Most Families Unprepared for Nursing Home Experience; New Book by Massachusetts Doctor Helps Ease Transition

Age Sense was developed to create educational materials designed to ease the transition of placing a loved one in a nursing home. The focus right now is on providing a reference book, Making Sense of Nursing Homes: A Guide for Families, complete with information on everything from how to handle that first day in the nursing home to qualifying for Medicaid and Medicare to closing the family member's home to planning the funeral. There are also over 30 checklists and worksheets to help record vital information and guide families through the transition, plus a useful list of government and nonprofit resources.

NEWTON, Mass., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- "I didn't know what to expect when I moved my mother into the nursing home. Even though we'd been through a formal orientation, and I'd had the chance to meet several staff members, we were both pretty nervous. The truth is, the first few weeks were kind of rough. It took me a while to learn how things worked there. Plus, I was feeling guilty and stressed out. I wish I'd had some information and guidance to help me through that tough time"

Dr. Steven Charlap, a Massachusetts physician, had heard about this and many similar experiences over the past 12 years as CEO of HealthDrive, a company that provides medical and dental services to over 1,000 nursing homes in the United States. Speaking with both family members and staff, Dr. Charlap observed and learned of the many challenges that families face during the process of admitting a loved one to a nursing home and during their length of stay. And this is not a small issue -- each year, over 1.7 million families in the United States face the difficult decision of placing a relative in a nursing home. "What I learned from speaking with countless family members," according to Dr. Charlap "is that most families experience this transition wholly unprepared." According to a study conducted by Age Sense, a division of HealthDrive created to produce this guide and other aging related educational materials, over half of nursing home admissions come directly from the hospital following an acute illness. This gives families little time to prepare emotionally or otherwise. The survey also revealed that 76% of those who admitted a loved one to a nursing home found the process to be stressful.

With the help of many experts in the field, Dr. Charlap developed a guide to help families through each aspect of their nursing home experience. The guide explains how a nursing home operates and suggests ways to develop an effective relationship with the staff. It offers practical tips to families on the key roles they can play after admission and coaches them on how to make the most of visits with their relative. The guide also helps them to consider and cope with their own emotional reactions. It includes useful insurance, financial and legal information as well as meaningful advice to help family members plan for their future. There are also over 30 user-friendly checklists and worksheets to help record vital information and guide families through the transition, plus a useful list of government and nonprofit resources.

In conjunction with National Nursing Home Week, May 12 - 18, 2002, Dr. Charlap will publish his new book. This week celebrates and acknowledges the vital and critical role that nursing homes play in our society by taking care of our frailest elderly. It is therefore fitting that the publication of a book dedicated to helping nursing home residents by helping their family members coincides with this important event.

Family members can purchase individual copies of the guide directly through Age Sense. Nursing homes may wish to purchase this guide in bulk to distribute directly to the family members of residents in their facilities. Ordering can be done either by calling a toll-free number, 866-237-3673, sending an email to info@agesense.com, or writing directly to Age Sense, at 25 Needham Street, Newton, Massachusetts 02461.

Contact:
Jennifer Gerard
617-964-6681, ext: 151
jgerard@agesense.com