Research Prospectus Intro and Bibliography

According to the an article published on MSNBC.com “Alarm is spreading across the health care sector in the face of stark demographics” “As the huge baby boomer generation surges toward retirement age, an unsettling issue grows ever more pressing: finding the work force to tend to the millions of boomers who will someday need ongoing care because of physical and mental frailties”. With the nation’s 76 million baby boomers due to start retiring within the next decade or so, the nation will see a huge spike in long-term health care facilities. The aging baby boomer population will have a huge impact on American society by creating more jobs within the long-term care field. It’s estimated that within the next decade 1 million additional jobs will be created to help care for the aging. Jobs that will be produced include nurses, nurse assistants, geriatric doctors, health care administrators and other jobs that would relate to the care giving of the aging population.
In addition to the jobs that will be generated in the next decade there will also be a large growth of retirement communities. In an article from the wall street journal, Matthew Kahn, a professor at UCLA's Institute of the Environment couldn’t of said it better “Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, grew up alongside the environmental movement of the 1960s and '70s. "These guys were at Woodstock,""This is the birth cohort that was at the environmental movement's summer of love." Some common trends that I have noticed within retirement committees is that many administrators do not easily except change but with the onset of a relatively new concept of patient care called "patient centered care" the patient is in charge of their own care and living environment. With the baby boomers being the first generations to be heavily involved in the green movement many future residents will want to live in a community that is Eco-friendly.
Maintaining a "green" facility starts with the construction of the facility. This means that the facility should be built with materials that are considered renewable, and energy efficient. Building a green facility would require an LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) this is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design. Upon the completion of the green facility, green systems need to be installed. Green systems that regulate air quality, laundry equipment, water purification and energy must be included in the facility. These Eco-friendly systems could also cut energy costs.
Lastly, the facility would have to offer green amenities. This includes the barber shop, transportation, and food services. Green facilities can have many health and environmental benefits. I am looking forward to this research; most people have no idea how many older citizens this country will have within the decade. It will heavily impact society. It is very important that we create and maintain Eco-friendly facilities.

Bibliography:

Cohen, Stehpnie I. "Pitching boomers housing that is green as their hair goes gray." Market Watch. Wall Street Journal, 28 Feb. 2008. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. .

Goldsmith, Marshall. "GREEN MANAGEMENT." THE REALITY OF BEING GREEN IN BUSINESS. 14.27 (2009): 21-45, 25+. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

"What LEED Is." U.S. Green Building council. Web. 1 Feb. 2010.