Resources & Links
- Caregiver Resources & Long-Term CareFamily caregivers play an important role in the lives of their loved ones. In-home assistance, community programs, or residential facilities enable you to stay active and accomplish everyday tasks. There are many resources available to help older adults continue to live in their homes and participate in their communities.
- Elder Care: More Than "Parenting a Parent"Although caring for elderly parents can pose challenges, understanding common pitfalls can help make your balancing act easier.
- Elder Care Locator: U.S. Administration on AgingEldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging connecting you to services for older adults and their families.
Research & Reference
- Caring for Aging Family Members: Points of View Reference CenterAn overview of the issue of caring for aging family members in the U.S. is presented. Terms defined include assisted living, home care, and skilled-nursing facility. Also addressed are the history of care for older people in the U.S., the financial costs of caring for the elderly in the U.S., and U.S. federal government policies regarding care for older people.
- Elder Care: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on elder care. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
- Elder Care: Opposing ViewpointsAn Opposing Viewpoints landing page on elder care. This page includes links to journals, viewpoint essays, newspaper articles, images, and more.
Streaming Media
- Care: Care Workers, Their Clients, and a Coming CrisesThis intimate documentary pulls back the curtain on the poignant and largely hidden world of in-home eldercare. Beautifully shot and deeply moving, the film reveals the bonds that form between paid care workers and elders - and exposes the cracks in a system that is currently failing both.
- Life and Death in Assisted LivingMore and more elderly Americans are choosing to spend their later years in assisted living facilities, which have sprung up as an alternative to nursing homes. But is this loosely regulated, multi-billion dollar industry putting seniors at risk? In a major investigation with ProPublica. FRONTLINE examines the operations of the nation's largest assisted living company, raising questions about the drive for profits and fatal lapses in care.
Perspectives
Present Through the End
A trusted companion and go-to resource for everyone supporting someone at the end of life--from the moment we first learn that someone is dying through the time of death and beyond. Present through the End offers the guidance and essential wisdom we need when we are struggling to support someone who is nearing death. This book helps us meet the many challenges ahead and navigate through difficult times with clarity and kindness--both for the person who is dying and also for ourselves. Inspired by decades of experience caring for the dying and years teaching contemplative care around the world, Kirsten DeLeo shares down-to-earth advice and offers short, simple "on the spot" tools to help us handle our emotions, deal with difficult relationships, talk about spiritual matters, practice self-care, listen fully, and more. This book offers insight and encouragement when we are unsure what to do or say and shows us how to be present even though we may feel utterly helpless, love when loss is just around the corner, and be fully alive to each moment as time runs out.
Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death
In this long-awaited book of inspiring and practical teachings, Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax offers the fruits of her many years of work with dying people. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings, her work is a source of wisdom for all those who are charged with a dying person's care, who are facing their own death, or who are wishing to explore and contemplate the transformative power of the dying process. Halifax offers lessons from dying people and caregivers, as well as guided meditations to help readers contemplate death without fear, develop a commitment to helping others, and transform suffering and resistance into courage. She says, "Why wait until we are actualy dying to explore what it may mean to die with awareness?" A world-renowned pioneer in care of the dying, Joan Halifax founded the Project on Being with Dying, which helps dying people to face death with courage and trains professional and family caregivers in compassionate and ethical end-of-life care.
Legal Aspects of Elder Care
A wide variety of legal issues surround caring for older individuals. Health and human service practioners need to plan, provide and evaluate geriatric care, while also understanding public policies. Legal knowledge is an essential part of caring for the elderly. Students and professionals must be able to deliver appropriate care while also being aware of any legal, ethical and political issues that may arise. Legal Aspects of Elder Care provides a clear overview of geriatric policies and laws, enabling the reader to use informed decision-making with older clients.