It Shouldn't Be This Way

by Kane, Robert L.

• ISBN13: 9780826514882
• ISBN10: 082651488X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-30
• Publisher: Vanderbilt Univ Pr

Summary

The failure of long-term care is the country’s best-kept embarrassing secret. Almost every adult in the United States will either enter a nursing home or have to deal with a parent or other relative who does. Studies show that 40 percent of all adults who live to age sixty-five will enter a nursing home before they die, while even more will use another form of long-term care.Part memoir, part practical guide, part prescription for change,It Shouldn’t Be This Wayis a unique look at the problems of long-term care. Robert L. Kane, a highly experienced physician and gerontologist, and his sister, Joan C. West, tell the painful story of what happened to their mother after she suffered a debilitating stroke and spent the last years of her life in rehabilitation, assisted-living facilities, and finally a nursing home. Along the way, her adult children encountered some professionals who were kind and considerate but also many frustrations—inadequate care and the need to hire private duty aides, as well as poor communication and lack of coordination throughout the system. The situation, they found, proved far more difficult than it needed to be.As the authors recount their mother’s story, they impart various lessons they learned from each phase of the experience. They alert those who are confronting such situations for the first time about what they will likely face and how to approach the problems. Closing with a broader look at why long-term care is the way it is, they propose steps to make necessary reforms, including the development of national organizations to work for change. Their message to families, care professionals, and policy-makers could not be more urgent.

Author Biography

Joan C. West is an adjunct professor at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, New York, where she supervises student teachers in their field placement.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction	1	(8)
2 Background	9	(12)
3 The Stroke	21	(20)
4 Rehabilitation	41	(15)
5 Assisted Living	56	(29)
6 The Dementia Unit	85	(16)
7 Nursing Home	101	(16)
8 Doctors, Other Medical Personnel, and Hospitals	117	(13)
9 Informal Care	130	(12)
10 The Roads Not Taken	142	(9)
11 The End of Life	151	(6)
12 What Kind of Long-Term Care Do We Want? What Can We Do About It?	157	(14)
Appendix 1: Suggested Reading	171	(2)
Appendix 2: Web-Based Resources	173	(4)
Index	177