Sunday, April 7, 2013

Choosing the Best Nursing Home


The fastest growing career in present time is nursing. The number of nurses as well as nursing students from all over the world is increasing. There are so many available jobs for nurses whether registered, licensed practical or volunteer nurses.

Gerontology is one of the fields which makes the demand for nurses really high. This basically deals with people as they progress from the middle age group to older. This involves all behaviors such as physical condition, mental and social skills of people as they grow older. Through these, special care can now be provided for older people. There are certain programs devices in order to cater to the needs they have. Nursing jobs in relation to gerontology also vary. There are jobs in nursing homes, continuing care retirement community and rehabilitation facilities.

Nursing homes require the assistance of nurses at all times. The elderly need surveillance in what they do, and although they need assistance in what they do, there are some things which they can do alone. Basically, the main job of nurses in nursing homes deals with the medical needs of their residents. They need to ensure the health of the residents. The nurses consult with a doctor depending on the condition of the resident. They take care of the routines involving assurance of medical care of the residents. If ever there are emergencies, they must be available and alert.

Continuing care retirement community (CCRC) are like nursing home but different. Sounds confusing? In this type of community, the elderly are still under the care of nurses, but they can still enjoy being independent, living in their own apartments, doing what they want to do with a varying recreational services. Nurses are sort of the managers of this place, they work like head nurses in hospitals.

Rehabilitation Services, as the name suggests, involves the recovery of patients. These do not give long-term services unlike other nursing homes. Cost of the services are high when it comes to these rehabilitation centers so once the patient is recovering, it will be checked of he is ready for discharge. Nurses are needed here for assistance, as a part of the recovery process of the patients. Other jobs are open here for physical therapists and occupational therapists.

With a wide range of careers available when it to nurses, it is so hard to say that the demand will decline in the near future. It has even been predicted that in the future, that the need for nurses in nursing homes will continue increasing to more than 50%. Along with this, there is also an increase in nursing homes in the world.

Living our busy lives, there are some things which we cannot do and often times, it involves our loved ones. It is undeniable that our older relatives need special care, both physically and emotionally. As much as we want to be there for them, there are times when we cannot. We then make no other decision but to leave them. Instead of leaving them all alone at home, with no one to take care of them, we are left with one choice - to send them to nursing homes. Sending them to nursing homes means that we are entrusting their lives to other people without us being there. This is a hard decision to make since there are a lot of factors which need to be considered. Of course, who can blame us? We want the best for the people we love.

The number one priority that people look for in a nursing home is the quality of the services they can bring. We need to be sure that the care that they are giving our loved ones. Checking the quality of care they give, staff members and available facilities will really help. The staff members must be well- trained when it comes to their job. They must have undergone professional training.

They must be friendly and win the hearts of the elderly. A good relationship which is built with them will make the work a lot easier. Facilities need to be checked, the more updated the facilities the better. The environment must be suitable for their needs. Make sure that the place is clean and that they are conducive to promoting a healthier lifestyle. You need to check on these things when picking a nursing home. You can tour around the place, talk to the people there and ask all the questions that you need to ask. Besides from all of this, you must take into consideration if there are any special needs your relative has. You can request for certain staff or facilities if needed.

Most people would want to place their relatives in new nursing homes. They may seem beautiful with modern equipment available which can cater to their needs. But do not underestimate older nursing homes even if they have older facilities. They still have veterans working for them, their staff members have longer work experience which makes them more knowledgeable in this line of work. They would know what to do when something comes up.

Leaving your relatives in the care of others can lead you to worry about their safety and other issues. In this case, do not worry about their safety. The law required nursing homes to have a Resident's Bill of Rights. It is like a constitution within the nursing home. There are certain issued tackled in here. As people, they also have rights to protect. In nursing homes, these are given to them. These include the rights they have when it comes to their physical conditions especially health concerns. There are also rights when it comes to their privacy, legal concerns, control visits. You also need to consider this, and check if you agree with their principles.

All the decision lies in you and your relative, whatever is comfortable for them and for you. There are a lot of things to consider when making this decision. There are different nursing homes available. You just need to narrow down your choices and all is set in making a decision. Remember, choose what is best for them, that is the best way that we can show how much we love them.

No comments:

Post a Comment