Herb Kohl: “We already have a shortage of health care workers who are trained and devoted to caring for older Americans and those…”

“We already have a shortage of health care workers who are trained and devoted to caring for older Americans and those with disabilities--a fact that is well documented in the report issued by the Institute of Medicine last year. This shortage is one that will only grow more desperate as our country ages rapidly. The United States will not be able to meet the approaching demand for health care and long-term care without a workforce that is prepared for the job. Between 2005 and 2030, it is estimated that the number of adults aged 65 and older will almost double from 37 million to over 70 million, increasing from 12 percent of the population of the United States to almost 20 percent of the population. So it is not surprising that the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that personal or home care aides and home health aides will represent the second and third fastest growing occupations between 2006 and 2016. Only last week, the New York Times published an editorial concluding that, ``With more jobs being lost all the time across the board--more than 71,000 layoffs in the United States were announced on Monday and Tuesday alone--there should be comfort in the fact that one sector, health care, continues to add jobs.'' I will ask to have this editorial printed in the Record. Government has a special obligation to care for vulnerable populations.”