Aging in America-The Need for More Nurses and Nursing Aides

Four Decades ago, when I was in my 40's, I happened to visit a nursing home in Chicago, Illinois. I was shocked and depressed to see so many senior citizens in need of assistance just to cope up with their daily activities. This feeling comes again every day when I visits Macrine in the skilled nursing and rehabilitation hospital where she had check in since the 19th of May. The ratio of the elderly patients for rehab to home health aides/nurses per shift is about 1 to 20. In this rehab hospital that Macrine is staying, the aides are primarily members of the minorities populations-(non white)-Hispanic, Asian, black, Filipino, Chinese and Indian Americans. According to the stats they are poorly paid. Thus the care of the elderly is compromised because the aides are overworked and too many patients to take care of. Underpaid and without a strong union, home health aides make an average wage of about $23,000, according to the New York Times’ Binyamin Appelbaum. "Instead of white men who make stuff, the group is increasingly made up of minority women who serve people,” he writes. Indeed, immigrants account for almost a third of the in-home health-care workforce, and one in five of them are undocumented, by one estimate.

A rapidly growing elderly population might be the most important yet inevitable feature of the country’s economic future. Why aren’t voters hearing more about it? Here's an excerpt about how the Aging Population is changing America( see reference below). It mentioned the need for home health aides/nurses and rise in health care spending.

"Does the inevitable aging of America carry obvious public-policy recommendations? The need for home health aides should factor into the conversation about immigration, yet I have heard nothing on the campaign trail about how the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. currently relies on a steady supply of immigrants. The rise in health-care spending for the elderly will force debates about the most humane and affordable way to care for those who need it. The next presidents may not serve as grand architects of public health policy, as Obama did. Rather they may have to serve as tinkerers and handymen, making targeted fixes to keep the house from falling apart.

"As Americans live longer, poor and middle class retirees will need more savings. The U.S. government could discuss an expansion of Social Security for the poorest, or new ways to force—or “nudge”—even low-income Americans to save enough money to last their extended lifetimes".

Do you agree? Let me hear from you!

Reference: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/10/aging-america/503177/