Determining If Skilled Nursing Care Is Necessary

When an elderly loved one needs additional care, families are often confused as to what kind of care is best. It can be difficult to differentiate between home health care and skilled nursing. Here is what you need to know.

Does Your Loved One Need Intensive Medical Care?

If your loved one has suffered a debilitating stroke or has a terminal illness, they will likely need more than the occasional visit from a home health aid. A nursing home isn't necessarily the right choice, either, although it could be.

Nursing homes are usually reserved for people who are no longer able to live on their own any longer. This may be because of Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia or other things, such as mobility issues.

A nursing home provides the additional supervision some older adults need. They may be in relatively good health but are simply unable to perform the necessary activities of daily living any longer without supplemental health.

For example, if your mom broke her hip last year, the injury itself may be healed but there is concern she can no longer safely bathe herself or adequately take care of her home. In this situation, especially if family members are not nearby, a nursing home may be the best choice to keep her at her current level of health and wellness. She does not, however, require skilled nursing care.

Nursing home facilities almost always staff nurses in addition to nursing assistants, but the scope of their care is typically limited to dealing with minor illnesses and injuries rather than acute conditions. For example, a nurse may oversee medications and provide light wound care for diabetics.

When Is Skilled Nursing Care Needed?

Skilled nursing care is needed for major illnesses. For example, someone who has suffered a severe stroke and cannot move or take care of toileting on their own and requires a catheter will require the continual expertise of a skilled nurse to care for them.

Skilled nursing may take place in a hospital-like facility rather than a nursing home setting. Skilled nursing care is often short-term whereas a nursing home is typically long-term. Skilled nursing care can also take place in the home. Diabetics with uncontrolled diabetes may require regular visits from a nurse who can closely monitor their symptoms. People on home hospice may require intravenous treatment of medications, which require skilled nursing care.