Another Look at Aging

Volume 23, Number 1 Winter 2006

Editorial
Is Aging a Crummy Deal? by Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner
The editorial addresses age-old questions about the difficulties of aging and offers Schoonover-Shoffner's thoughts, along with a biblical view of aging. Readers gain God's thoughts, as provided in Scripture, to accurately view aging.

When Memory Fails: Helping Dementia Patients Remember God by Sharon Fish Mooney
Engaging patients with dementia in familiar rituals of faith elicits positive cognitive, behavioral and spiritual responses. What's going on physiologically in Alzheimer's and other dementias? Why are spiritual rituals effective, and how do these symbolic acts help? Mooney addresses these and other questions in her lengthy treatment of engaging dementia patients.

Building a New Culture of Aging: Revolutionizing Long-Term Care by Patricia Emery
The model of care that has dominated nursing homes needs to be changed. Successful transformation requires a change in the way we think about aging. How will we get there? Emery shares ideas for out of the ordinary thinking about aging to create a new environment of care.

Missions
Tsunami Relief: An Eye-Opening Experience by Mary L. Mancini
The world was riveted by the Southeast-Asia earthquake and tsunami of December 26, 2004 that left over 38,000 dead. Mancini went to help; God showed her a greater purpose.

Meeting Spiritual Needs of Elders Near the End of Life by Mary Elizabeth O'Brien
An exploration of the lived experience of Spiritual Well-Being in chronic, seriously ill elders reveals distinct spiritual needs and effective parish nurse interventions. O'Brien explores the diagnoses and interventions nurses and parish nurses can use to assist elders nearing the end of life.

Exploring Advanced Directives by Annette M. Browning
Do Advanced Directives (ADs) require a living will and a proxy? Do ADs have to be in writing? What does the law require? In losing her mother, this author came to greatly value ADs. Browning offers suggestions for the proper use of advanced directives.

Practicing
The Greatest of These Is Love by Bonnie Holbrook
Holbrook shares how love makes the difference in her care as a long-term care nurse.

FAQs in Spritiual Care
How Can We Help Elders Finish Strong? Julia D. Emblen
Emblen uses a GRACE acrostic to facilitate ongoing spiritual growth in elders.