Caring with Dignity: A Caregiver's Guide to Incontinence

Every day, tens of millions of Americans provide essential care for their loved ones--and for many, that care includes managing incontinence. Often overlooked and misunderstood, incontinence can be one of the most stressful and isolating parts of caregiving. In fact, it is frequently the tipping point for nursing home admission, not because it's untreatable, but because family caregivers simply don't have the tools or support to manage it confidently at home.

Caring with Dignity is here to change that.

Written by longtime nurse and clinical educator Michele Mongillo, this empowering guide offers compassionate, practical, and easy-to-understand advice for navigating incontinence care--without a medical background. Whether you're caring for an aging parent, a child with special needs, a partner, or even managing your own incontinence, this book is for you.

Inside, you'll find:

• Expert guidance on managing incontinence across different life stages--whether age-related, post-surgical, or disability-related
• Practical tips for daily living, including bathroom scheduling, product selection, skin health, hydration, fall prevention, and memory challenges
• Tools for emotionally navigating the caregiving journey, including how to initiate difficult conversations and where to find support
• Strategies for maintaining dignity--for your loved one and for yourself
• Advice for traveling, working, or socializing while managing incontinence care at home

Grounded in real-life examples and backed by clinical expertise, Caring with Dignity was written for the millions of family caregivers who deserve to feel more confident, less alone, and better equipped to provide dignified care. It's also a valuable resource for professional caregivers and healthcare providers who want to deepen their understanding of incontinence care beyond clinical settings.

Because dignity is not just about what we do--it's how we do it.

Whether you're just beginning your caregiving journey or seeking better ways to support someone you love, Caring with Dignity offers the insight, empathy, and actionable steps to help you keep your loved one home longer, healthier, and more comfortable.

You're not alone. And with the right tools, you don't have to feel overwhelmed.

Throughout her career spanning more than three decades, Michele Mongillo has worked in a variety of settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, the homes of patients, and skilled nursing facilities (nursing homes). In her current role at First Quality, Michele provides clinical expertise for new product and service development while continuing her lifelong passion for educating caregivers on incontinence care. Her experience over the years includes the development of educational programs for nurses, certified nurse aides, case managers, and individuals with a variety of health issues, including incontinence. In addition, she worked with nursing students in an adjunct faculty role at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Nursing and is a previous guest lecturer at the Pennsylvania College of Technology Nursing program.