Previously, availing of a health care service was a great concern on the part of the patients. Some of the possible common concerns are poor number of health professionals, non availability of treatments and even inaccessible domains from which to acquire health services However, due to the development of various initiatives to make health care conveniently available, one of the most promising alternatives for the elderly population is to avail of the nursing home services.
Nursing home service can be seen as an integral part of health care institutions today. This segment of providing quality health care has been realized so that people who need to get medical and health attention outside of the hospital premises can still obtain the most needed service. Nursing and health professionals can now have special arrangements to be designated in various households in which care is needed for special reasons. One very practical ground is the physical limitation of the patients especially the elderly.
Do elderly people will really benefit from the nursing home program? One good approach is to see the advantages. There are so many benefits senior citizens may be able to get from this health program. In a particular perspective, it can simply become the most sensible way for patients to get the service they need even if they are not within the parameters of a normal health institution.
There are several advantages for the elderly if they are to avail the home nursing service. The first of which comes in the aspect of convenience. As what that program intends to accomplish, nursing aides and caregivers will be able to provide their services in an extended time since they will be staying at the current home where the patient is situated. Because of such arrangement, patients will be able to get immediate attention for whatever needs they may request. Because of the high rate of monitoring time that the elderly can get from professionals, they can be assisted in doing almost all ordinary tasks that may be too difficult for them to handle by themselves. According to the facts in the Thomas Day report, some of the top rating nursing home assistances tabulated were bathing, dressing, managing personal possessions and managing money.
Another good benefit for the elderly in availing these nursing home services can be attributed on the aspect of cost. Apparently, most nursing home facilities were already designated to have special arrangements with various insurance companies and Medicare as stated by Terrence Moynihan of Vitalco. Actually, it can be more cost effective on the part of the patient and his family to acquire external services without the need to consolidate all their money in paying for services from a third party institution.
Many of the patients are subsidized in a particular time frame by institutions which are connected to the healthcare programs both public and private entities. Moreover, nursing home institutions accredited by the government can somehow provide the same facilities which hospitals have. Of course, these utilities like those in hospitals can be very expensive at first glance but can be very reasonable according to Consumer Information about nursing facility myths.
If an elderly is recovering from a particular illness, surgery or other physical factors, additional benefit can be realized. While it is already important to have a very good system which will look after the welfare of the patient, it is also vital that emotional and social aspects be nurtured. Obviously, elderly people suffer from a great change in their philosophy in life which may affect their relationships with their immediate family members. According to the University of Texas publication, late life mentalhealth can also change dramatically. However, in a home nursing facility, they may be able to interact with other patients and other people to whom they can easily share experiences, have small conversations with and maybe even develop good bonds of friendship. Thus, the patient will not just be healed physically but emotionally as well.
One last advantage of a nursing home program for the elderly is that the overall health standing of the patient can be easily accessible and conveniently retrieved by parties which concern the welfare of the patient. For example, since the nursing home facility will be able to track down and take note of the progress of the patient, it will be much easier for the facility and other health care institutions to coordinate with each other if the exchange of information will be needed in the future.
If a patient will need to undergo a special treatment or healthcare process in a hospital or clinic, then the departments concerned can easily recover records from other health care facilities for faster decision making on how to address the needs of the patient. In terms of health care, information can be a very important commodity especially if the situation of the client worsens. In some situations, ease in transfer may also be sighted as a good implication in availing nursing home services. To make it more practical, some institutions were authorized to have a “dual registration”. These enable the patients to avail both residential and nursing home services without the need to change locations according to the Devon County Council
Giving the proper care to the elderly using the most effective alternatives in realizing the intention can become one of the most significant goals of the society to further improve the integrity of its social responsibility to the aged. Because of the creation of nursing home facilities, patients can now enjoy to acquire the best possible services for all their needs.
References
Consumer Information. 2005. Living in a Nursing Home Myths and Realities. Retrieved November 27, 2007 from http://www.longtermcareliving.com/family/myths/myth14.cfm.
Day, T. 2007. About Nursing Homes. Long Term Care Link. Retrieved November 24, 2007 from http://www.longtermcarelink.net/eldercare/nursing_home.htm
Devon. 2007. Choosing a Residential or Nursing Home. Devon County Council. Retrieved November 24, 2007 from http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/socialcare/older_people/residential_nursing_care/moving_into_a_care_home_in_devon_2.htm.
Moynihan, T. 2005. Paying for Nursing home Care. Vitalco. Retrieved November 27, 2007 from http://www.vitalco.net/messanger/Archives/PAYING%20FOR%20NURSING%20HOME%20CARE-2.pdf.
University of Texas. 1997. Understanding Late Life Mental Health. Retrieved November 27, 2007 from http://hcpc.uth.tmc.edu/understanding_late_life_mental_health.htm
