What Are We Going To Do With Dad?

Jerald Winakur is a physician who wrote an article for the Washington Post about an issue which is a growing concern, the affect of aging. His story is centered on his family's struggles as his father's health has begun to fail. However, it really is a concern that many of us share.

In the United States today there are 35 million geriatric patients -- defined as over the age of 65. Of these, 4.5 million are older than 85, now characterized as the "old old." Yet the American Medical Directors Association, which credentials physicians in long-term care, has certified only 1,900 such doctors in the entire country; only 2 percent of physicians in training say they want to go into geriatric care.

The bottom line to the situation is summed up in the sub-headline: No Pat Answers For the 'Old Old'"