Clutching a railing for balance, 89-year-old Alan Epstein searched the hospital waiting rooms for families in distress. He paused when he came across a young woman standing alone in the hallway, making a phone call about her grandfather's faltering health.
"Are you aware of the caregiver support center?" Epstein asked when she got off the phone. Just around the corner from the sterile waiting room, he told her, there's a refuge with hot coffee, soft chairs and pleasant company.