RESOURCES

Resources That Impacted Our Family’s Journey Through Eldercare

In every case, I wish I had visited these websites earlier:

• Alzheimer’s Association (with links to state organizations)
• Minnesota Department of Health (with links to nursing home surveys, report cards, complaints, regulations and licensure)
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Official government site for Medicare
• Comparing nursing homes on the Medicare site
• ElderCare Rights Alliance
• University of Minnesota Center on Aging: www.coa.mn.edu/
• MN Aging – Senior LinkAge Line: www.mnaging.org Toll free 1-800 333-2433
• Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care: 651-431-2555/1-800-657-3591

Other Resources:

Kane, Robert L, M.D. and West, Joan, It Shouldn’t Be This Way:The Failure Of Long-Term Care, Vanderbilt University Press, 2005.

Kane, Robert L, M.D. with Jeannine Ouellette, The Good Caregiver, A One-of-a-Kind Compassionate Resource for Anyone Caring for an Aging Loved One, Avery, 2011.

Byock, Ira, M.D., The Best Care Possible, A Physicians’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life, Avery, 2012.

A worthy film about the transformative use of music to unlock memories in people with dementia: Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory, 2014.

Meeting of the Minds Dementia Conference, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association and held annually in March

Caring for a Person With Memory Loss Conference, offered each year (usually the Saturday after Memorial Day) at the University of Minnesota

Helpful advice from Elder Voice Family Advocates www.eldervoicefamilyadvocates.org

We suggest the following three steps to take if you suspect abuse or neglect:

1. Call Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC) – Toll free at 1-800-844-880-1574
2. Call the local police where your loved one is residing and file a report
3. Report the abuse or suspected abuse to your loved one’s primary care provider