If your aging parents need constant help in their daily lives due to ongoing health conditions, you should consider moving them to a skilled nursing facility to fulfill their personal care needs. The decision may be a difficult one, but it is important to acknowledge the limitations in providing adequate caregiving at home.
If your loved ones no longer remember to eat, bathe, or perform other daily activities, it becomes crucial to select an appropriate nursing facility for them. Look at some of these reasons before making a decision:
#1 Medical care
A skilled nursing facility (SNF) is a lot like a nursing home but offers professional medical expertise and services. It provides the guests the following facilities:
- Tube feeding
- Stroke recovery
- Registered nurses (RNs)
- Speech pathologists
- Vocational nurses
- Audiologists
- Medical doctors
- Rehabilitation specialists
An SNF basically offers the same level of nursing care you get in the hospital. Patients may go from the hospital to an SNF to continue recovering after an illness, injury, or surgery. It’s important to note that, unlike a nursing home, an SNF accommodates residents of all ages. People who enter an SNF are there for the short term. They go home to assisted living or a nursing home when they recover.
#2 Recovering at home poses a challenge
If a patient requires continuing facilities such as an IV, monitoring of vitals, physical therapy, or other medical services, a SNF is the best option. When it comes to post-hospitalization care, it is a good idea to move to an SNF. Consider these benefits of recovering at a SNF as compared to home:
- Patients getting therapy at home receive it only 2-3 times a week as compared to six times a week at an SNF.
- Pain and weakness mean a higher risk of falling at home, which can often result in re-admission back to the hospital.
- Those in need of consistent monitoring, including blood pressure and wound sites, can prevent unnecessary hospital re-admission
- SNF is beneficial when it comes to managing a patient’s pain
- Most of the time, caregivers at home are unaware of the kind of physical assistance required
#3 Nutritious meals and warm environment
Seniors have unique fitness and nutrition needs. Good nutrition helps stave off a long list of issues, including weakened immune systems, skin breakdowns, and falls. An SNF gives the freedom to choose when and what you eat, how it’s prepared, and where you consume it. However, when selecting an SNF, sample the food while you’re there. Reputed SNFs allow their residents to pick what they want to eat from menus instead of just providing them with a meal each day.
It is pretty common for people to feel extremely anxious and depressed after surgery. A warm and positive environment helps residents recover quickly. Compassionate nurses and fun activities can make a lot of difference in the overall recovery process.
About Cornerstone at the Ranch
Cornerstone at the Ranch is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Lafayette, Louisiana that provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy, 24-hour skilled nursing, dietary services, and social services. Our nurses and team’s quality and loving care is our biggest strength and the reason behind the quick recovery of our residents.
You can call us at (337) 981-5335 or fill our contact form to schedule a tour of our center.