What Nursing Home Is Right For My Loved One?
When families are advised that their loved one will need skilled nursing care, one of the first questions they will ask is are there any facilities that we recommend. There are a lot of factors that go into deciding if a particular facility is right for your family member. Some of those factors to consider are:
- Proximity to where advocates and family members reside – having family visit regularly and being engaged in the care and services provided to their loved ones is critical to ensure they receive the best possible care
- Understanding the level of care needed: certain facilities are geared toward particular conditions. Understanding a facilities specialty, if any, is important to determining if there is a fit.
- Know how you are going to pay for the care. Once the family members Medicare benefits are exhausted, and you still require skilled nursing, understanding how to pay for the care needed and developing a path to Medicaid which will help subsidize the cost of nursing home care is critical.
- Private Pay versus Medicaid – when visiting a facility, know what forms of payment they accept. The overwhelming majority accept Medicaid but a few do not. Follow the link in this article to find out if your facility accepts Medicaid.
Understanding The Different Levels of Care
A Nursing Home (NH) is a facility that provides 24 hour 7 day a week medical care and supervision.
A Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) provides skilled nursing (examples: wound care, pain management, or bowel/bladder training), and physical, occupational or speech therapy services. A SNF may also be referred to as a sub-acute rehab. Medicare may cover up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility if you have met very specific Medicare eligibility guidelines.
Medicare does NOT cover ongoing long-term Nursing Home care. You may require additional care after your Medicare coverage ends. You may choose to pay the nursing home privately, use long-term care insurance or apply for state Medicaid.
A nursing home may also provide long-term care.
Ranking All Rhode Island Nursing Homes and What Payment Options They Accept
Since 2002, Healthcare Quality Reports has published information on the quality of care administered by nursing homes, including data on resident and family satisfaction and care outcomes. If you know in advance that you or a family member will need nursing home care, this information can help you compare nursing homes and choose among them. You can also visit nursing homes or ask friends and family for their thoughts and experiences.
The RI Department of Health’s Healthcare Quality Reporting Program has developed a Nursing Home Summary Report to help you compare Nursing Homes and choose among them. To find the most recent LIST OF NURSING HOMES and REPORT CARD click here.
The PDF that the above link takes you to assembles many of the key pieces of information that any family will need when making an initial assessment of What Nursing Home is Right For My loved one!
Still have questions about how to proceed? Call me at 401-600-0143 for a no obligation consultation.
Helping families help their loved ones.
