Aging in America Conference

I am getting ready to leave for the Aging in America Conference this Saturday. It is 5 days of programs for those of us who work in the elder care field. I am especially excited to be attending a program sponsored by the Rosalyn Carter Center for Caregiving. I hope to have much to report on my return.
Today's Dad quote of the day: When encouraging my father-in-law to drink more water, he responded, "Why, is my stomach dry?"

Choices

Today's entry is a short one but hopefully a powerful one. Caregivers are faced with many choices everyday. The choice to be a caregiver, how to accomplish the tasks of caregiving, deal with issues and when to let go. No matter what choices you make, remember that they are the right choices for you. No one can fully understand what you are going through and the choices you make have to work for you and no one else.
Seek advice, read about others experiences, find support and pray but in the end the ultimate decision and choice is yours alone. Celebrate you choice and make it your own. Take it to heart and always tell yourself that it was the right choice even when it doesn't seem that way.

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.

Welcome to the first entry in Nurse Nan's Notes. I will be posting regularly and discussing elder caregiving and nursing education in Geriatrics, my two favorite topics. Stay tuned for my first note.