As the generation born between 1946 and 1964 enters retirement and, in some cases, require long term care, the demand for long term care services will increase. Some retired beneficiaries will choose to receive care at home instead of in a nursing facility for independence, privacy, etc. As a result, job prospects for home health care professionals and visiting nursing are good. An excerpt from an article in the Miami Herald:
With the U.S. population growing grayer, job prospects for home health aides — and every worker providing health care to seniors, for that matter — are quite rosy. As the 78 million baby boomers live longer with more chronic illnesses, the country will face a shortage of professionals trained to meet the special needs of the elderly.
“Are we ready for the baby boomers growing older?” asks Iveris Martinez, a gerontologist and assistant professor at Florida International University’s medical school. “The consensus is no. We simply don’t have enough health professionals with specialty training in geriatrics.”
It’s not just the elderly who will be affected by this shortfall, however. Experts predict that fewer medical practices will accept new patients and people will face longer waits to see physicians — if they see them at all. Instead, more nurse practitioners and physician assistants will provide front-line care.
Geriatric physicians are in short supply, but that may change when the field of geriatrics grows as a result of the retirement boom.
