Portraying people who have lived and worked in long-term nursing home facilities, Elder Care Catastrophe reveals how organizational dynamics and everyday rituals have unintentionally led to resident neglect and abuse. Backed up by research and grounded in sociological theory, this book offers alternative models for lessening the maltreatment of people living in nursing homes. It provides critical information for family members struggling with nursing home issues, nursing home employees, policy-makers, students and researchers concerned with elder care issues.

Portraying people who have lived and worked in long-term nursing home facilities, Elder Care Catastrophe reveals how organizational dynamics and everyday rituals have unintentionally led to resident neglect and abuse. Backed up by research and grounded in sociological theory, this book offers alternative models for lessening the maltreatment of people living in nursing homes. It provides critical information for family members struggling with nursing home issues, nursing home employees, policy-makers, students and researchers concerned with elder care issues.

Disaster Public Health and Older People introduces professionals, students and fieldworkers to the science and art of promoting health and well-being among older people in the context of humanitarian emergencies, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income country settings. Older people face specific vulnerabilities in physical, mental and social well-being during disasters. They are likely to experience socio-economic marginalisation, isolation, inaccessible information and a lack of relevant post-emergency support services. Meanwhile, although older people can also significantly contribute to disaster preparedness, response and recovery, their capacities are often under-utilised. Drawing on a range of global case studies, this book provides readers with a theoretical underpinning, while suggesting actions at the individual, community and national levels to reduce the health risks to older people posed by the increasing frequency and intensity of disaster, in particular those resulting from natural hazards. Topics covered range from the health impact of disasters on older people and response to their post-disaster health needs, to disaster preparedness, disease prevention, healthy ageing, global policy developments and the contributions of older people in disaster contexts. This book draws on lessons learnt from previous disasters and targets students and professionals working in disaster medicine, disaster public health, humanitarian studies, gerontology and geriatrics.

Today there are 77 million Baby Boomers living in the U.S., meaning, 10,000 people will be turning 65 years old every day. Currently, most Boomers aren’t in assisted living … yet. However, they will be moving into senior housing in droves over the next couple of decades. Add to this the increasing numbers of Boomer’s parents already making this transition. With limited resources available at this time, planning for assisted living can be overwhelming for those who are making difficult choices for their loved ones (or themselves). These choices have only been complicated and made more urgent by the Covid 19 pandemic. Contrary to popular belief, retirement homes are not the only option for our population’s aging members anymore. Adult Family Homes designed to allow senior citizens to live mostly independently with access to a variety of amenities, provide an alternative for individuals or couples who can no longer safely live on their own but don’t want to relegate themselves to assisted living facilities. Investment in this innovative category of senior living is a relatively new opportunity that many are not aware of. This book will give you the tools to decide if this could be a right fit for you and your family. You will learn: What is happening in the senior care industry today, and what the options are How smaller senior care homes are becoming ever-popular in the wave of COVID19 How to invest in a senior care home How to convert your home or property into a senior care home How to protect the wealth of your family and honor Mom and Dad Designed as a practical guide through the complex world of senior living, here is the advice and guidance to help you make decisions that honor the elderly, protect family resources, and provide an investment opportunity in today’s fast growing segment of the real estate market.

Finding the right fit to match aging adults with the best caregiver to assist them in their home can be fraught with challenge. In today’s pressurized world, the process involves overstressed family members and a shortage of great caregivers. So many adult children are seeking a helping hand and a friendly, experienced voice to guide them through this emotionally charged rite of passage. Aging with Care: Your Guide to Hiring and Managing Caregivers in the Home, takes a personal, professional, and sometimes humorous approach to the challenges, benefits, pitfalls and problems of hiring in-home caregivers. Here, two geriatric care experts explore the essential credentials and experience a home caregiver should have, pitfalls to avoid, hiring options and managing costs, and the decisions that go into finding the right fit for your loved one to be able to age in place. Sharing stories and insights from interviews with caregivers and elders, as well as industry experts, they walk you through the ins and outs, and provide you with the tools necessary to making the best care choices you can for the ones you love.

The “compelling” story behind the 1995 Chicago weather disaster that killed hundreds—and what it revealed about our broken society (Boston Globe). On July 13, 1995, Chicagoans awoke to a blistering day in which the temperature would reach 106 degrees. The heat index—how the temperature actually feels on the body—would hit 126. When the heat wave broke a week later, city streets had buckled; records for electrical use were shattered; and power grids had failed, leaving residents without electricity for up to two days. By July 20, over seven hundred people had perished—twenty times the number of those struck down by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Heat waves kill more Americans than all other natural disasters combined. Until now, no one could explain either the overwhelming number or the heartbreaking manner of the deaths resulting from the 1995 Chicago heat wave. Meteorologists and medical scientists have been unable to account for the scale of the trauma, and political officials have puzzled over the sources of the city’s vulnerability. In Heat Wave, Eric Klinenberg takes us inside the anatomy of the metropolis to conduct what he calls a “social autopsy,” examining the social, political, and institutional organs of the city that made this urban disaster so much worse than it ought to have been. He investigates why some neighborhoods experienced greater mortality than others, how city government responded, and how journalists, scientists, and public officials reported and explained these events. Through years of fieldwork, interviews, and research, he uncovers the surprising and unsettling forms of social breakdown that contributed to this human catastrophe as hundreds died alone behind locked doors and sealed windows, out of contact with friends, family, community groups, and public agencies. As this incisive and gripping account demonstrates, the widening cracks in the social foundations of American cities made visible by the 1995 heat wave remain in play in America’s cities today—and we ignore them at our peril. Includes photos and a new preface on meeting the challenges of climate change in urban centers “Heat Wave is not so much a book about weather, as it is about the calamitous consequences of forgetting our fellow citizens. . . . A provocative, fascinating book, one that applies to much more than weather disasters.” —Chicago Sun-Times “It’s hard to put down Heat Wave without believing you’ve just read a tale of slow murder by public policy.” —Salon “A classic. I can’t recommend it enough.” —Chris Hayes

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.