COLUMBIA, S.C. — According to data from the U.S. Census and the South Carolina Department on Aging, the number of South Carolinians 65 and older will grow by 38% in the next two years.
But does our state have enough medical professionals to care for them?
The answer is overwhelmingly no, according to experts in the field of geriatric medicine.
"Unfortunately for geriatrics, our fill rate (for fellowships) compared to cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonary, endocrine, etc., we have the lowest fill rate in the nation. So of all available slots, less than 50% of them are filled by physicians that want to go into geriatric medicine," Dr. Victor Hirth said.
Hirth is the medical director at Still Hopes, a physician and CEO of the Geriatric Health and Wellness practice in West Columbia, as well as a USC professor.
He tells News 19 that there are around 7,000 geriatricians nationally, but used to be over 10,000 of these doctors. He adds the need is 30 - 50,000 geriatricians.
School loan scholarship programs funded through the State Department on Aging are just one way to help recruit.
Dr. Erin Mashack received this year's scholarship a few months ago.
"It is crippling, the amount of debt that one accrues after that much schooling and so every bit helps and so the generosity from this loan forgiveness program is appreciated more than I can say," Mashack, geriatrician said.
These doctors explain more scholarships like this are needed in this field of medicine, as well as knowing that geriatricians can ask employers to help pay off loans.
Hirth and Mashack explain that there are lots of factors to deter future doctors from specializing in geriatrics. One being that there's not much pay compared to other fields of medicine. There's also significant medical school debt, not as much work with technology, not as much curing of sickness, generally fewer day-to-day visits with patients and tough sicknesses to deal with.
Even though Dr. Hirth tells News 19 there's a lot of stigma about caring for the elderly, there are lots of rewards too.
"There's more continuity, there are nicer relationships. They're longitudinal with your folks, you still have the opportunity to make meaningful differences in their overall health and well being, which is highly rewarding," Hirth said.
Hirth explains that geriatric medicine jobs will always be available, with a variety of ways to work in the field.
According to data from the U.S. Census and the South Carolina Department on Aging, this year 20.2% of residents in our state are 65 and older. In the next two years, that number goes up to 24.4%.