Editorial: The aging of Nevada

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

Nevada's image is more that of nightclubs than nursing homes, but reality is fast catching up.

A report just released by the Sanford Center for Aging at UNR says that Nevada's senior population has for years been growing many times faster than the national rate and that, according to projections, its growth will lead the nation for at least the next two decades.

Are we prepared for this?

Although the report does not jump to conclusions or include specific recommendations, it does present page after page of statistics documenting facts about Nevada's seniors and the public resources available to them.

From our reading of the report, we think there is much to be done from a policymaking perspective. Principally, Nevada needs to redouble its efforts to recruit health care professionals and produce more of them from its own colleges and universities.

Citing 2007 figures from the state Board of Medical Examiners, the report says Nevada has only 59 geriatricians, doctors who specialize in elder care. That translates to one geriatrician for every 6,417 seniors.

That statistic is emblematic of the entire health care picture for seniors. The report says there are critical shortages in most health care disciplines needed to serve seniors.

Geriatric-trained nurses, physical and occupational therapists, mental health professionals, dentists, pharmacists and doctors - all are in short supply. And as the population ages, the shortages will become more acute.

Adding to the concern is the report's finding that in 2005 the number of medical students in Nevada, for every 100,000 of population, was last in the nation.

"The convergence of an overburdened health care system, inadequate resources for seniors and the sheer number of aging Baby Boomers are setting the stage for an aging perfect storm to hit Nevada," the report says.

We think the report's authors have done their job in warning about the storm. Now it is the job of Nevada's policymakers to appropriately respond.