Are you caring for, or intending to care, for an elderly friend or relative and would like to make their life at home a viable and worthwhile alternative to residential care? Perhaps the prospect of caring seems overwhelming and you feel the need for some emotional or physical support. Then this book has been written for you. My book is not aimed at care workers who are trained to care, but at unpaid carers who are caring out of a sense of compassion, family loyalty or out of love. Caring For An Elderly Person At Home is not a textbook, but a friendly guide based on my own experiences of caring for elderly people in their own homes. I hope it will help with advice on the day-to-day tasks of caring and coping with important issues, such as failing health, poor mobility and financial matters. You will also find advice on how to obtain professional help when necessary.

Why not find and coordinate your own private care? The reasons are usually simply because you don't have resources, the need is urgent, you don't know where to start, what to consider, what to watch out for, how to coordinate the care provider and services. In short, the main reason is that it is too overwhelming and time consuming on top of what you have in your own personal lives: kids, jobs, crucial commitments. This workbook is a a top level, one night read and is intended to show you that independent private care is possible and affordable by following these tips and insights.

A compelling navigation through the questions, problems, and risks involved in choosing an assisted living facility. Winner of the 2007 American Journal of Nursing's Book of the Year Award in the categories of public policy and creative writing. A compelling navigation through the questions, problems, and risks involved in choosing an assisted living facility. Winner of the 2007 American Journal of Nursing's Book of the Year Award in the categories of public policy and creative writing.

"This excellent and accurate personal documentation by a long-distance caregiver as he 'travels' with his mother from her fierce independence to dependence is a very helpful guide to assist us as we care for our loved ones in their advanced years - and plan ahead for ourselves."

- Hon. Dorcas R. Hardy, Former Commissioner of Social Security and 2005 White House Conference on Aging Chair

Every day for the next twenty years, more than 10,000 people in the United States will turn 65. With life expectancies increasing as well, many of these Americans will eventually require round-the-clock attention--and we have only begun to prepare for the challenge of caring for them. In Labors of Love, Jason Rodriquez examines the world of the fast-growing elder care industry, providing a nuanced and balanced portrait of the day-to-day lives of the people and organizations that devote their time to supporting America's aging population. Through extensive ethnographic research, interviews with staff and management, and analysis of internal documents, Rodriquez explores the inner workings of two different nursing homes--one for-profit and one non-profit--to understand the connections among the administrative regulations, the professional requirements, and the type of care provided in both types of facilities. He reveals a variety of challenges that nursing home care workers face day to day: battles over the budget; the administrative hurdles of Medicaid and Medicare; the employees' struggle to balance financial stability and compassionate care for residents. Yet, Rodriquez argues, nursing home workers give meaning and dignity to their work by building emotional attachments to residents and their care. An unprecedented study, Labors of Love brings new insight into the underlying structures of a crucial and expanding sector of the American health care system.