RD157 - Annual Progress Report of the University of Virginia Medical Center, on the Effect of the Aging Population on State Agencies


Executive Summary:
HB 110 (Chapter 54, 2006 Session) amended Va. Code §2.2-5510, to require that each state agency include in its strategic plan "an analysis of the impact that aging of the population will have on its ability to deliver services and a description of how the agency is responding to these changes." Further, the bill provides that each state agency "shall report by October I of each year to the Governor and to the General Assembly its progress for addressing the impact of the aging of the population in at least five specific actions."

The University of Virginia Medical Center provides medical care to citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia of all ages, including those 65 and older. On a percentage basis, the patient population served by the University of Virginia Medical Center is significantly older than the population of the Commonwealth at large. A comparison of Fiscal Year 2001 and Fiscal Year 2006 indicates that the number of senior citizens treated at the Medical Center on both an inpatient and outpatient basis has increased substantially over the last several years.

The University of Virginia Medical Center has a number of focused healthcare initiatives aimed at the senior population. The clinical staff of the medical center includes nine geriatricians - primary care physicians specially trained to prevent and manage the healthcare of senior citizens. In addition, the Medical Center provides a full range of healthcare services to those individuals.

In addition to an aging patient population, the University of Virginia Medical Center faces an aging workforce, with a significant impact on nurses and other clinical care providers. The Medical Center is engaged in seeking solutions to the problem of the aging nurse workforce, both through internal programs to retain experienced nurses and provision of resources to the University of Virginia School of Nursing to train new nurses, and numerous external efforts.