[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 144 (Wednesday, September 3, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6010-S6011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Kaine):
S. 2699. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize
certain education and training programs relating to geriatrics, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation
with my colleague from Virginia Senator Kaine that would reauthorize
the only federally funded programs specifically designed to develop a
healthcare workforce focused on the care of older Americans. The
Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act would reauthorize two programs
important to training specialists who care for our older adults: the
Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program and the Geriatrics Academic
Career Awards Program.
The number of Americans age 65 and older is growing. In 2020, there
were just three States in which senior citizens outnumbered children:
Maine, Vermont, and Florida. Today, there are 11 States that have more
seniors than children, and Maine has the oldest population in the
Nation. The percentage of the U.S. population over age 65 rose by 3
percent, to 18 percent, in just 1 year.
The fact is, the United States is facing a shortage of geriatric
health professionals and direct service workers to support our aging
population. The American Geriatrics Society projects that we will be
short some 1,700 geriatricians by the year 2036. Fewer than 7,000 of
our Nation's nearly 1 million physicians are board-certified
geriatricians. We need to train 1,600 geriatricians per year over the
next 9 years to fill that gap.
Complicating this shortfall is the fact that as many as 90 percent of
our older adults either have or will develop one or more chronic health
conditions. So you put together many chronic conditions, an aging
population, multiple medications, and changes that naturally occur in
aging, and you have a situation making caring for older adults ever
more complex and challenging. In any given year, it is expected that 30
percent of older adults will require specialized geriatric care.
Today, there are 42 Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Programs in 37
States. I am pleased that since the last
[[Page S6011]]
reauthorization in 2019, this list has expanded to include such a
program in the State of Maine. It is located at the University of New
England.
For Maine, with an aging population of more than a quarter of a
million Mainers over the age of 65 and only 36 geriatricians, there is
an acute need to train more geriatric health professionals and direct
service providers quickly to meet this growing demand. Maine's program,
known as AgingME, has brought much needed support to communities and
families throughout the State. For example, AgingME has worked with
other training and geriatrics-serving partners to develop a
postgraduate credentialing program in geriatrics. Students who
participate in the program complete more than 2,000 hours of training
in medically underserved communities and rural areas of Maine.
AgingME has also worked to increase the number of community-based
learning programs, such as falls prevention education programs in rural
areas. It has also helped to connect family caregivers with resources
for Alzheimer's and related dementias through its website and through
partnerships with Maine's Area Agencies on Aging.
Nationally, the geriatric workforce program has produced significant
outcomes. In 2022, the most recent reported year, Geriatrics Workforce
Enhancement Programs trained nearly 72,000 students, professionals,
patients, caregivers, and faculty. These programs were also able to
offer faculty development training programs and activities, provide
outreach and education to families and caregivers on care delivery for
older adults, and train patients in self-management of their
conditions. More than 2.2 million individuals have been trained through
these programs, of whom 57 percent were patients and their caregivers.
And all of us know the vitally important role that family caregivers
play in taking care of their older relatives, often their parents. But
we also know that they need help in doing so, including training.
Approximately a third of the courses offered focused on Alzheimer's
disease and other dementias. Patients and caregivers also took courses
on other topics related to the health needs of older adults, such as
geriatric health, emergency response training, and community health.
Our legislation would also reauthorize the geriatrics career
advancement award program. Established in 1998, this program was
created to increase the number of faculty engaged in geriatric
education.
Transitioning from clinical training and practice into an academic
faculty role can be challenging. It requires gaining new skills as an
educator, skills not typically taught in clinical training programs.
Geriatrics Academic Career Awards support early career development for
emerging leaders by providing funding that supports their efforts to
develop skills as an educator in geriatrics.
The Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act would reauthorize these two
vitally important programs at a combined amount of $48.2 million per
year over the next 5 years. It really is a modest investment that will
help ensure that our older Americans have the expert care that they
need, that their caregivers are provided with training, that other
support employees and healthcare providers receive the skills that they
need as well. Together, these programs will continue to train the
current workforce and family caregivers while developing a cadre of
emerging leaders in geriatric education in a variety of disciplines.
In doing both, we can help to ensure that our aging Americans will be
cared for by a healthcare workforce specifically trained to meet their
unique and often complex health needs for decades to come.
This will lead to improved care for older Americans while saving
valuable resources and reducing unnecessary costs.
I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation to
strengthen and extend these two important programs.
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