NURSING HOME 101

A down-to-earth guide to improving a loved one’s nursing-home experience that also highlights the need for sweeping changes in the industry.

When Rosauer’s elderly mother suffered a transient ischemic attack in 2006 at the age of 88, the author and her sister were completely unprepared to navigate the long-term care system—and unaware that she was at high risk for a second, more damaging stroke, which occurred within 90 days. They simply didn’t know the details of their mother’s health or financial situations or how to go about finding a suitable facility to care for her, and neither lived in North Carolina, where their parent lived. During the next four years before her mother’s 2010 death, Rosauer learned a great deal about the ins and outs of long-term care, and she shares those firsthand experiences as well as others’ personal stories, industry statistics, and useful tips to help readers avoid the pitfalls that she encountered. The author’s experience as a former journalist,economist, and attorney shows in her straightforward, accessible writing style. Throughout, her affection for her increasingly frail mother, with whom she previously had a strained relationship, is deeply touching, and her empathy for nursing-home residents, their families, and overworked long-term care staff is just as clear. A wealth of practical advice is packed into just 250 pages, which also include suggested outside resources. Rosauer serves on the board of the advocacy group Friends of Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities, and her stated aim in writing this book is to “spark significant systemic changes” in a “broken system,” and the personal stories and data on industry practices clarify the urgent need for sensible reforms; the final section describes the major obstacles to change, makes concrete suggestions for improvements, and discusses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also offers examples of elder abuse that the author rightly calls “vile and reprehensible.” The author provides more than 140 endnotes for those who might want to further explore nursing-home issues.

A personal and practical work about optimizing elder care.