William L. "Larry" Minnix, Jr. President and CEO, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging

This is a tough time for many people in the senior housing industry. With sub-prime fiascos, consumer confidence waning and an election up in the air, your customers are in need of some special love and care in the area of sales and marketing.

Among issues facing the next president is an incredible opportunity to improve how we live, receive care, and pay for the quality of life we desire when we experience disability as an older or younger adult.

The impending Social Security crunch is not news to anyone. President Bush tried to address the issue right after his re-election, but without success. Unfortunately, it was—and still is—not considered an immediate crisis, just a nearly insurmountable one.

Embarrassment can be like a riddle, confounding our senses and reason. While the choices might not be so painful as fighting off wild animals, the pain vs. shame decisions are made quite often in the long-term care setting.

Where there's a nursing home there is drama, and where there is drama, there is a nursing home. If you don't have drama, count your blessings.

Dr. Oliver Sacks, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University, in his current bestselling book, Musicophilia, writes about the amazing therapeutic effects of music on people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Everybody wants to fix Connecticut's nursing homes. The problem is, the fix elected officials have in mind is empty rhetoric, and it could do more damage than good.

When "Dianne Butler's" mother was rushed to the emergency room with signs of a heart attack, the ER nurses quickly cut away her snug, pullover silk shift. Hurrying to do CPR and start IVs, that dress was the last thing they were worried about...