Maria M. Meyer, Paula Derr, and Susan Imke , Contributing writers

Maria M. Meyer has been a longtime advocate of social causes, beginning with her work as cofounder of the Society for Abused Children of the Children's Home Society of Florida and founding executive director of the Children's Foundation of Greater Miami. When her father-in-law suffered a stroke in 1993, Meyer became aware of the need for better information about how to care for an aging parent, a responsibility shared by millions of Americans. That experience led her to found CareTrust Publications and to coauthor the award-winning guide The Comfort of Home: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide for Caregivers , now in its third edition. This book earned the Benjamin Franklin Award in the health category. Meyer is a keynote speaker and workshop leader on caregiver topics to healthcare professionals and community groups, as well as a Caregiver Community Action Network volunteer for the National Family Caregiver Association.

Paula Derr has been employed by the Sisters of Providence Health System for more than 25 years. She has broad experience in many different clinical settings and for many years served as clinical educator for three emergency departments in the Portland metropolitan area. She was a founder of inforMed, which publishes emergency medical services field guides for emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, physicians, and nurses, and has coauthored numerous healthcare articles. For Derr, home care is a family tradition of long standing. For many years, she cared for her mother and grandmother in her home while raising two daughters and maintaining her career in nursing and healthcare management. Her personal and professional experience adds depth to many chapters of this book. Derr is active in several prominent professional organizations -- including the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and the National Flight Nurses Association (NFNA) -- and holds both local and national board positions. Paula is a native Oregonian and lives with her husband in Portland.

Susan Imke is a certified gerontological nurse practitioner with more than 20 years of experience working with patients who have Parkinson's disease, as well as with family caregivers. Originally certified as a family nurse practitioner, her focus shifted to elder care in the 1980s when she was appointed associate director of the Texas Tech Alzheimer Center in Lubbock. She later recruited to practice with a leading movement-disorder specialist, Abraham Lieberman, at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Imke is the CEO of Senior Health Solutions, a geriatric consulting practice, helping families living with chronic illnesses to navigate a complex healthcare system and maximize the functional abilities of the individual with neurological impairment. Imke serves on the Center of Excellence review board for the National Parkinson Foundation and on the board of directors for the Parkinson Alliance in Princeton, New Jersey. She lives with her husband in Fort Worth, Texas, and is the down-the-street caregiver for her 90-year-old father, who is recently widowed and has Parkinson's disease.