Why did I start this blog? Here are the statistics that should speak for themselves. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by 2010 there will be 5.7 million people over the age of eighty-five. One fourth of all American families are full-time caregivers, 26 million to an adult family member and 5 million to a person with dementia.
People over the age of sixty-five account for 234 million medical office visits per year, 15.7 million emergency room visits and 13.1 million hospital visits per 1000 visits per year.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, more than one million nurses are needed by 2016. Hospitals currently have 116,000 job openings. In 2007, 40,285 qualified applicants were turned away from schools of nursing due to insufficient faculty.
The ratio of trained nurses to the people most likely to need care in 2010 and beyond (the elderly) will decrease by 40 % in the next 5 years.
Time to talk about some solutions.