAHSA represents 2 million members that serve assisted-living facilities, continuing-care retirement communities, nursing homes, outreach programs and senior housing.

Weiss said the nursing shortage affects who long-term facilities can admit. For instance, the shortage could restrict admittance of patients on ventilators, patients with serious wounds, feeding tubes and conditions that require a lot of nursing attention.

She said the high turnover rate presents a particular difficulty.

"There is a lot of catch-up work for new staffers," she said. "Change alone can be disruptive."

In long-term care, Weiss said, the system is rebalancing itself because more people desire home-based care, taking away possible nurses from the nursing homes.

"It`s a challenging situation right now," she said, adding that the healthcare system is trying to solve the shortage, and more nursing programs need to emphasize the geriatric field for aspiring nurses and nursing aides.

"Nursing homes have been making a lot of progress, especially making sure that the working environment is more positive," Weiss said.

The nationwide nursing shortage also has been affecting nursing schools, which are struggling against a lack of space, faculty and financial resources to produce enough nurses to address the growing shortage.

To help the shortage in long-term care facilities, Weiss suggested more courses in geriatrics, an improved working environment for nurses and raising public consciousness to respect professionals in geriatric nursing.

Other experts think the growing nursing shortage is degrading standards of long-term care.

In June 2002 the Alliance for Retired Americans released a study entitled "Nursing Home Care: When Will We Get it Right?" blaming the lack of quality care in nursing homes on understaffing.

George J. Kourpias, the ARA`s president, said "a major conclusion of the report is that much of the neglect and abuse suffered by nursing home residents is due to a severe shortage of trained nursing staff."

If quality of care is to be improved, those in charge must solve the issue of staff shortages, he said.

"Nursing home staff and management cannot produce a decent environment for residents until there are vast improvements in staffing ratios, staff and management training, decent pay, benefits and incentives and safety protections," Kourpias said in a 2002 statement during the study`s release.

Dianna Porter, director of policy at the alliance, told UPI that quality of care remains a big concern for the ARA`s 3 million members.

"Not much has changed," Porter said. "We`re still encouraging nursing homes to improve staffing. Overall, there still isn`t good quality of health in nursing homes. When is it going to get better?"

According to Porter, more legislation is needed to solve the nursing shortage and level of quality care in all medical sectors, but particularly in the long-term-care sector.

She said many bills have been attempted at both the federal and state levels to address the issue of understaffing and working conditions in long-term care, but few federal bills have passed, and those in the state legislatures have been too lenient on the nursing-home industry.

"Family members have to be vigilant and be advocates for their family, and you really have to worry about those people who have no one," Porter said. "There`s a tendency, for people not to pay attention until it happens to someone in their family, there is a certain sense of denial that they aren`t going to be dependent, disable, or in a retirement home."

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that by 2030 the number of U.S. adults age 65 and older is expected nearly to double, from about 36 million now to 71.5 million. By 2050 that number is expected to grow to 86.7 million.

Many of those older Americans are expected to seek long-term care. Currently, about 12 million people receive formal long-term-care services each year.

As the over-65 population grows, experts said, so too will unbalanced nurse-to-patient ratios, mandatory overtime, emergency-room overcrowding, discontinued patient-care programs, reduced service hours, delayed discharges and canceled surgeries.

Stokely Baksh is an intern for UPI Science News. E-mail: sciencemail@upi.com

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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