THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HOME HEALTH CARE

The benefits of home over institutional health care--with pointers on setting up such a program, but no help after that. Buckingham, who has recently written on aspects of this subject (The Complete Hospice Guide and A Special Kind of Love: Care of the Dying Child), presents home health care as economically, medically, and emotionally advantageous: ""a long-term method that takes a wholistic view of the patient's needs and actively involves the family in patient care and comfort."" In a similar fashion, he goes on to cover the history of home health care, relevant legislation, psychological effects, economic ramifications, steps in setting up a system, and some specific circumstances--home birth, care of the elderly, care of dying children, and independent living for the physically disabled. A word on marketing home health care is provided at the close. There is no practical advice, however, for those caring for someone at home. Most persons, indeed, will prefer a thoughtful, closely focused introduction (like Kenneth Wentzel's To Those Who Need It Most, Hospice Means Hope) to this dry recital of whys and wherefores.