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i~ <br />the same sort of entrance for the elderly and frail adult waiting in a crisis <br />environment. This would allow for them. to be seen faster by a doctor. There is a <br />growing need in the health care field for services provided to the aging adult. <br />Included are shortages of doctors and nurses specializing in geriatrics. <br />Gerontology is the medical specialty for aging adults and fewer students are <br />finding this an interesting field of study. These specialists need to be paid better <br />and the adult population is getting larger for a demand for these specialists to be <br />available. The elderly can have appointments at the School of Medicine~as a walk-in <br />by calling a nurse at the school. The School of Medicine has clinic on Mondays and <br />has mobile SHAC. The Hubbbard program is 10 years old and Ms. Soltys is the <br />Medicare Part B expert. <br />There was some discussion about the State Health Plan. The issues were: pre- <br />approve plans, lack of skilled people knowing the difference between Medicare and <br />Medicaid, "homebound" needs to be defined, and wages need to be increased to <br />afford the plan. <br />The group also discussed a 10 year plan to end "Aging in Poverty" which would <br />include providing affordable housing, securing jobs for older adults to continue to <br />work past 65 years of age and on-going adult training so adults can get access to <br />information and transportation services. <br />Page 16 of 18 <br />