Product Description
With the number of elderly persons needing long-term care expected to double to 14 million over the next two decades, assisted living has become the popular choice for housing or care. Assisted living represents a promising model of long-term care that blurs the sharp distinction between nursing homes and community-based care and reduces the gap between receiving long-term care in one's own home and in an "institution."

Assisted Living: Needs, Practices, and Policies in Residential Care for the Elderly examines the evolving field of residential care and focuses on national issues of regulation, reimbursement, and staffing. The book is based on a four-state study of assisted living facilities and describes the facilities, the persons residing in them and their needs, and how the services vary by facility. Because one-third to two-thirds of residents in assisted living facilities have cognitive impairment, special attention is devoted to dementia care. The book also focuses on how today's long-term health care environment evolved, and it examines the future direction and implications of assisted living.

Assisted Living: Needs, Practices, and Policies in Residential Care for the Elderly brings together a group of nationally recognized experts to help define the types of residential care that should be encouraged and sets guidelines for selecting an appropriate type of facility.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 2 reviews)

Comprehensive and Scholarly

This thoroughly researched, scholarly book is just as valuable to the consumer seeking to learn more about assisted living, as it is to healthcare professionals, students of gerontology, and policymakers. The authors have amassed a wealth of information concerning key issues in assisted living, including the evolution and future direction of long term care in the U.S., as well as policy and regulations across states.

Each chapter is written by professionals who are experts in their field. I highly recommend Part II of the book, which focuses on assisted living in four specific states, illustrating the diverse nature of long-term care facilities. Topics such as physical environment, characteristics of residents, types of care provided, special concerns related to dementia, and financial issues are all explored in depth.

As an eldercare executive who works with assisted living facilities across the country, I believe it is crucial for all of us to have a thorough knowledge base in order to make informed decisions about care for our loved ones.

October 19, 2006

Defining Assisted Living

As a lay person anticipating residence in Assisted Living before all is said and done, I wanted to find out just what it is, how to evaluate it, and what pitfalls and protections await the residents. I had read Internet articles suggesting that there are problems with defining Assisted Living, that protection for residents varies from state to state, and that variations are great, even within states. Mr. Lawton's work, combined with B. Schwarz's Aging, Autonomy, and Architecture: Advances in Assisted Living, managed to provide me either with the answers or with an explanation of why there are still so many unanswered questions. Lawton's Needs, Practices and Policies in Residential Care for the Elderly presents the results of studies and investigations in a number of states, one a potential retirement destination of mine. Both volumes deal with the issue of "aging in place," which turns out to be an urgently important concept to those whose needs might be better served by skilled care (nursing) but an often unwelcome practice to those residents not wishing to be surrounded by the very frail. What happens to those wishing to age in place but who are unable to do so without risk to themselves? What are the issues of liability, as regards the institution? Marketing departments promote the concept of living in a "homelike" atmosphere, but architectural design has traditionally been dictated, and often still is, by practical needs and has been patterned after a "medical" (hospital-like) model, as is the typical nursing home. In the nursing model, the lack of independence and the hospital-like appearance of the establishment apparently contribute to the depression and despair of many residents. What kinds of building styles lend themselves better to the creation of a more homelike atmosphere? Mr. Lawton's studies deal with most of these issues, and his conclusions tend to confirm the information of the other text. The difference? Mr. Lawton's work, as suggested, is based upon studies executed in several states. Mr. Schwarz has compiled a text containing a variety of articles by respected experts in the field from around the country. Both books are valuable because they arrive at many similar conclusions, using different approaches. Mr. Lawton's is a hardback text, perhaps one that more easily fits the bookshelf. But both are excellent, and both enabled me to have a well-informed interview with an assisted living administrator. The lay reader can appreciate these texts by reading attentively, and the elder care administrator will undoubtedly find well-documented discussion and many names familiar to those in the field -- features that would make this a worthwhile text in the office.
September 12, 2005

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Assisted Living Administration: The Knowledge Base, Second Edition
by James E. Allen

Senior Living Communities: Operations Management and Marketing for Assisted Living, Congregate, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities
by Benjamin W. Pearce

Design for Assisted Living: Guidelines for Housing the Physically and Mentally Frail
by Victor Regnier

Analyzing Seniors' Housing Markets
by Susan B. Brecht

Assisted Living Strategies for Changing Markets
by Jim Moore