Nursing home

Nursing home

A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Most nursing homes have nursing aides and skilled nurses on hand 24 hours a day. Some nursing homes also provide short-term rehabilitative stays following surgery, illness, or injury. In the United States, nearly 1 in 10 residents age 75 to 84 stays in a nursing home for five or more years.

About Nursing home in brief

Summary Nursing homeA nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes are used by people who do not need to be in a hospital, but cannot be cared for at home. Most nursing homes have nursing aides and skilled nurses on hand 24 hours a day. Some nursing homes also provide short-term rehabilitative stays following surgery, illness, or injury. In the United States, nearly 1 in 10 residents age 75 to 84 stays in a nursing home for five or more years. Nearly 3 in 10 Residents in that age group stay less than 100 days, the maximum duration covered by Medicare, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Nearly 6 percent of older adults are sheltered in residential facilities that provide a wide range of care. Across other countries, public assistance may be available for a short time, and some long-term insurance plans may use nursing home services. Across the U.S., some residents can pay for their care out of pocket, while others may receive Medicare for short time. In some countries, some nursing homes still resemble a hospital while others look more like a board and care home. Some states have different types of nursing homes, such as those in New Jersey, New York, California, and Massachusetts. In other states, nursing homes are not required to comply with safety codes and registered nurses are required to be on hand at all times in the home. The term nursing home has slightly different meanings to indicate whether the institutions are public or private, and whether they provide mostly assisted living, or nursing care and emergency medical care.

It can also be referred to as skilled nursing facility, long- term care facilities, old people’s homes, care homes, rest homes, convalescent homes or convalescence care. The concept of poorhouses were brought to North America by English settlers. All orphans, mentally ill and the poor elderly were placed into these living commons in the 17th century. These new residential living homes were called board-and-care homes or also known as convalesent homes. The Great Depression overwhelmed the poorhouses as there were a lot of people that needed help and care but not enough space and funding in the poor houses. The government identified the issue of people spending extensive amounts of time in hospitals. By 1965 nursing homes were a solid fixture, and were a permanent residence where the elderly and disabled could receive any necessary medical care and receive daily meals. In 1987, the S.C. Nursing Reform Act was introduced to begin defining the types of services that nursing homes provide. Today nursing homes can offer memory care services, often called dementia care. They can also offer planned activities and daily housekeeping. They are very different across the different countries, with some jurisdictions offering different services for short and long term care. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. For support in the UK, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or click here.