While elders once held a place of honor in most cultures throughout history, the group has become essentially devoid of stature in modern U.S. society. With the dramatic change of the workforce in the latter half of the twentieth century, fewer and fewer women are staying in the home.

With women on the job and pursuing careers, the traditional elder support group, including the primary health care providers — the family — became unavailable. The result was that more and more families sought residential alternatives for their aging family members, a role that was filled with the widespread advent of nursing homes in America.

As a society, our families have entrusted the health and well-being of a vast number of Older Americans to third parties. These paid caregivers may be well trained and even well meaning, but they certainly have no familial bond or enduring emotional attachment to our elder relatives —our mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.