The Complete Guide

How to Care for Aging Parents:A Complete Guide
by Virginia Morris, with a foreword by Robert N. Butler, M.D.
Workman Publishing Company
ISBN 0761134263
Paperback, 656 pages
$18.95

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 — GET READY, GET SET
Talking to Your Parents about Tough Issues
Gathering Essential Documents
Organizing Your Own Life
Caring from Afar

CHAPTER 2 — YOUR PARENT AND YOU
Adapting to New Roles
Knowing When to Intervene
Resolving Old Struggles
Managing Day-to-Day

CHAPTER 3 — CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER
Setting Limits
Emotional Minefields; Guilt, Anger and Depression
Support Groups
Gaining a Healthy Mindset: Friends, Laughter and Tranquillity

CHAPTER 4 — DOCTOR DO'S AND DON'TS
Rx for the Elderly
A Geriatric Assessment
Finding a Good Doctor
Being an Informed Advocate

CHAPTER 5 — THE BODY IMPERFECT Part 1
Vision and Hearing
Insomnia
Overmedication
Alcohol
Temperature Regulation
Dehydration
TLC for Skin, Legs and Feet

CHAPTER 6 — THE BODY IMPERFECT Part 2
Osteoporosis and Arthritis
Incontinence
Digestive Disorders
Depression
Delirium
Anxiety

CHAPTER 7 — ON THE FIFTH FLOOR
Entering the Hospital
Questions about Tests, Treatments and Surgery
Dealing with Hospital Staff
Your Role as Advocate
Preparing for Discharge

CHAPTER 8 — TIPS FOR DAILY LIVING
Steps to a Safer Home
Bathing and Dressing
Eating Right
Setting Up the Bedroom
A Question of Driving
The Importance of Exercise
Quality of Life

CHAPTER 9 — GETTING HELP
Community and Home-Care Services
What's Available and How to Find It
Companions
Meal Programs
Transportation
Senior Centers
Adult Daycare
Home Health Aides and Nurses
Geriatric Care Managers
Hiring and Overseeing Workers
Respite Care

CHAPTER 10 — HOME AWAY FROM HOME
When It's Time to Move
Should Dad Move In?
Shared Housing
Senior Apartments
Assisted-Living Homes
Continuing-Care Retirement Communities

CHAPTER 11 — A GOOD NURSING HOME
Making the Decision
What to Look for in a Nursing Home
Getting In
A Plan of Care
Moving Day and Beyond
Your Role as Visitor and Advocate
Getting Adjusted

CHAPTER 12 — THE INNER CIRCLE
Sharing the Care with Siblings
A Family Meeting
Spouses
The Sandwich Generation: Aging Parents and Young Children
Balancing Career and Caregiving

CHAPTER 13 — PAYING THE WAY
Talking About Money
What Medicare and Medicaid Really Cover
Medigap and Long-Term-Care Insurance
Financial Planning
Homes as Collateral
Tax Tips
Hiring Financial and Legal Counsel

CHAPTER 14 — THE LEGAL ISSUES
Wills
Power of Attorney
Advance Directives
Guardianship
Estate Planning
Probate
Dividing the Estate

CHAPTER 15 — THE AGING BRAIN
What Is Normal?
Dementia
Getting Tested
Alzheimer's Disease: What to Expect
Mini-Strokes
Treating Dementia
Planning for the Future

CHAPTER 16 — LIVING WITH DEMENTIA
Helping Yourself: A Clear Perspective and a Little Humor
Helping Your Parent: Simplicity, Routines and Diversions
Tips for Eating, Dressing, Communicating and More
Coping with Special Problems

CHAPTER 17 — IN THE END
Broaching the Subject of Death
Caring for Your Parent in the Hospital
Choosing Hospice Care
Medical Treatment: When Enough Is Enough
Making Advance Directives Stick
Saying Good-Bye
The Face of Death

CHAPTER 18 - CODA — GOOD GRIEF
The Necessity of Mourning
The Surviving Parent
Growing from Grief

APPENDIX A
State Units on Aging and Long-Term-Care Ombudsmen

APPENDIX B
Yellow Pages of Useful Organizations

APPENDIX C
A Patient's Bill of Rights

APPENDIX D
The ABCs of Diet

APPENDIX E
Catalogs: Where to Find What

APPENDIX F
Checklist for Touring a Nursing Home; A Resident's Bill of Rights

APPENDIX G
Funerals and Burials

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