Area faces geriatric care crisis
(2/23/02 AP Newswires, TX)

DALLAS (AP) - Interest in running nursing homes is on a sharp decline even as the senior population skyrockets, threatening a crisis in the industry.

The decrease in the number of people becoming nursing home administrators hasn't caused a shortage yet but could lead to poorer care of nursing home residents, industry officials said in Saturday's editions of The Dallas Morning News.

"We need to find out exactly why this is happening and then be pro-active about it before we have a crisis," said Randy Lindner, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators.

"And it's a debate that needs to take place now - not 10 years from now when it's too late."

In Dallas, a lack of applicants to long-term care administration programs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center prompted the school to halt its program this year.

Southwest Texas State University recently scaled back a similar program and created a master's degree track in an effort to reverse the pattern. The University of North Texas at Denton has seen falling enrollment for two years.

The drop nationwide coincides with a nursing shortage in long-term-care facilities.

About 40,000 people have active nursing home administrator licenses, but only an estimated 17,000 are running facilities.

The number of license exams administered nationally has fallen 36 percent since 1998 and 43 percent since 1988.

"The crisis lies in people not wanting to go into this field," said Dr. Charles Johnson, chairman of the Health Services Research department at Southwest Texas State. "That's sad."