Episode 6: The Elder Care Journey

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Laura Olson, Ph.D., discuss systemic policy flaws in America’s approach to elder care and the challenges Laura faced as a long-distance caregiver. A compelling story of laughter, tears, outrage and so much more, Laura’s book, Elder Care Journey is a window into long-term care industries such as nursing homes and home care agencies that consume a significant percentage of taxpayer dollars but often fail to provide quality care.

Laura Katz Olson is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Lehigh University. Professor Olson has published nine books, the most recent of which is Elder Care Journey: A View from the Front Lines (SUNY Press, 2016). Her other books include: The Politics of Medicaid (Columbia University Press); The Political Economy of Aging: The State, Private Power and Social Welfare; Aging and Public Policy: The Politics of Growing Old in America; The Graying of the World: Who Will Take Care of the Frail Elderly; Age Through Ethnic Lenses: Caring for the Elderly in a Multicultural Society; The Not So Golden Year: Caregiving, the Frail Elderly and the Long-Term Care Establishment; The Handbook of Long-Term Care Administration and Policy; and Heart Sounds (her first novel).

She has published widely in the field of aging, health care and women’s studies, her articles addressing such topics as Medicaid, Medicare, long-term care of the elderly, pensions, Social Security and problems experienced by older women. She has been a Scholar at the Social Security Administration, a Gerontological Fellow, and a Fulbright Scholar. She also has lectured throughout Pennsylvania on Social Security, Medicare and Long-term Care policies, funded by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. Professor Olson is on the editorial board of the Journal of Aging Studies and New Political Science.