Nursing home: when it is necessary to move into
While many elder people prefer to live in their own home, when a health condition, or conditions, are such that they will need specialist round-the-clock healthcare as well as personal care every day – something that relatives or external carers who come to a person’s home may not be able to provide – then it may be that moving permanently into a nursing home is the best option for them to live and receive the best possible care.
Likewise, if a person has suffered injuries, such as a broken leg, or has recently had an operation and will take some time to recuperate, then a nursing home can also be an option, but for a limited period until they have recovered sufficiently to move back into their own home.
Nursing homes differ to other types of residential care homes in several ways. For instance, assisted living facilities can just provide for basic care needs, as well as things like laundry and daily meals as residents don’t require as much care and will have a greater degree of independence. Whereas in a nursing home, those needs will be catered for, but a person will need more specialist care that has to be provided by a registered nurse, often on a 24/7 basis.
As a result, there is likely to be a higher ratio of staff to residents in a nursing home than in other facilities, due to the nature of the support they require. All nursing homes are required to ensure that all medical treatment is overseen by a physician.
Additionally, in a nursing home, the facility will often have equipment installed to help nursing staff to deliver that care; things like bathrooms will often have been fitted out to be wetrooms and may also have hoists, for instance. There will also be a range of services provided by various specialist professionals, such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.
All this can give elder people the dignity they want and deserve, as well as the health and personal care they need to help them live the best life they can for as long as possible.
It is something that many elder people in the US require. There were 1.678 million nursing home beds in the US in 2015, and that figure has stayed roughly consistent for the past 20 years, according to statista.com [www.statista.com/statistics/323196/number-of-licensed-nursing-home-beds-in-the-us/]. The vast majority of residents in such homes were aged 65 or over.
The size of homes varies markedly; some are small – catering for up to six residents, for example – while others can accommodate hundreds of people.
Finding a nursing home
This is something that will need to be considered when looking for a nursing home, either for yourself or a loved one. Therefore, it should go without saying that research is vital. Look at the sorts of care services on offer at the facility and whether they can adequately provide services to cater for the condition(s) you/your loved one has.
Funding is also a consideration. There are various ways that a place in a home can be paid for, including Medicare and Medicaid – most nursing homes are certified by both today, rather than one or the other – insurance or personal assets. It is best to do some research about which payment method will be the best to use.
If possible, a visit to a potential home should be made so you can see the facilities for yourself. While there, talk to other residents if you can to find out what they think about their life there and what a typical day is like.
This will help you to come to the right decision on where you, or your loved one should live. It is a crucial decision, and one that has to be got right. Finding the right nursing home can ensure they get the care and support they need to ensure best quality of life as possible.