This timely analysis comes just as the Baby-Boomers are beginning to approach their retirement years. Elder abuse is already a problem of significant proportions, and the problem will only get worse as the proportion of elderly in the population increases. This look at the problem finds that much more emphasis needs to be put on the training of care givers, and on more careful selection of care givers in the first place. This, of course, implies higher standards, requiting a greater allocation of resources. However, as the author cogently points out, this is a problem that will probably affect us all, sooner or later. We had best address it now, before the problem becomes insoluble.

About the Author

Mary Hird is well qualified in this field, with an M.S. in health administration and the position of adjunct professor, nursing, at the City University of New York. A native of Jamaica, she has lived in Brooklyn for the past twenty-five years and is administrative nursing coordinator for a major hospital in Brooklyn, New York. She is married, with two children, and loves gardening, reading, and cooking.