As we press on in our effort to create and curate powerful narratives that shed a light on issues facing older Americans, it may be helpful to develop a library of works that exemplify our objectives and advance our mission. Through this forum we can identify and discuss publications that harness the power of story to both shape popular discourse on aging issues and propel needed systems change.
To set it off, let's give the honors of our inaugural catalog entry to "The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare," by Marcy Cottrell Houle with physician Elizabeth Eckstrom.
I must admit, I have NOT yet read this but was captivated by an op-ed published in the LA Times yesterday (Sep 1, 2015); "How our healthcare system can be deadly to the elderly" (kudos for the shocking headline).
How our healthcare system can be deadly to the elderly
| latimes.com |
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| How our healthcare system can be deadly to the elderly |
| The nation's healthcare system is endangering the elderly. But few outside the geriatric medical community seem to notice. I learned about this problem the hard way - when caring for an aging parent. My father, a highly regarded orthopedic surgeon, developed Alzheimer's when he turned 78. |
| View this on latimes.com > |
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Of course, the issues pointed out in this op-ed would not come as news to any members of this forum. That said, as Houle point's out: "The nation's healthcare system is endangering the elderly. But few outside the geriatric medical community seem to notice." I agree and commend Houle for her effort to change that!
A few thoughts on humble ways we may build upon this momentum and accept a call to action:
Discuss: please share comments and reflections on the above op-ed piece...and for anyone who has read Houle and Eckstrom's "The Gift of Caring?" we encourage any reviews or additional discussion.
Change AGEnts Crowdsource (Many Hands Make Light Work) : as members of the action community encounter other books that they would like to include in our S4C library, please create an entry within this discussion. (A few I have on deck: Carole Levine's "Living in the Land of Limbo: Fiction and Poetry about Family Caregiving"...Debra Sheets Review of this book in the August 2015 Gerontologist was wonderful and something I may discuss as well. Of course, Atul Gawande's "Being Mortal" continues to shape conversations around aging and end of life and should be included/discussed...of note, community discussions of the related PBS Frontline documentary seem to be popping up all over the place)
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As Houle concludes her op-ed she asserts "there is much discussion today about the so-called American way of death — the sometimes absurd lengths we go to prolong life for just a few weeks or months. As we debate end-of-life care, we may have lost the ability to appropriately treat people who aren't yet dying but are old and sick." I agree with the central truth to this; however, I prefer not to see this as an either-or scenario and am hopeful that a robust societal discussion of issues surrounding care at the end-of-life may, in fact, set the stage for even more profound discussion of aging and the care of the most frail in general. Likewise, as more and more people become intimately familiar with the horror stories surrounding the care of older Americans, I hope we will encounter bright spots along the way as well to illuminate our path forward.
Sk
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Scott Kaiser
Chief Innovation Officer
MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund)
Woodland Hills CA
(818) 876-1758
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