State Braces for Shortage of Care Providers as Elderly Population Continues To Grow

As California’s senior population continues to grow, the state is expected to face a serious shortage of health care providers who specialize in caring for elderly residents.

Health care providers, educators and advocates say the solution to the eldercare work force problem should focus on recruitment, training and retention of geriatricians and other specialized health workers.

In a California Healthline Special Report by Pat McConahay, experts discussed efforts to expand the eldercare work force.

The Special Report includes comments from:

Michelle Nevins, executive director of the Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center;
Cheryl Phillips, chief medical officer for On Lok Lifeways and past president of the American Geriatric Society;
RenÃ© Seidel, vice president of programs and operations at the SCAN Foundation;
Erin Westphal, program officer at the SCAN Foundation; and
Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care (McConahay, California Healthline, 12/15).

The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>State Braces for Shortage of Care Providers as Elderly Population Continues To Grow</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2010-12-15T00:00:00-08:00">
			December 15, 2010		</time>
		</div>
<p>As California’s senior population continues to grow, the state is expected to face a serious shortage of health care providers who specialize in caring for elderly residents. </p><p>Health care providers, educators and advocates say the solution to the eldercare work force problem should focus on recruitment, training and retention of geriatricians and other specialized health workers.</p><p>In a <i>California Healthline </i>Special Report by Pat McConahay, experts discussed efforts to expand the eldercare work force.</p><p>The Special Report includes comments from:</p><ul><li>Michelle Nevins, executive director of the Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center; </li><li>Cheryl Phillips, chief medical officer for On Lok Lifeways and past president of the American Geriatric Society; </li><li>RenÃ© Seidel, vice president of programs and operations at the SCAN Foundation; </li><li>Erin Westphal, program officer at the SCAN Foundation; and </li><li>Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care (McConahay, <i>California Healthline</i>, 12/15). </li></ul><p>The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2010/12/chlspecialreporttranscript121510.pdf">PDF</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/state-braces-for-shortage-of-care-providers-as-elderly-population-continues-to-grow/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/state-braces-for-shortage-of-care-providers-as-elderly-population-continues-to-grow/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/state-braces-for-shortage-of-care-providers-as-elderly-population-continues-to-grow/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20State%20Braces%20for%20Shortage%20of%20Care%20Providers%20as%20Elderly%20Population%20Continues%20To%20Grow&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2Fnews%2Fstate-braces-for-shortage-of-care-providers-as-elderly-population-continues-to-grow%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/state-braces-for-shortage-of-care-providers-as-elderly-population-continues-to-grow/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/state-braces-for-shortage-of-care-providers-as-elderly-population-continues-to-grow/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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