By Modern60
Last Updated on,
February 8th, 2024
You may be emotional about moving your senior parent, uncle, or aunt to a nursing home. But know that you are not alone. Moving older family members to a nursing home because of factors like their debilitating health conditions, need for rehabilitation services, and special nutritional requirements is not uncommon.
The good news is you have access to various senior care living options, including the following:
Regardless of the reason, the admission of a loved one to a care facility can be overwhelming. However, familiarizing yourself with how such places work can ease your fears and help build your confidence for the next steps. Here is a quick guide for you!
A nursing home is a residential care facility that provides various health and personal care services for older people. People often refer to such homes as care homes or long-term care facilities.
A nursing home is for older people who don’t need hospitalization but need more caregiving assistance to do their everyday activities than what they get at home.
A nursing home provides custodial care that involves assistance with daily living activities such as meals, laundry, medication management, and even moving around. Also, it is different from most other senior housing facilities as it focuses more on providing better medical care.
Here are a few common reasons why people usually start searching for a nursing home for their senior family member.
Long-term care facilities generally offer a few standard services, such as 24/7 monitoring, personal care assistance, and on-site medical care. However, some care facilities offer extra levels of care services. Here are a few common types:
These facilities offer basic-level care. The residents here do not require help with daily activities. They are only given health-related care, such as medication management and meal services.
These facilities offer a higher level of medical assistance and care. Residents here are mostly bound to the bed or need dialysis. This is why a skilled nursing facility has a nurse and a physician round-the-clock. Moreover, you can also expect a skilled nursing facility to have in-house rehabilitation services such as occupational, physical, and speech therapy.
They offer specialized facilities such as 24/7 monitoring and care for those with Alzheimer’s or any other type of dementia. These facilities are designed to meet the unique needs of residents with memory impairments. They offer many services and amenities to provide the best possible care. The staff members at these facilities are trained to provide therapy and activities to dementia patients. Some facilities may also have separate units for memory care or Alzheimer’s. The atmosphere at these memory care facilities is generally designed to be more home-like for the patients.
These units provide services that involve highly intense monitoring or therapy. These can include intense rehabilitation services and the 24-hour availability of licensed registered nurses trained in administering complex IV therapy or using ventilators.
All nursing homes are built differently. Most look like a hospital, with one or two nurse stations on every floor. A few facilities may add certain features to make the place feel like home or a small community.
The care home you pick must be able to care of seniors in all aspects, including medical, nutrition, fitness, and social. It should have essential medical equipment and facilities. While the precise services may differ, here are a few commonly provided services.
You should follow specific steps when admitting someone to a nursing home.
Despite being well-acquainted with the different types of assisted living facilities and their services, it may still be difficult to choose the right one. So you need as much information as possible to increase your chances of selecting the right one. Here are a few tips to help you pick a suitable facility for your loved one.
Talk to a person with first-hand experience with long-term care facilities. It is beneficial to gain knowledge from someone who is familiar with the various nursing homes in your area. You can also consult your family doctor. They might have some suggestions that could help you decide.
Make sure you thoroughly research the available senior care homes in your area. Check various resources such as blogs, forums, and official websites of some facilities to verify information about the shortlisted care facilities. Make sure to choose a senior care facility that is well-versed in the individual’s requirements.
Since different types of nursing homes specialize in different areas, consider the senior’s medical needs to make your decision. For example, if you’re looking for a care home for a senior with Alzheimer’s, memory care centers would be the best option for them.
It will be easier for everyone if the care home is located closer to where the family members of the senior stay. It will be convenient for friends and family to visit regularly.
Once you’ve shortlisted a few nursing homes that you like, make appointments with them for a visit. Most of them let family members look around the facilities before making a decision. A visit is crucial to understand if the place would be safe and comfortable for your loved one.
When you visit different care homes, ensure you also meet the staff. After all, they are the people who will be taking care of your loved one. A few things you can look out for include checking the frequency of staff turnover and the staffing level on weekdays, weekends, and evenings. Also, note whether they interact with you or if everything feels rushed.
During your visit, try to observe the residents currently staying there. Note whether they seem engaged or overmedicated. Check if they are well-groomed. Observe the interaction with the family members.
