MACE, Nancy L(awson) 1941-

(Nancy M. Lang)

PERSONAL: Born December 27, 1941, in Twin Falls, ID; daughter of Francis R. (an entomologist) and V. (Tremblay) Lawson; divorced; children: Charles Lang, Catherine Lang. Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 1964; Antioch University Maryland, M.A., 1978.

ADDRESSES: Home—1215 Cowpens Ave., Baltimore, MD 21204. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 21211.

CAREER: Baltimore City Department of Social Services, Baltimore, MD, social worker, 1964-65; instructor in needlework and American handicrafts at Harford, Dundalk, and Essex community colleges, 1966-77; Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD, instructor in gerontology, 1977-79; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, assistant in psychiatry and coordinator of T. Rowe and Eleanor Price Teaching Service, 1979-84; Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, consultant and writer, 1984—. Founder of Senior Citizens Resource Institute, Bel Air; member of Harford County Community Housing Resources Board, 1977-79; chairman of Family Life Education Study Group, Harford Council of Community Services, 1977-79; board member of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, 1982-86; member of Maryland State Governor's Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, 1984-85; member of board of directors of Maryland Adult Day Care Association; consulting member of Dementia Panel of the American Medical Association, 1984, and of the Veterans Administration, 1985; member of ad hoc clinical advisory group of Long-Term Health Care Group of National Medical Enterprises, 1985; consultant to Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

MEMBER: Gerontological Society, Maryland Gerontological Society, Alzheimer's Disease Association of Maryland (cofounder, 1978), Baltimore-Washington Society for Psychogeriatrics.

WRITINGS:

(As Nancy M. Lang) Getting Started in Egg Decorating, Bruce (New York, NY), 1971.

(As Nancy M. Lang) Getting Started in Plastics, Collier Books (New York, NY), 1972.

(With Peter V. Rabins) The Thirty-six-Hour Day: AFamily Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Losses in Later Life, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1981, 3rd edition, 1999.

(With Peter V. Rabins) Survey of Day Care for theDemented Adult in the United States (monograph), National Council on the Aging (Washington, DC), 1984.

(Designer) Jitka M. Zgola, Doing Things: A Guide toProgramming Activities for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1987.

(Editor) Dementia Care: Patient, Family, and Community, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1990.

(With Dorothy H. Coons) Quality of Life in Long-Term Care, Haworth Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Contributor to books, including Physical Therapy of the Geriatric Patient, edited by Osa Jackson, Churchill Livingstone (New York, NY), 1983; and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders: Research and Management, edited by William E. Kelly, C. C Thomas (Springfield, IL), 1984. Also author of "Facts of Dementia," a column in Journal of Geriatric Nursing, 1983—. Contributor to professional journals.

SIDELIGHTS: After a career as an instructor in handiworks, and a couple of how-to books on egg decorating and working with plastic, Nancy L. Mace turned to the study of gerontology and the complex issues surrounding long-term care for the elderly. Through her work with the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and numerous organizations devoted to treating geriatric diseases, Mace has emerged as a leading advocate for those suffering from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. In 1981, she collaborated with Johns Hopkins professor Peter V. Rabins to produce The Thirty-six-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Losses in Later Life. The book covers the medical, emotional, financial, and legal challenges that face caregivers coping with a relative who may often act inappropriately, wander off, and may not even remember them. Its straightforward language and practical advice based on the authors' long experience with these diseases and numerous interviews with caregivers have made the book extremely popular, and with over one million copies sold, it is now in its third edition. As Simone DaSilva, a social worker with the Alzheimer's Association, told South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporter Diane Lade, "I would say, eventually, almost everyone who walks in our door buys it and uses it." Physicians and other professional caregivers have also found the book useful in understanding both their patients and the day-to-day hurdles that family members face. Journal of Family Practice contributor Kenneth Holtzapple wrote simply, "If you care for demented patients or simply have an interest in dementia, read this book, and recommend it to all families and nursing personnel caring for demented patients."

Mace next edited a collection of pieces by medical professionals, social workers, and lawyers dealing with Alzheimer's and other diseases which cause a loss of mental faculties. Dementia Care: Patient, Family, and Community begins with "an excellent overview of the multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment," according to Annals of Internal Medicine contributor Daniel Gianturco, and goes on to provide advice on devising care plans, implementing behavior modification strategies, and building volunteer programs. "Mace has done an exceptional service in synthesizing the many faces of dementia care seen by the patient, the family, the community, and the professional," noted Health & Social Work contributor Susan Mercer.

In her next book, Quality of Life in Long-Term Care, written with gerontologist Dorothy Coons, Mace combines photographs, case studies, and straightforward narrative to reveal innovative and hopeful solutions to caring for the institutionalized elderly. "I found it refreshing to read the effects of a therapeutic and wellness concept to care rather than 'aging in place,'" commented Educational Gerontology contributor J. Conrad Glass. The authors provide advice on including elderly residents in decision-making, offering age-appropriate activities, and respecting the dignity and privacy of patients. In addition, they offer suggestions on overcoming regulations and high costs that might stand in the way of better long-term care. If every caregiver and administrator "read Quality of Life in Long-Term Care and made genuine efforts to implement the suggested changes, long-term care facilities might not be as dreaded by our nation's elderly citizens as they are today," concluded Health and Social Work reviewer Dianne Garner.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Annals of Internal Medicine, July 15, 1990, Daniel Gianturco, review of Dementia Care: Patient, Family, and Community, p. 79.

Educational Gerontology, June, 1997, J. Conrad Glass, review of Quality of Life in Long-Term Care, p. 403.

Health & Social Work, February, 1991, Susan Mercer, review of Dementia Care, p. 79; February, 1998, Dianne Garner, review of Quality of Life in Long-Term Care, p. 78.

Jerusalem Post, March 24, 198, Leah Abramowitz, review of The Thirty-six-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Losses in Later Life, p. 338.

Journal of Family Practice, September, 1992, Kenneth Holtzapple, review of The Thirty-six-Hour Day, p. 338.

Library Journal, July, 1999, Jodith Jones, review of The Thirty-six-Hour Day, p. 122.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 30, 2000, Diane Lade, "Seeking Answers to Alzheimer's: Book Written 20 Years Ago by Neuropsychiatrist Continues to Offer Hope, Direction for Today's Caregivers," p. 3B.*