Michael Dowling: We've revolutionized care for aging adults, but is America's health system ready for the senior population boom?

Michael Dowling: We've revolutionized care for aging adults, but is America's health system ready for the senior population boom? 
Becker's Hospital Review; by Michael J. Dowling, President and CEO, Northwell Health; 12/2/24 
Like many baby boomers and those from earlier generations, I have vivid memories from my younger years of my grandparents and other aging adults struggling with an assortment of ailments that their doctors told them were just an inevitable part of growing old. ... The transformative advancements made over the past half-century in meeting the physical and emotional health needs of the nation's rapidly aging population are remarkable — and that's especially important because more Americans are turning age 65 now than in any other time in our history (4.1 million in 2024, or 11,200 a day). And as we move toward a new year, every healthcare executive must examine whether we are collectively prepared to care for them in the years and decades ahead and take steps to recruit the medical specialists we need to meet burgeoning demand. ... Lastly, all clinicians must embrace palliative care as part of their standard practice in managing the health of aging adults with serious illness. ...