Chicago—Some pieces of good news may produce bad results for health care delivery in the upcoming decades.
The good news is that people are living longer and women have increased professional job opportunities. That combination means, however, that planners are projecting a shortage of health care workers—particularly of registered nurses, a field traditionally filled by women—by 2020, when the majority of baby boomers reach the age when most medical attention is needed.
Consequently, policy analysts are beginning to warn government, education, and business leaders about the coming problem. They are also trying to find solutions.
The latest to join the growing chorus is a panel convened by the Nursing Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing. The panel, which met here a month ago to discuss "The Future of the Health Care Labor Force in a Graying Society," is chaired by Lynn . . . [Full Text of this Article]
