Welcome  to  public  health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. A  few  years  ago,  Robert  Kane, a  professor  and  expert  on  aging  at the  University  of  Minnesota  was  suddenly thrust  into  the  role  of  caregiver  for  his  mother. The  problems  he  encountered  with our  nation's  long  term  care  system prompted  him  to  write  a  book  titled, It  Shouldn't  Be  This  Way. The  failure  of  long  term  care  Now in  has  written  a  second  book,  The  Good  Caregiver. Basically,  this  book  is  written  as a  survival  guide  for  caregivers. People  are  thrust  into a  position  of  having  to  give  care  for a  frail  relative  and  come  into  it  totally  unprepared. They  don't  know  what  their  options  are, they  don't  know  really  where  to  begin. So  this  is  designed  to  help  them and  make  their  lives  a  little  bit  easier. In  provides  advice  to  other  caregivers. Number  one  is  to  know  that you're  in  it  for  the  long  haul. So  you  want  to  pace  yourself  and  be a  marathoner,  not  a  sprinter. Number  two,  there  are  a  lot  of options  available  that  you  may  not  know  about. And  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  be catapulted  into  a  nursing  home, for  example,  without  considering other  forms  of  long  term  care. And  the  third  is  that  you  have  a  number  of  rights  that institutions  may  not  necessarily tell  you  about  because  it's  not  in  their  best  interests. And  then  finally,  you  need  to  be  very  organized. You  can't  count  on  the  network of  professionals  who  is going  to  be  caring  for  your  parent, to  know  what's  going  on,  and  to avoid  duplications  and  medications, or  even  to  know  all  the  diagnoses.