Nursing Homes
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What is a Nursing Home?
About ten percent of the elderly need more services than a family caregiver or home health aide can provide. They need 24-hour nursing that can't be found in assisted living facilities or independent living centers. At this point, a nursing home may be considered. Generally, an elderly person does not make the decision to enter a nursing home facility. Instead, the decision is made by a family member or friend.
Senior Nursing Home
Elderly Nursing Home
Nursing Home Service
Nursing Home Agencies
In Home Nursing
What is a Nursing Home? A nursing home facility is place for the elderly who need constant skilled nursing care, but do not need to be in a hospital.
The three main reasons an elderly person is placed in a nursing home are:
- They are constantly incontinent
- They are unable to sleep due to pain or another underlying medical condition
- They suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's
Nursing homes may be called:
- Residential care facilities
- Adult foster centers
- Nursing facilities
Most of the care received at a nursing home is administered by a Certified Nursing Aide, CNA, under the supervision of a Licensed Practical Nurse, LPN, who administers any medications needed. A Registered Nurse, RN, directly supervises all LPNs and CNAs. Each patient has a team of caring professionals working with him or her, including:
- Doctors and nurses
- Social workers and case managers
- Dietitians
- Occupational and physical therapists
Making the decision to place an elderly family member or loved one in a nursing home facility is difficult. The needs of the elderly patient and the needs of the current caregiver must be measured.
Senior Nursing Homes
In the past, many people assumed that once an elderly or senior patient entered a senior nursing home, they would never leave. Most of them provided long-term custodial care for patients who could no longer be cared for by family caregivers or home caregivers. Now, only a quarter of patients in senior nursing homes fall under this category.
Most nursing home admissions take place after a hospitalization. That is because Medicare will only pay for an average of 23 days of nursing home care. Medicare provides no benefits for long-term stays.
Medicare pays just enough to get the patient rehabilitated, before sending them home.
In addition, Medicare does not provide for any level of long-term care including assisted living facilities, independent living facilities, Section 8 housing or in-home care.
Those without private insurance must often rely on Medicaid. This is a medical program available to seniors and elderly persons who are on a fixed income. Medicaid only pays for nursing home stays in designated Medicaid facilities. The patient is required to have at least one roommate and may be sent to an open Medicaid ward within a facility.
A senior nursing home is usually short-term stay for those who need rehabilitation after hospitalization.
Elderly Nursing Homes
An elderly nursing home is usually the last home for an elderly person. When choosing an elderly nursing home, it is important to:
- Have a financial plan. As mentioned above, Medicare will not pay for any type of long-term care. Also, does the elderly patient need nursing home services or will he or she be better served by hospice care?
- Determine the needs of the elderly patient. Ask the staff to describe how they will meet those needs. Will they provide help with dressing, taking medications or incontinence?
- Get references. Trusted people should be asked about the facility under consideration. This includes friends, clergy, doctors, nurses, home health aides and current residents and their families.
In Home Nursing
For those who need nursing home services, but do not wish to enter a long-term facility, in home nursing may be an option. In home nursing allows seniors and the elderly to retain limited independence, while still providing skilled care.
This care may be administered by a home health aide and it may be covered under a new program administered jointly by Medicaid and Medicare. This program is called Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly or PACE.
The PACE package allows patients to stay at home and be administered to by a team of doctors and nurses who evaluate the patient and then design a care program based on the assessment.
Currently, PACE is only available in a few, certain states.
Nursing Home Services
A nursing home service varies widely from one facility to another. Those who are Medicaid funded have few amenities and more patients than those funded by private insurance payments. In order for families to ensure the best nursing home service for their elderly, they must investigate and plan.
Nursing Home Agencies
Nursing home agencies can provide the information needed to choose the proper nursing home for an elderly loved one. Nursing home agencies include:
- Local hospitals
Additional Links of Interest
Medicare and Nursing Homes - Everything you need to know about nursing homes if Medicare works for you.
National Nursing Home Directory - Find the nearest nursing homes near you.
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This page was last updated: 4/18/2012
