This issue is both an alert and a call for action. With increasing numbers of older people and declining numbers of care providers in all related professions--from nurses and nurse's aides to allied health professionals, social workers, and physicians, we face an impending crisis. The assembled authors examine how demographics will affect both supply and demand in acute and long-term care; reasons behind the labor shortages; strategies for recruitment, training, and retention; and implications for financing and quality of care.