Share the Care: How to Organize a Group to Care for Someone Who Is Seriously Ill, First Edition

Explains how to create a caregiver "family" from acquaintances, friends, and family members, with suggestions for organization, planning, and job sharing

Taking on responsibility for short or long-term care for the seriously ill can be overwhelming and confusing. Detailing their personal experience with a dying friend, the authors demonstrate how the aphorism "many hands make light work" holds true. By developing "caring networks," the work is spread among friends, neighbors, and family members, alleviating stress on the primary caregiver and providing peace of mind to the patient. Part case study, part how-to, this book includes sample forms and checklists, allowing readers to use it as a springboard to create their own group and providing practical advice and reassurance. Recommended for popular medical collections.?Anne C. Tomlin, Auburn Memorial Hosp. Lib., N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Preparing for the serious illness of someone near and dear is certainly prudent, but actually doing it seems off-putting and even morbid to many, which makes Caposella and Warnock's book vitally important. Writing pleasantly and calmly and organizing their material admirably, they advise dealing with caregiver burnout by forming an "alternate family" and spreading the responsibilities and strain of providing care to the stricken among them. They include sample forms, checklists, and scripted passages for use in forming such support groups. Theirs is a highly structured approach that in times of crisis may prove invaluable. Although aimed at use by organized groups, it may also be of great value to individuals in need of a plan of action or background information. Capossela and Warnock's meticulous coverage of every phase and eventuality of a sensitive situation and the fact that the book is easy to use as a reference make it outstanding in a crowded field. Mike Tribby