WHAT IS A SKILLED NURSING FACILITY?

When an aging loved one requires more support, finding the right care quickly is crucial. Understanding your options in advance can make all the difference. By familiarizing yourself with skilled nursing services, you’ll be well equipped to navigate the process smoothly and make choices that best meet your loved one’s needs.

What Is Skilled Nursing?

Skilled nursing care is a high level of medical care provided by trained individuals. This care can be for short-term rehabilitation or long-term for chronic conditions. Staff typically consists of registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and certified nurse aides (CNAs), who are available to provide 24-hour medical attention.

These services are available in a variety of settings, including a senior’s home, but are often provided in a skilled nursing facility, which is a licensed residential health care facility. You can find this level of care at a stand-alone facility or as part of a continuum of care at a senior living community.

Skilled nursing care services can include:

• Wound care: cleaning wounds and administering antibiotics for infection
• Physical therapy: improving physical function, mobility, strength and endurance with personalized programs
• Speech therapy: providing exercises and strategies to strengthen muscles used for speech and swallowing
• Occupational therapy: teaching residents how to modify tasks or use adaptive equipment to perform daily activities like bathing, dressing, cooking or driving.
• Intravenous (IV) therapy: delivering medications, fluids or nutrition directly into the bloodstream
• Acute medical care: monitoring of vital signs and medical equipment, administering injections, managing pain, and other services to help patients with illness, infection or injury
• Medication management: ensuring residents receive the right medications at the right time, safely and effectively, to optimize their health and well-being

What Qualifies a Patient for Skilled Nursing Care?

Skilled nursing care is generally needed:

1. If an illness is acute but no longer requires hospitalization, and
2. Home care and outpatient care are inadequate to manage that illness

Potential candidates for skilled nursing care include those who are dealing with an ongoing health condition or disability, chronic or severe pain, a chronic medical condition, permanent disability, dementia, or those who need help with activities of daily living.

Specific conditions that often require short-term or long-term care in skilled nursing include:

• Cardiac failure
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Congestive heart failure
• Diabetes
• Fall-related injury
• Hip or bone fracture
• Orthopedic surgery
• Parkinson’s disease
• Severe osteoarthritis
• Stroke
• Other major illness

Does Medicare or Medicaid Pay for Skilled Nursing?

Medicare covers short-term skilled nursing care for up to 100 days if you meet specific criteria. It typically covers all costs for the first 20 days and then requires a co-pay for days 21-100.

Medicaid covers long-term skilled nursing care for those with limited income and assets. However, eligibility requirements vary by state. Visit Medicare.gov or Medicaid.gov to learn how to apply for coverage.

Questions To Ask

When considering skilled nursing care, try to schedule a visit and ask questions like these:

• Are you for-profit or nonprofit?
• What medical treatments do you offer?
• How does staff assist with activities of daily living (ADLs)?
• Is this a Medicaid- and Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility?
• What’s the average length of stay?
• Are family members included in creating resident care plans?
• What are the qualifications and certifications of their medical professionals?
• Are there background checks for staff?
• Can residents bring personal belongings and furniture?
• Are there daily activities and events for residents to enjoy?

Make notes about the facility itself.

• Is there plenty of natural light?
• Is it free from unpleasant odors?
• Is it clean and well kept?
• Are residents clean, well groomed, and appropriately dressed?
• How does the staff treat residents?
• Does staff knock on the door before entering a room?
• Are there spaces for family and friends to visit?
• Are there working smoke detectors and sprinklers?

What To Expect

You’ll find a variety of environments and amenities, but most skilled nursing facilities offer:

• Comfortable private or semi-private rooms
• Three meals per day
• Housekeeping and laundry services
• Social programs and activities

At Essex Meadows, we offer personalized care in a homelike setting. Our meals are chef prepared, and rooms have cable TV, phone service and Wi-Fi. Our health center has achieved a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and is repeatedly named one of the nation’s Best Nursing Homes by U.S. News & World Report.

If you would like to learn more about our skilled nursing services, call (860) 767-7201 or contact our team online. We’ll be in touch soon!