Don’t forget to examine how clean the facility is. Check if you see any house cleaning staff on duty. Ask them questions regarding the cleaning routines and schedules.
Some long-term care facilities will let you have a meal with the residents in their cafeterias. This is an excellent opportunity to examine the meals typically served. Ask the staff about the meal services if there is no such facility. Check whether they provide special meal services based on the health conditions of the residents. Also, ask what kind of help is available with meals.
You will want your loved one to be engaged and able to socialize with other residents as much as their health allows. So, make sure you ask whether the facility plans events and activities for their residents.
Several criteria must be met, and most of these rules are mandated by the state. Therefore, document all medical conditions and confirm them by a medical practitioner. This will make it easier to prove that you’ve met the state’s criteria.
The requirements will be different across states. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have mandated general guidelines for all states. But, all the states have the flexibility to have their assessments in addition to the CMS’s regulations.
Therefore, a senior may meet the criteria for admission in one state but may not be eligible in another. So, ensure you contact the local government agency or the local Medicaid representative to understand the state’s standards and regulations.
Moreover, you will need an assessment of your loved one’s medical requirements to ensure they meet the state’s regulations for admission to a long-term care facility. Here’s how you can get official assessments.
Through a physician or primary care doctor
You can consult a physician or a primary care doctor to help you with the assessment. They will examine the senior’s medical history and ascertain the various health-related requirements to ensure they meet the state’s requirements for nursing home admission.
Through attending staff of a hospital
In case your senior parent or family member is hospitalized, the attending staff will do the medical assessment during their stay at the hospital. This can also help to ascertain whether they meet the state’s admission criteria.
Through the state
In some states, free healthcare assessments for seniors are provided. For instance, Maryland has the Adult Evaluation and Review Service (AERS) program. Through this program, a social worker or qualified nurse performs an assessment to verify if a senior meets the nursing home admission criteria set by the state.
Once the medical assessment is done, you will have to gather all the required documentation for the further procedure. Here’s a list of documents that you will need. Providing all the necessary documents is mandatory before getting admitted. Here are a few common documents required for the nursing homes admissions process. Check out the list before you visit the nursing home facility for seniors:
Since nursing homes are regulated by federal and state laws, all residents must provide written proof that they are staying at a facility of their own free will. The document must state that they have consented to treatment in the long-term care facility.
This is similar to a prescription given by a doctor. It states and confirms that a person needs care at a nursing home.
At the residential care facility, a new physician and caregivers will be responsible for the health and well-being of your loved one. So to enable a seamless transition, the care home will require written recommendation of treatments and medications from a primary care physician or a physician at a hospital.
Before admission to the nursing home, a person must undergo a physical examination. In addition, the primary care doctor must make a report of the medical history. This needs to be documented and provided to the facility.
All the states have a set of mandatory forms that must be filled for nursing home admission by a physician or the hospital. These forms certify that a senior is eligible for long-term care facilities and that they meet all the criteria. You can get these forms at the care home you have chosen for your loved one.
All nursing homes provide tests for tuberculosis and shots for flu and pneumonia. But if a newly admitted resident has already taken these tests and shots, they should provide proof.
In some cases, additional documents may also be required. These include the following:
Based on the paperwork and documentation you need to provide, it may take a few hours or a day to complete the admission process. In most cases, all the paperwork is usually done one day before or on the day of admission at the facility. However, this varies from one nursing home to another as well as the state of residence of the senior.
Transitioning to an assisted living facility from one’s own house is difficult for seniors and their family members. To make things easier, include the senior in the decision-making process. Moreover, asking for their opinion and considering their wishes regarding admission to a nursing home will help them cope with the new changes.
The Editorial Team at Modern60 is a group of highly skilled professionals with diverse backgrounds in journalism, content creation, editing, and digital media. They bring a wealth of experience and expertise to ensure that every piece of content meets our strict editorial guidelines and quality standards. The team is dedicated to delivering accurate, well-researched, and engaging content across various subjects, including health, wellness, lifestyle, and current events. With their commitment to upholding the highest standards of journalism and content creation, the Modern60 Editorial Team is the driving force behind our mission to empower and inspire our readers.
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