Alzheimer's - Dementia
Find the Best Nursing Home with Sister Ann
With Gallogly’s guidance, family members will be equipped and empowered to make the best possible decisions for their loved ones.
The decision to place a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia in a care facility is often fraught with emotion. Ann Marie Gallogly’s comprehensive, reader-friendly, and compassionate guide, Alzheimer’s-Dementia: Find the Best Nursing Home with Sister Ann, addresses all stages of that decision-making process to take the worry, uncertainty, and a good deal of the guilt out of the equation by providing professional guidance for each step of the way.
Gallogly possesses uncanny insight into the needs of those who may not be able to speak for themselves and is deeply aware of the importance of treating them with respect. Her title, “Sister,” refers to the role of charge nurse, the one who oversees the training and support of the nursing staff and acts as liaison between residents, staff, and the residents’ family members.
Among the important issues Gallogly addresses are: how to recognize when the time is right for nursing home placement; the benefits of nursing home care; what to look for in your loved one’s new “home away from home”; and how to know whether or not residents’ mental, physical, and creative needs are being met. She also empowers family members to ask questions until satisfied and coaches them on how to request proof, written and photographic, when needed.
Especially important is her attention to the small, taken-for-granted things that could easily be overlooked by the home and by family members, including the resident’s preference for solitary or group activities, or how challenging behaviors are handled. The book does not address the financial aspects of nursing home placement due to differences in costs in various locations and the varied needs of individual residents.
Written in a friendly and conversational but always professional tone, the book balances attention to the needs of residents with those of family members and explains the roles of staff in meeting them. Clear, colorful photos add to the book’s appeal, and a bibliography provides sources for further research. However, most of the sources mentioned are from the 1990s, with the most recent being from 2007. Grammatical errors do appear, and there is an instance of unnecessary bold print.
Alzheimer’s-Dementia: Find the Best Nursing Home with Sister Ann takes a thoughtful, practical, and loving approach to a most difficult situation. With Gallogly’s guidance, family members will be equipped and empowered to make the best possible decisions for their loved ones.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
