Some of Centre County's older citizens gathered Monday at the Mount Nittany Medical Center to hear an expert's take on the changing face of health care.

About 50 individuals gleaned the advice of speaker Christopher Calkins, director of outreach health initiatives at Penn State Outreach, as he touched on a variety of issues ranging from insurance to disease prevention to the role of the internet in the health care industry.

But the big question was how America will meet the impending challenges in the medical industry, including heavy understaffing.

"There's nothing that Congress can pass right now that wholly can fix the system," Calkins said. "It's kind of like trying to push the Titanic by jumping in the water and kicking."

Calkins, who has more than 25 years of health care experience, said that by 2020 the United States will be facing a shortage of one million nurses and 85,000 primary care physicians.

When asked if he thought the shortages would be fixed with the 2,300-page health care bill that passed in U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, Calkins said, "I think that the honest answer to that is 'not in the short term.' "

He added that the issue of student debt needs to be re-examined for medical students. Medical students today are graduating with six-figure student debts, said Calkins, who earned his bachelor's degree from Penn State in 1983 and his doctoral degree in 2008.

"That's a mortgage in their backpack before they have a job," he said.

Another hot topic at the forum was the impact of the first wave of the baby boomer generation as its members will begin turning 65 in a little more than one year, making them eligible for Medicare. Baby boomers are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as individuals born between 1946 and 1964. Currently 76 million people fit into this generation, Calkins said.

The rate that these seniors will become eligible for Medicare would equal the population at University Park becoming eligible for Medicare every four days, Calkins said, while showing a photo of the Bryce Jordan Center packed with Thon participants.

Pennsylvania is already the second oldest state in the U.S. with 16 percent of the population over the age of 65. These additional senior citizens qualifying for Medicare could pose a significant financial burden on younger Americans, Calkins told the mostly gray-haired crowd.

He said a large portion of the cost of health care in the United States could be prevented through living healthier.

"Park one space further away from the door every day or every week," Calkins said, offering practical ways for healthier living.

He also suggested using the stairs instead of the elevator.

Lloyd Huck, a State College resident who attended the forum, said Calkins' insights were valuable and that his message is also important for students.

"I told him that he ought to be talking to young people, too," Huck said. "People would be healthier, and cost would go down if could take better care of ourselves."

Calkins said no matter what improvements are done to health care, having a sickness is still painful and doctors are no substitute for loved ones.

"Frankly, it's pretty scary to be sick in the United States or anywhere," Calkins said. "The nicest hospital in the country is still not the place that I would like to die."

To forum was hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Penn State Outreach.