to 40 years taking care of others have to
worry about how they will manage and
be cared for in their later years."
Surgical administrators are also
concerned about having enough sav-
ings to last them through their golden
years. About 40% of ASC and hospital
respondents say their retirement nest
egg isn't sufficient, yet the majority of
both groups — about 36% each —
have $250,000 or more saved. Several
say that despite having decent sav-
ings, they don't think it will be
enough because of inflation and the
rising cost of living.
"I wish I'd have learned at a young
age to manage my money and not let
my money manage me," says DeeDee
Warren, RN, nurses administrator at
the Tri City Surgery Center in
Prescott, Ariz. "Saving money should
be a priority, but for most of
Americans, it is an afterthought."
"Years ago I realized that a 401(k)
was not going to be enough for retire-
ment, but I didn't know how to invest
and make my money grow," says one
respondent. "Healthcare workers
should learn all they can about mak-
ing their money work for them."
5 5
January 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
"I think it's kind of
twofold why I'm
delaying retirement.
One, my age group
didn't get a lot of
prompting to plan
for retirement when
we were younger. I
think that many
people in my gener-
ation are in the
same boat now and
it's because we did-
n't really think about
it. Second, I've been
a single parent for
most of my daugh-
ters' lives. My
priority was
obviously making
ends meet."
— Cindy Tudor, RN,
clinical director of
Community Surgery Center
in Kokomo, Ind.
