The Ends of Time. Life and Work in a Nursing Home.

Savishinsky, Joel S.

ISBN 10: 0897892291 / ISBN 13: 9780897892292

Published by ABC-CLIO, 1991

About this Item

An account of life in an American nursing home. The author addresses the contradictory attitudes American society shows towards the facilities and the ageing process itself - the tension between caring and curing, morality and mortality, privacy and supervision and selfishness and altruism. Num Pages: 304 pages, black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: 1KBB; JFSP31; JHM; JKSG; MBP. Category: (G) General (US: Trade); (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 152 x 227 x 16. Weight in Grams: 422. . 1991. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780897892292

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Ends of Time. Life and Work in a Nursing Home.
• Publisher: ABC-CLIO
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0897892291
• ISBN 13: 9780897892292
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

A lively account of life in a decent American nursing home, this book offers an in-depth look at American geriatric facilities. Using six years of anthropological research, Joel Savishinsky analyzes the lives and experiences of residents, staff members, and volunteers. He addresses the contradictory attitudes American society has shown towards geriatric facilities and the aging process itself: the tensions between caring and curing, morality and mortality, privacy and supervision, home and institution, and selfishness and altruism.

Savishinsky portrays the strengths and weaknesses of the nursing home in a humanistic way, emphasizing how the nursing home affects the individuals who live and work there. He also discusses inventive recreation programs, such as pet therapy, suggesting they can alleviate loneliness and provide meaningful opportunities for residents. Savishinsky challenges the stereotypic view of aging and institutional life, concluding that not all nursing homes are warehouses for the dying; he offers several recommendations for improving the quality of life and work in geriatric institutions. This book is presented in nontechnical language and is valuable to the general reader as well as to professionals in health, social science, social work, and gerontology.

About the Author

JOEL S. SAVISHINSKY is Professor of Anthropology at Ithaca College. He is author of The Trail of the Hare: Life and Stress in an Arctic Community and co-editor of Deviance: Anthropological Perspectives (Bergin & Garvey, 1991). He has written numerous articles on pet therapy, Alzheimer's disease, voluntarism, and institutional responses to death and moral dilemmas.