The following are some facts about and trends in health care which will impact VA nurses in the upcoming years.

• The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease will more than triple in the next 50 years.
  
• Today, there are over five million caregivers in America, providing care for individuals with dementia.
  
• There are an estimated 25.6 million living veterans, and an estimated 39.1 million family members of these living veterans.
  
• Health care spending in the U.S. increased 9.6% in 2002, growing four times faster than the economy. Health care spending, growing much faster than the overall economy, has been occurring since the mid-1990s. This is expected to continue for years into the future.
  
• In 1965, health care spending in the U.S. was 6.5% of the gross national product. In 2001, it was 14.1%.
  
• Four factors (not a comprehensive list) driving this increase in health care spending are:
  • rising labor costs;
  • increased hospital costs;
  • greater spending on prescription medications; and
  • greater spending by physicians, e.g., ordering more lab tests, and imaging studies.
• A Canadian study of 18,142 patients with five diseases showed 30-day mortality rates are lower with:
  • a nursing staff with higher education levels;
  • a higher ratio of RNs to non-RN staff; and
  • more collaborative nurse-physician relationships.
• This study also demonstrated mortality rates were higher when hospitals use more casual or temporary nurses.
  
• Between 1999 and 2003, average RN staffing levels in certified long-term care facilities declined 25%, from 0.8 to 0.6 hours/resident/day. LVN/LPN hours held steady. Nursing assistant hours rose.
  
• In the next 25 years, the number of people 65 and older will nearly double to 70 million, according to the American Geriatrics Society. The current U.S. population is 293 million.