Nursing homes, SNFs part 2All nursing homes in the US that receive Medicare and/or Medicaid funding are subject to federal regulations. Fortunately, Nursing homes are beginning to change the way they are managed and organized to create a more resident-centered environment. So they are more home-like and less hospital-like. In these homes, nursing home united are replaced with a small set of rooms surrounding a common kitchen and living room. The staff giving care is assigned to one of these households. Residents have far more choices about when they awake, when they eat and what they want to do during the day. They also have access to more companionship such as pets. This type of facility would be much more desirable for employees and patients. Resident Oriented Care is where nurses are assigned to particular patients and have the ability to develop relationships with individual patients. Patients are treated mores as family, as opposed to random patients. Resident resident-oriented care, nurses are able to become familiar with each patient and cater more to their specific needs, whether they be emotional or medical. This is without question a wonderful concept, and allows patients to continue to live, and nurses to do what they have trained so hard to do. This can be the most rewarding of all nursing positions. If you have an ageing parent, or a young adult with problems, please investigate these facilities, get recommendations from doctors and nursing staff at local hospitals about which homes are better. The quality of life should be the number one priority. tb:) Sorry this is so long! PS Being able to keep beloved pets is critical, in my opinion. Is there a difference in the patient make-up? What I mean by this is that in the traditional nursing home aren't most patients in need of a fairly high level of actual medical care? Would the Resident-Oriented Facility be a different type of nursing home or is it for a different type of patient? My Mother lives in a semi-assisted living apartment complex. Meaning there is staff on-site but there is no care provided except in an emergency. The one thing they do offer is assistance with shopping, trips to doctors, and things like this if required by the residence. My mom has lived in this complex since her mid sixties as it is also rent controlled and based upon income. It is a really nice place. My grandmother lived a assisted living complex that provided more care than where my mom currently lives. With both nurses and doctors on staff the residents were provided with access to necessary care but still lived in their own apartments. They could pay additional for cleaning on either a daily or weekly basis. While the apartments were mostly one-bedroom suites with kitchens the complex also had meal service. When I was young and (19) I worked for a time in a Nursing Home as an aide. Hard work and always made me really sad. All of the patients required a great deal of care and none of them could have lived independently. I then switched over to another home that housed only handicapped and special needs young people, all with needs greater than could be provided for in a private home usually. Many of the young people were there only for a short time after an accident as the home had three sections. One section was long term residential, one was short term residential and one was acute care. I enjoyed working there but it was still very hard work and there was never enough of us, although it was better than the nursing home.
Yes, you are absolutely correct! Patients in what were formerly called Extended Care Facilities or Nursing Homes can be in a 'vegetable state' requiring supportive measures such as mechanical ventilation to survive. Some patients are incoherent, unable to ambulate with or without assistance, or an individual who is unable to care for themselves without assistance, but mentally sound. This is where the problems begin, a patient that may only require minor assistance should not be placed in a nursing home. In my opinion it is a death sentence. It isn't long before these people sink into a severe depression. The Resident-Oriented Facility is designed to care for patients who can do a lot for themselves, but may require assistance with medication, diet, companionship, etc. It is a fairly new concept, and it has been too long in coming. The patient that I mention above would do so much better in a ROF. These facilities are being funded by the state and federal government, but they are in experimental stage. The semi-assisted homes are basically the same concept, but I don't know how much funding they receive, if any. The patients have their medicare benefits and usually a secondary insurance plan, but in some states they can be very expensive, CA., is one of those states. They are run by private parties, and those patients that I know who are in facilities such as these are so much better off mentally and physically. Patients in semi-assisted homes do enjoy living in them, at least the patients that I know do, and they are very well care for. Since they do not employ nurses, the patients must meet strict criteria, you know that better than I. In a Nursing Home, the patient's doctor of record is required by law to see their patient once a month, but that aspect of elder care needs to be more heavily regulated. In an assisted living complex, there is still a much better atmosphere for patients. They are able to keep their dignity, and continue to do the things they enjoy. Many employee LVN's and CNA, but an RN must be on sight, at least that is what is required in CA., and the regulations differ depending upon the state. EMT's are also utilized in these facilities. These can be very nice places to work in. I used to volunteer in a nursing home on weekend while I was in high school. It was so different than it is today. When I started working in the medical field I saw atrocities that still give me nightmares. These were severe cases | |
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