Stop me if you've heard this one before. A jazz singer walks into a senior center...

It was far from a joke when Zena Foster -- passionate jazz singer, compassionate home health aide -- gave a noontime show one recent Wednesday with her band at the

One recent morning, a clinical manager who helps train aides at the home care agency where I work, shared with me a lighthearted comment that she'd overheard from one of her newest trainees. "Who knew making a bed was so complex?" the aide had said. That got me...

Every day across the United States, health aides walk into the homes of people in need, often people who live alone and are unable to take care of themselves, whether they are recovering from illness or injury or require long-term assistance to remain at home.

By the year 2050,...

Christine Mitchell has worked since she was 17 years old. Last year, at age 68, she finally retired. But not for long. "I couldn't take being in the house," she says. "I'm always on the go, always working. I had to get out."

She jumped back into the workforce with...

'Like Associated with Like'

95-year-old Roz spent all her life in Westchester County in the company of Jewish people like herself. She was not strictly religious, but she grew up in a time and place when, as she said, "like associated with like." She still recalls one evening, some 70...

For many people, a diagnosis of diabetes seems to bring nothing but limitations and restrictions. But for 82-year-old Sandra, a diabetes diagnosis has translated into a great array of mealtime options. That's thanks to her home health aide, Betty.

Every morning, on her way to Sandra's Manhattan...

When Sylvie first came to the door, it seemed to take her a full minute to say "Hello." Jane, the home health aide who would care for her over the weekend, immediately knew why. Sylvie did not have hearing or cognition problems. She had multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic, often...

One recent morning, David Sanchez arrived at the Manhattan home of Professor Acton, just as he had done every morning for nearly seven years. David, who spends 12 hours a day six days a week caring for the 87-year-old retired professor, knew something was wrong the instant he stepped inside...