PORTLAND, Maine - The head of the AARP's Maine chapter says he welcomes a new federal initiative to increase support for caregivers.
The initiative was one of many unveiled Monday at the White House Conference on aging - an event co-sponsored by the AARP held once every decade.
Rich Livingston says the feds have committed an additional $37 million to train more people to work in geriatric care - an area which is severely understaffed at the moment.
"There's already a shortfall of caregivers, and that shortfall is projected to get even larger," he says, "so intervening now and helping to expand this workforce,is crucial."
Livingston says there are also efforts underway to increase compensation for professional geriatric caregivers, whose average income, he says, is about $13,000 a year.
Aging issues, he says, are of particular interest in Maine, which has the oldest population in the country.