Monday, June 2, 2003|
You ring for the nurse and no one comes. That happens sometimes in hospitals. Everybody is way too busy and sometimes things get missed. So you ring for the nurse again and nobody comes. That happens more often these days as hospitals have to make do with less. Get used to it.
The lead editorial in the May Journal of the American Association of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) describes the bleak future for health care. They say that statistics from the U.S. Bureau of labor estimate that in just seven more years, there will be a shortage of more than one million nurses. Nursing school enrollments are off 17% and nurses are getting older. In Northeast Ohio last fall, the average age of RN's was 47 and they're getting tired of being chronically overworked and understaffed with little to no chance for advancement. The JAAPA editorial says that 55% of nurses surveyed "would not recommend a nursing career to their family and friends . . . and 25% planned on quitting their jobs in the next year." But there's no problem so bad that it can't be made worse. The baby-boomers aren't babies any more. There are about 78 million of us and, to the relief of many Gen-Xers, we're gonna being dying soon. But not before we get sick and use a lot of valuable resources. JAAPA says that the number of Americans aged 65 and older will double between now and the year 2030 (remember when 2000 seemed impossibly far away? If you do, then it's you I'm talking about).
Research shows that improved nurse staffing "results in fewer complications, fewer adverse events, lower mortality, and shorter hospital stays." Investing in health care doesn't seem to be part of the "President's" economic stimulus package, though. The 2004 federal budget, according to the JAAPA editorial, slashes funding for all Title VII programs of the Public Health Service from $310.45 million last year to $11 million this year. All programs that increase the number of primary care providers in rural and underserved areas were eliminated." It is worth noting, at this point, that the "President" and members of Congress may receive health care at military facilities where no one ever ignores their request for an extra pillow.
So, you really have nothing to worry about as long as you're rich or well-connected. Otherwise, don't get sick and don't grow old. |
Last update: 7/12/04; 13:24:33 .
