Long-term health care policy for elders: now is the time for nursing leadership

The capacity of current long-term health care policy to produce quality long term care (LTC) of older persons is evaluated in this article. The pervasive influence of a medical-custodial model and its resulting disincentives for quality of care of elders are discussed. An alternative model for long-term care of elders is proposed for long-term health care policy revisions. Background information about the preparation of geriatric nurses and the relationship to the current medical-custodial model and substandard quality of LTC of elders is provided. Selected contributions (i.e., advocacy) of nurses, organizations, and foundations for LTC policy revision are highlighted. Recommendations for increasing the number of geriatric nurses in LTC and nursing's influence on long-term health care policy making are offered.