Making The Nursing Home Choice: Things You Need To Know (NAPSA)—While there is no easy way to decide or guarantee if placing a loved one in a nursing homeis the right decision, it will help if you do your homework and trust yourinstincts. In the most recent figures, the nation’s nursing homes provide care to 1.6 million people. One and a half million of these residents, or 90 percent, are over 65. Statistically, people over the age of 65 face a 40 percent lifetime risk of nursing home placement. Ten percent of those will stay at least five or more years. Things You Need To Know A nursing homeis a residence that provides room, meals, nurs- ing and rehabilitative care, medical services and protective supervision to its residents. While an individual coming from the hospital may require the services of many long-term care professionals such as nurses, thera- pists and social workers, a nursing homeis not a hospital (acute care) setting. The goal at a nursing homeis to help people regain as much of their independent function as possible in a supportive environment. Choosinga Facility Oneof the first things to consider when making a nursing homechoice is the needs of the older individual for whom youw’re providing care, suggest experts at MetLife Mature Market Institute and AARP Health Care Options. Makea list of the special care they may need, such as dementia care or various types of therapy. If the person is hospitalized, Paying For Care The average cost of a nursing homestay is $61,000a year. The average stay in a nursing home is two and a half years. Medicare payments accountfor only 1.2 percentof patients’ nursing home days of stay. Medicare Part A pays for 20 days in a nursing facility. the discharge planner and/or social workers can assist you in assessing the needs of the individual and locating the appropriate facility. If you are choosing a nursing facility for someone who is presently at home, ask for referrals from your physician, friends and family. Other factors such as location, cost, the quality of care, services, size, religious and cultural prefer- ences, and accommodations for special care need to be considered. When you’ve located a few facilities that you’d like to consider more thoroughly, plan on visiting each one, both with sched- uled and unscheduled visits, at different times and on different days of the week. As you are walking around, take note of what you hear and don’t hear. Is it silent? Is there activity? How clean does it look? Are the residents dressed appropriately for the season? Most importantly, ask questions. Such as whatis the ratio of nurses to residents and whatis the staff turnover rate? Legal Concerns At the end of the visit, you should get written information about the facility and a contact namefor any follow-up questions you may have. If you don’t have a financial and health power of attorney, as well as a living will, you should strongly consider obtaining that now. Helpful Hints When you've finally decided on a facility, you should know your rights and those of your family member. Before you or the resident sign the admissions agreement, understand what you're signing. The admissions contract should, at a minimum, contain the daily room rate, items covered in the basic rate, reasons for discharge and transfer, and the policy regarding paymentof the daily room rate if the resident goes to the hospital or the family takes the resident out for a vacation. Do not sign any paperwork unless everything has been fully explained. You may question if you’re really making the right decision to place your loved onein a facility at all. But once you’ve looked at a few facilities, compared them, then you will be ready to make your decision. Remember, you can do no more than your best andif you've done that, neither you nor your family member can ask any moreof you. For more information, visit www.maturemarketinstitute.com to get a free copy of the Since You Care Guide, “Making the Nursing HomeChoice.”
