older people’s health issues
Nursing Homes
Types of care and services
Many nursing homes provide services previously thought to occur only in hospitals such as continuous administration of oxygen and fluids or medications given by vein (intravenous therapies). Almost all nursing homes provide rehabilitation, including physical, occupational, and sometimes respiratory and speech therapies. Many people are admitted to nursing homes specifically for rehabilitation, then are discharged to their home after several weeks. Dentists and medical specialists, such as podiatrists, ophthalmologists, neurologists, or psychiatrists, may examine and treat residents on site. But most often, people with a specific problem have to be transported to a different site for treatment. Some nursing homes have special units for people with dementia. These units are staffed by specially trained nurses. Many nursing homes provide hospice care for people who are dying. All nursing homes provide access to members of the facility's Interdisciplinary care , including doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, and pharmacists. Social workers help residents adjust to the nursing home and, when appropriate, help residents return to their own home or to a lower level of care. They identify residents who are lonely and withdrawn and help residents, staff members, and family members communicate with each other. They may also help residents and family members make financial arrangements. For example, they may show family members how to apply for Medicare and Medicaid coverage. Social workers often help coordinate the care provided by the different health care practitioners in a nursing home. These practitioners work together to enable each resident to function as well as possible and to have the best possible quality of life. State departments of health regularly evaluate nursing homes, and nursing homes must make these evaluations available to residents and their family members. Although some nursing homes resemble hospitals rather than homes, many nursing homes are trying to change from a more institutional environment with rules and regulations to a more homelike environment that gives residents more control over their care. Some nursing homes permit pets, encourage residents to maintain existing hobbies or develop new ones, and provide many opportunities for contact between residents and people of all ages who live in the community around the nursing home. Providing this kind of environment is complicated because the residents of nursing homes are usually sick and frail. Many nursing homes have dining rooms, recreation rooms, beauty salons, patios, and gardens. All nursing homes provide recreational and social activities. Nursing homes are overseen by the government. To monitor and evaluate quality in nursing homes, state health departments conduct surveys and inspections and interview residents and staff members. A copy of this evaluation is kept at the nursing home and can be reviewed by residents and their family members. Nursing homes also use other programs that monitor and help improve the quality of care. The COVID-19 has highlighted a number of problems with quality of care in nursing homes and has caused government surveyors to look more carefully at care in nursing homes. In response, surveyors have provided enhanced training for nursing home staff about infection control, and some states require nursing homes to have full-time staff with expertise in infection prevention. 