"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

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.

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

A USA Today BESTSELLER! "Informative. Complete. And practical. This book will guide family caregivers through the surprisingly complex world of senior care." —MEHMET OZ, M.D., New York Times bestselling coauthor of YOU: The Owner's Manual: The Complete All-in-One Care Guide Choosing the best care for your aging parents and other seniors in your life is not only complex, with multiple options available, it's also highly personal and often emotional. This essential resource—written by the founders of Home Instead Senior Care, the world's largest provider of nonmedical care for seniors—guides you through a comprehensive range of things to consider, step by step, so you can make better informed decisions and be confident that the senior in your life is receiving the best care possible. Checklists and diagnostics will help you: Decide if at-home care is the right choice for you and your loved ones Evaluate the pros and cons of retirement communities, adult care centers, nonmedical caregivers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospice Determine the costs of senior care options and find helpful support networks "This is not just another book about caring for aging parents. It's a great reference you'll use again and again. Stages doesn't shy away from the hard questions. Rather, it shows you how to confront them."—SUZANNE MINTZ, President/CEO, National Family Caregivers Association "Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, this salient volume compassionately addresses a full range of hard-to-discuss subjects."--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY All of the authors' profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation. Paul and Lori Hogan founded Home Instead Senior Care in 1994. Now with 850 offices in 15 countries, Home Instead is recognized as a global leader and authority on senior care. Visit them at www.stagesofseniorcare.com.

As the population of older adults in the U.S. continues to grow, medical house calls are increasingly part of a system of comprehensive home-based care for patients who have difficulty accessing office-.based care. Clinicians who have been trained mostly in office and hospital settings must adapt their usual approaches to accommodate a wide range of environmental, social, and physical circumstances that impact home-limited patients. Ideally, a comprehensive team of clinicians proficient in multiple domains of functional, social, and medical care can work together to address potential gaps in any one clinician’s expertise. Unfortunately, such teams are still rare. This book aims to equip individual clinicians with the interdisciplinary knowledge, skills, and perspective they need to provide the best care possible with limited formal interdisciplinary support. This book offers 20 patient cases drawn from the collective experience of experts in home-based medical care from highly respected academic and clinical programs across the United States. Each case demonstrates a scenario that is frequently encountered and/or very important in home-based medical care practice. Each scenario frequently proves to be challenging for many professionals because it requires an approach or leverages aspects of care delivery that most are not trained in. Additionally, each scenario reflects an approach to care that is enhanced by interdisciplinary input. Finally, each case lends itself to a practical problem-solving approach that could be accomplished by most home-based medical care providers, even in the absence of an interdisciplinary team. Written by interdisciplinary experts in geriatric home-based care, this book serves as both an educational tool for learners in all related disciplines as well as a quick reference for experienced clinicians looking to augment their existing house call “toolbox.”

This anthology responds to the recurring call for quality in home care service provision. It presents to agency administrators, managers, supervisors, and front line service providers a set of the most up-to-date policy, program, and practice developments in the field. Each contributor to New Developments in Home Care Services for the Elderly explores issues of client/staff diversity and the challenges associated with working with clients grappling with disabling conditions.Contributors in New Developments in Home Care Services for the Elderly explore issues of client/staff diversity and the challenges associated with working with clients grappling with various disabling conditions. Topics addressed include: alternative organizational models in home care the importation of high technology services into the home legal and ethical issues in home health care counseling homebound clients and their families clinical assessment tools and packages case management and the home care client home care entitlements and benefits evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of in-home care marketing home health care services home care service experiences in other countriesNew Developments in Home Care Services for the elderly covers a continuum of care ranging from housekeeping services to self-care education, teaching, and training services to nursing and medically related services. Consequently, the information contained within this volume is of immediate relevance to a multidisciplinary audience having both direct (field) and indirect (office) service responsibilities in the home care organization. Social workers, nurses, business administrators, and public health professionals will find this an invaluable guide for providing effective home care services.

As older adults and their families opt out of nursing homes, a range of home and community-based services (HCBS) have risen up to provide care. HCBS span platforms and approaches, from home health care to assisted living to community-based hospice to adult day services. These models are, for most, preferable to nursing homes and allow older adults to “age in place”—live longer in their own homes and communities. Home- and Community-Based Services for Older Adults examines the existing and emerging models of HCBS, including the history, theory, research, policy, and practices across care settings. Emphasizing the multidisciplinary and interprofessional practice approaches used to deliver care, this book is an essential learning tool for students interested in medicine, nursing, social work, allied health professions, case management, health care administration, and gerontology. As the population of older adults grows, the authors ask, how can we best meet the needs of older adults and their families in the most effective, cost-conscious way while honoring their care choices?