Sec. 2. Findings

243 words·~1 min read·/bill/116/s/299/is/section-2

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Congress finds the following: In 2016, 46,000,000 adults age 65 or older lived in the United States, and this number is expected to double to over 98,000,000 by 2060. Three out of four older adults are expected to have multiple chronic conditions, which increases the complexity of care needed and increases medical expenditures. Thirty percent of older adults in the United States, about 14,000,000 individuals, are projected to need specialized geriatric care by 2030. That care will require at least 20,000 geriatricians and even more geriatric-trained health professionals.

There are nearly 1,000,000 physicians in the United States, less than 7,300 of whom are board-certified geriatricians. There are 3,600,000 nurses in the United States, of whom, less than 1 percent are registered nurses certified in geriatrics and less than 3 percent are advanced practice nurses certified in geriatrics. There are similarly few professionals certified in geriatrics among professionals in social work, pharmacy, psychiatry, and the allied health disciplines. Health professionals trained in geriatrics understand the unique health needs and complex care challenges associated with aging.

Outcomes associated with interprofessional geriatric teams include improved health-related quality of life, fewer emergency room visits, fewer hospital admissions and, in the case of hospitalization, shorter length of stay and lower costs per admission. Two federally funded initiatives have historically aimed to reduce the widening gap between the numbers of older adults and health professionals trained in geriatrics: The Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program and the Geriatrics Academic Career Award.