When Someone You Love Needs Nursing Home Care: The Complete Guide

From two distinguished psychologiststhe only all-in-one, bottom-line, no-nonsense guide with practical advice about all aspects of nursing home care (medical, psychological, legal, and financial) to help spouses, siblings, and adult children negotiate the complexities of today's nursing home jungle. Written specifically for the adult child of aging parents and for the older adult whose spouse or sibling may need to spend time in a nursing home, this book guides readers gently but firmly through the entire caregiving and placement-seeking process, from the earliest stages of illness onset, through the nursing home experience, and beyond. Conversational in tone and meticulously organized, When Someone You Love Needs Nursing Home Care is a fact-based, interactive, user-friendly guide to the complex issues that can confront the person whose ill or aging family member can no longer make it on their own. Twelve chapters cover the full range of concerns, including: Recognizing signs and symptoms; in-home care; when in-home care becomes impossible; choosing the right placement setting; preparations to leave home; adjusting to the new situation; nursing home politics; late-life medical problems and how to deal with them; problem behaviors; transitions back home; hospices; caregivers survival. Phone and Internet information is provided throughout the book, with emphasis on the Internet for its 24-hour accessibility.