TOLEDO — Aging baby boomers and more services are behind an increase in hospital admissions, despite predictions that the numbers would decrease, hospital officials and health care experts say.

        More than 1.4 million patients were admitted to Ohio hospitals in 2000, the highest total since 1993. Nationwide, nearly 33.1 million patients — the highest in more than a decade — checked into hospitals in 2000, the latest statistical year available.

        The number of patients being admitted to hospitals nationwide dropped slowly for much of the 1990s, and experts said then the decrease would continue.

        Some hospital officials and experts say an aging population is the cause of the increase, while others say more hospital services mean more customers.

        “We're beginning to see the first signals of the aging population and the large movement of baby boomers toward Medicare,” said Rick Wade, a vice president of the American Hospital Association in Chicago.

        But Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, said he thinks the growth is a result of an increase in services as hospitals try to keep up with consumer demand.

        Linda Warino, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, said she's worried because the patient increase is happening at the same time as a nursing shortage.

        Some hospital administrators say they're happy, because more patients mean more business.

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