Top 6 Things You Should Know About Nursing Homes Assisted Living

You know you were brought up by your parents or by older siblings or someone elderly.  As a human being, we might show our gratitude to elderly people by taking care of them in the later years of their life.  Most people are not sure whether to look for a nursing home for their parents or they would be comfortable living in a nursing home. Of course, though both are good and have distinct entities, you will have to make a choice depending on the requirements of your loved ones.  Generally, the nursing homes are monitored under the regulations of health department rather than the social welfare stipulations.  Here are a few things you should know while choosing opting for nursing home assisted living for your parents.

#1. Dependence Level

Primarily the nursing homes cater to the people who require the medical care or attention and/or are dependent on someone for their living.  If the elderly person is fairly independent and might require some assistance only for domestic chores like bathing, dressing or cooking etc, a nursing home is not the right place.  Primarily, if they are dependent on medical care and, probably nursing home is a better choice for them.

#2. Medical Facilities

No doubt, the nursing home provides a majority of medical facilities--nursing, professional medical and health care, physiotherapy etc.  Probably, some of them are equipped with diagnostic facilities like x-ray, blood test and what not.  These in-house services could be availed any time of the day.  However, for nursing home assisted living, a nursing facility is only available throughout the day.  In addition, a geriatrician also would be present to take care of the needy in case sufficient inmates require medical attention.  Other facilities like physiotherapy or speech therapist may be impaneled and would visit them on-demand basis.

#3. Duration of Stay

Normally, the nursing home stay is on a short-term basis till the patient recovers and no more requires assistance for a majority of the chores.  If the patient is almost immobile, thus requires medical attention, may perforce stay in a nursing home for the longer duration.  The deciding factor here is the need for trained professionals to care for a patient.

#4. Rehabilitation

If the person is only single and therefore feeling lonely to stay alone, nursing home assisted living is preferred for him for rehabilitation rather than the nursing home.  With persons of the community around him, he would rather feel homely and his general health will also improve.

#5. Reimbursement / Insurance

For emergency treatment in a nursing home before the patient is shifted to a regular hospital, some insurance companies consider the insurance claim to a limited extent.  However, the services availed in a nursing home assisted living are not covered by any claim and therefore there is no reimbursement at all.

#6. Monetary limits

This is the last point of making a choice.  However, this is also important to consider before a decision is taken.  Since the nursing homes are mini-hospitals, the cost for a stay would be on the higher side.  Unless all the facilities available in the nursing home are essentially required for your beloved one, staying in such a place would be an unnecessary strain on the purse.

In a nutshell, you should know that nursing home is like a hospital and therefore all facilities are available on a limited scale, though some of them are able to handle the complex and emergent cases too.  The nursing home assisted living is extended home where the senile or the needy are able to spend their quality time with like-minded people.