Nursing Home Vs Skilled Nursing
Part 1
There’s a huge difference in assistance with daily activities such as preparing meals, eating, bathing, dressing, and recovering from a stroke. Nursing homes are designed to give people high levels of care for non-medical activities of daily living. Skilled nursing, on the other hand, is what a stroke patient would receive.
When researching nursing homes, it’s important to understand the difference between a skilled nursing facility or SNF and a nursing home. Before you begin your search, you’ll want to know the difference and what you’re looking for. The terms can be misleading and in some cases, they may be used interchangeably. Make sure that your expectations are clear before you sign on the dotted line.
Nursing Homes
Nursing homes offer daily non-medical care. Residents will require assistance with many of the activities of daily living. Each resident will have different requirements and some will require less assistance than others. Even if you require frequent medical care, such as dialysis twice per week, you may still be able to live here as long as you’re able to get to and from your appointments. You may need to arrange for third-party transportation service and this may require out-of-pocket payment. The nursing personnel will provide meals, clean your room, do your laundry, dispense your medications, and they may also offer exercise classes, scenic tours, beauty saloons, and crafts.
Nursing aides will provide most of the care. The nursing facility may have a doctor on staff and a nurse on staff as well, but for the most part, they will rely on a nursing aide to do most of the care for eight hours per day, seven days per week. There is typically a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) on staff in case of emergency. Many people plan out their estate plans at least five years prior to entering such a facility or they spend their assets down so that they can be eligible for Medicaid.
Skilled Nursing Facilities
The main difference between a nursing home and a Skilled Nursing Facility is that the Skilled Nursing Facility offers a higher level of care. They have doctors, or a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse, and other medical personnel such as a physical therapist or speech therapist on site. The care that is offered may include your doctor’s visits (in-house) and routine medical care.
Most people enter into such a facility after a hospital stays for such events as a stroke or some other debilitating condition where they need more recovery. Typically such conditions include:
- Stroke Care/Recovery
- Wound/Injury Care
- Rehab After Injuries Or Operations
- Terminal Illnesses
- Memory Care
- Around-The-Clock Nursing Care
Call us or contact Assisting Hands Houston today with any questions you might have! Click here for the second issue of this article. Visit our blog for more exciting articles about caregiving in Houston.
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