Skilled Nursing Homes

What Patients Need Skilled Nursing Care?

Skilled Nursing Homes can help stabilize a patient’s health. They provide 24 hour care from registered nurses and physicians. For patients in need of this level of care, nursing homes are a necessity. Medicare and health insurance cover skilled nursing care. Medicare and private insurance typically only pay for skilled nursing care for a limited amount of time. Skilled nursing homes have residents who are rehabbing from serious injuries and elderly people who require around the clock care. Some patients suffering from the later and most severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease also live in skilled nursing facilities because of the expertise that is required to care for these patients.

What Nursing Homes Are Like

When your loved one  moves into a skilled nursing home, you can expect to hear about how the facility is very “hospitalish.” It is regrettable that so many seniors feel uncomfortable in skilled nursing facilities, but all are there because they need the care. With so many medical professionals working together, so many rules to follow, and with care requirements that vary from patient to patient, a little bit of bureaucracy is unavoidable. If you know someone who is or will have to have a stay at a skilled nursing facility, try to be supportive. Presenting things in the best possible light will go a long way to making your loved one appreciate that they need the care that they are receiving and will improve their outlook on their situation.

Having A Skilled Nursing Plan

If your loved one needs skilled nursing care, it’s important to remember that the nursing home is not always a long term solution. Your insurance provider will likely pay for a finite number of days of skilled nursing care and only if skilled nursing care is still medically necessary. Senior Planning will work with you with your loved one is still in skilled nursing to find a care solution and put it in place in advance of their discharge date from skilled nursing. Making sure that things are in place after a skilled nursing discharge can ensure that the progress made during a rehabilitation is preserved. Give us a call or submit an information request to let us know more about your specific situation and how we can help