Report: U.S. faces crisis in care for aging population with dementia

Published: 2005-09-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- With an aging population increasingly affected by dementia and a shrinking corps of available caregivers, the United States is facing "the perfect demographic storm in about six years," according to a Catholic member of the President's Council on Bioethics. But, unlike some hurricanes whose impact can be less than predicted, this storm "is unlikely to veer off harmlessly," said Mary Ann Glendon, a law professor at Harvard University. "Its worst effects can be muted, but only if we start planning now, as a society and in our families." Glendon and other members of the council participated in a Sept. 29 telephone news conference to talk about the council's seventh report since its creation in 2001. The report was released that day. The report, "Taking Care: Ethical Caregiving in Our Aging Society," focuses primarily on the care of people with dementia -- currently estimated at 4 million Americans, but expected to triple by mid-century.

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .