May

Civil War and PTSD

I think something important to bring up when it comes to this book is the idea of Post Traumatic Stress and its effect on W.C. Minor. First, here are definitions of PTSD by the National Institute for Mental Health as well as the American Psychological Association.

Here are articles that address this idea of PTSD and the Civil War. While at the time they would not have recognized mental disorders in the way we do today, I think it’s worthwhile to explore this subject on how the perception of mental illness has changed or not changed from the 19th century until now.

New York Times – PTSD and the Civil War

Smithsonian Institute – Did Civil War Soldiers Have PTSD?

U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs – History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-V

History Welfare Network- Dying to Get Home: PTSD in the Civil War

Oct

Hospice Nurses

End of life care and nursing care doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Yet rarely are the perspectives of nurses and caretakers put into the mainstream. So I would like to post a few stories from hospice nurses and other healthcare providers to get their perspective on an uncomfortable subject we all have to face.

Slate – Approaching Death

NPR – A Nurse Reflects on the Privilege of Caring for Dying Patients

Hospice Diary – A Hospice Nurse’s Diary

Chicago Tribune – Striking Similarity of Dying Words

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Life’s Journey: A Better End / A hospice nurse’s frank approach to end of life

All Nurses – Hospice Nursing Message Board – Tell Me About Death

Casa de la Luz Hospice – Great Moments Can Be Small Moments – A Hospice Volunteer’s Story

Oct

Mystery Solved and an Epilogue

For those of you who have been wondering, yes Roz Chast did find her sister’s grave. With help from a fan and findagrave.com, she solved it. Here’s the epilogue, penned years later (also included in the article):

Oct

Nursing Homes

Here are a few articles outlining the history of nursing homes in America, reflecting our culture and evolution on the subject of elder care and how we see how we take care of our older relatives. I won’t include the thousands and thousands of stories of nursing home and elder care abuse stories out there, mainly because they are so numerous and easily found. But I would like to focus this post on the history of nursing homes, the outlook for the nursing home industry, and the legal recourse for abuse victims.

George State University Law Review – From Almshouses to Nursing Homes and Community Care: Lessons from Medicaid’s History

National Center for Health Statistics: Nursing Home Care

National Center for Biotechnology Information: The Changing Structure of the Nursing Home Industry and the Impact of Ownership on Quality, Cost, and Access (published c.1986)

Franchise-Help.com: Senior Care Industry 2016 At a Glance

Bankrate.com: Americans racked by retirement fears

Chicago Tribune: Nursing homes for boomers gain traction over opposition in Chicago area

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Improving Patient Safety in Nursing Homes:
A Resource List for Users of the AHRQ Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture

Elder Law Answers: What Nursing Home Staff Levels Are Required?

New York Times: The Right to Sue Restored

United States Senate Special Committee on Aging: Senate Unanimously Approves Collins, Blumenthal Resolution Recognizing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Oct

Caregiver Training

For those of you who might be dealing with this issue right now or know someone who is, I’d like to post a few links to help people who choose to take care of an elderly family member in the home.

The first is a 33-part series of YouTube videos from UCLA which help give practical training to a home caregiver to someone with Alzheimers and Dementia. I’m posting the first one here.

This series of videos is from Senior Helpers, an in-home care company. I’m not advocating on their behalf but they put out a great 4-part series for home caregivers dealing with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Oct

Sundowning

Since Roz brings up a lot of different difficult topics up in this book, I’ve decided to focus on a few topics to highlight resources and interesting articles. The first topic I want to touch on is Sundowning.

Mayo Clinic – Sundowning: Late-Day Confusion

Alzheimer’s Association – Sleep Issues and Sundowning

CBC – Sundowners and Their Exhausted Caregivers

The Atlantic – An Overnight Nursing Home for Dementia Patients

New York Times – Behind the Scenes: Capturing Mental Twilight

Intentional Caregiver – My Experiences with “Sundowning”

Sep

Interview with Roz Chast

Here is a video interview Roz Chast did at the Miami Book Fair:

Sep

The Next Book: Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

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The October book will be Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. Reminder: the discussion for this book will be October 24th from 7-8pm in the 3rd floor Board Room. As always there are copies available behind the Circulation Desk for people who wish to join us for the discussion or just read what we’re reading.

May

John and William Bartram, Samuel Vaughn

If you were curious to learn more about the Bartrams – John and William – then here are some links to send you on your way.

This link from the University of North Florida gives an overview of the lives of the Bartrams and has links to John Bartram’s journal.

This link is to a free ebook of The Travels of William Bartram.

And finally this incredible blog post about the gardens of Philadelphia, touching on Samuel Vaughn, John Bartram’s garden, and Grey’s Ferry Tavern.

Apr

Reversing the Chicago River

One of the things that Annin rails against in his book repeatedly as an example of poor water management is the Chicago River. While Annin does a great job explaining some of the history of the project, here’s more information on its history and future.

CityLab.com: A Century Later, the Expensive Lesson of Reversing the Chicago River

Illinois Periodicals Online: The Reversal of the Chicago River in 1900

Chicagoist: Chicago River Flow Re-Reversed To Alleviate Flooding

Helix: Reversing the Chicago River, Again

True Story Book Club

Tag Archives: health