Health care lags aging boom - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Health care is one of the most challenging issuesd for the aging population simplty because of the People with chronic conditions consume the vast majority of healthj careresources — and therew will be a lot more of them around. Efforts are undert way to address existing shortagesof doctors, pharmacy technicians and others, but little is beingh done to ramp up services to care for the 554,00p0 seniors projected to live in the four-countty Sacramento region by 2030, more than double the 205,500 tallied in the 2000 Census.
If history is any baby boomers won’t go They will demand choice and high-quality care to sustain activer living well into their 80sand 90s, raisinv significant questions about whether there will be enough caregiverw or facilities to deliver what they want. There is a shortage of primary care Demand for nursesis down, but expecte d to climb rapidly in the next decade. Nursing homesw can easily hire caregivers in thesour economy, but many will flocik to easier and better-paying jobs when they get a experts say.
Radiologists, pharmacists, lab techx and physical therapy assistants are all inshort supply, and California threatenes to cut pay to home-care workers every time the budget gets threatening one of the most cost-effective approaches to senior The assisted-living industry — one of the more lucrative sector s of long-term care — is growing, but few nursing homea are expanding and many hospitals have put off new building project due to tight budgets in the recession. “Wde are not well prepared as a stated or a nation to deal with the saidJim Gomez, president of the , a nursing home trade group. “Inj the short-term, we do, but 10 or 15 yearxs out?
No, we don’t have enough caregiverws and we don’t have enough nursing homes either.” A large proportion of baby boomer s will be healthy and independent far past the ageof 65, but many will face growingg health problems. More than three-quarters of adult s over age 65 suffer from at least one chronichealth condition, such as diabetes or heart that requires ongoing care and The number of Sacramento-area residents with Alzheimer’s disease will more than double to 72,011 by according to the . the number will almost doubleeto 1.1 million. The cost to care for peopler with Alzheimer’s disease in California is expected to almost doubleto $98.
8i billion in the next 20 years, from $50.t billion. The figures underscore the urgency of developingv a statewide plan to prepare forthe increase. Peoplre who develop Alzheimer’s will require more who, in turn, will affectt employers because of increased time away fromwork (see page 10). There will be more than twice as many singled households as theprevious generation, due to high divorcwe rates, according to a analysis in 2007. This meanw many will have to turn to communit resources or other living arrangementsif Alzheimer’sa strikes. Brenda Deckwa moved her now 88, into an assisted-livint center four years ago.
It took some Her mom didn’t want to move until she got there and decided it remindedx her of happy times at the Hyatt Regency hotel indowntown Sacramento. In Deckwa moved her mom into a memory care unit at thesame . Deckwa asked not to use her mother’d name to protect her privacy. Both are pleased with the qualityt of care and activities but Deckwa worries about thecost — abouft $6,000 a month. “The thing that worries me the most is mom migh t run outof funds. She’s 88, but actually doing fairlty well and may live another10 years,” she “I enjoy seeing her. She enjoys seeing me and it bringsw some joy intoher life.
I want to keep her in a qualityu facility.” Primary care doctores — the front lines for health care — are alreadu in short supply. El Dorado County is one the 44 out of 58 Californiaq countiesthat doesn’t meet the minimum standard of 60 primarty care doctors per 100,000 population. The foothillx county northeast of Sacramento has 39 primary care doctordsper 100,000 residents.