This was assigned as a text book and it was a good one. This text is packed with information on the various ways long-term care is delivered in the US today. After one reads this book they will understand the complexities of the long-term care health care system. Pratt discusses, funding, organizational structures, regulation, accreditation, and how the different types of long-term care fit into the whole system.

Each chapter builds to provide a complete picture of long-term care and understanding how all the parts fit together to make a whole system. This book is strongest is in its discussion of funding structures and how funding impacts service delivery. The strongest chapters were on quality and the various ways that quality is currently measured. Pratt points out that measuring process and systems as is currently and most commonly done does not always guarantee quality outcomes.

Chapter 2 which discusses the "ideal" long-term care health system and Appendix A: Criteria for Designing or Evaluating a Long-Term Care System are worth the price of this book because the information contained in these pages can assist long-term care administrators strengthen their facilities and service delivery and policy makers in understanding the complexities of long-term care systems.

I am a student studying health services. This book gives so much information on nursing administration, elder care, insurance, OBRA, etc. I found it very helpful with my class work, as well as, my own personal issues with my elderly parents. It's a book that's worth having in your home library because it has so much to offer schoolastically and personally.