Nursing Home Admissions - Understanding the Process

Most of the time nursing home admissions come as a surprise. No one plans to be admitted to a nursing home. Most health care consumers have no idea what a nursing home can do for their family member. Further, they have no idea how to chose one and what they need to get someone admitted.

The day of admission to the nursing home is the most important part of the stay. The outcome of the first day often determines satisfaction of the overall nursing home experience. This article will explain the admissions process and breifly describe qualifiers for nursing home admission. The goal is to provide a few tips to make your family members first day at the nursing center run as smoothly as possible.

For someone to qualify for nursing home care they must have a medical need for 24 hour nursing care. That is to say they have a medical issue necessary for the constant medical monitoring. This need could arise from a diagnostic or safety issue. Some medical issues require the assistance of a 24 hour nursing staff. Typically there are two types of care that can be provided in nursing homes: Long Term Care or Short Term Care also know as sub-acute rehab.

Long Term Care is usually provided for a chronic health conditions or severe disability. Some of these health conditions include Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), Stroke (CVA), or other illnesses causing severe debility. Long Term Care is just how it sounds. The patient, or resident as they are called in nursing homes, receives 24 hour nursing care for an indefinite period of time. Long Term Care is usually funded through state sponsored aid, long term care insurance or private pay.

Short Term Care is provided for residents recovering from an acute illness or surgery. The paitents condition is such that it requires 24 nursing care and skilled therapy services. Types of conditions that require short term care are hip/knee replacements, stroke, surgical recovery, severe wounds or generalized weakness from an extended hospital stay. Short Term or Sub-Acute residents stay for a period or 7 to 21 days or until their therapy goals are complete. Residents with more severe health conditions could stay for up to 100 days depending on insurance coverage.

To begin the process you must search for and choose a nursing center. After narrowing down your choices, you should tour each nursing home to find one the fits your family members needs. For more information about how to find a nursing home click HERE. For more information on how to tour a nursing home click HERE.

After you choose your nursing home, you must inform the hospital social worker. This will authorize her to send medical information to the chosen nursing home for evaluation. Typical medical information required for nursing home evaluation includes history and physical, medication orders, surgical information, specialist consultations and a chest x-ray. The social worker submits the information to the nursing home admissions department electronically or by fax.

The Admissions Director then has the referral evaluated by the Director of Nursing who looks at the medical needs of the prospective resident. While the referral undergoes medical review, the business office checks insurances and demographic information. After review, if more information is needed, the nursing home may send a liaison to the hospital to evaluate the patient in person or collect additional medical information.

The approval process should take an hour but could take longer if the nursing home has to send a liaison. To make the process more efficient it is a good idea to call the hospital social worker to confirm the proper referral information was sent. After that you should call the nursing home admissions department to ensure they recieved the information. You can also take this opportunity to introduce yourself as the patients contact and offer any additional information that may be needed to approve admission.

After the patient is approved for admission to the nursing center, you should call the admissions department to set up an admission time and make an appointment to meet with the admission director. The hub "5 ways to insure better care for your family" illustrates the need to be at the nursing home on the day of admission. It helps establish a culture of accountability and makes the admission process more efficient for all parties.

Make sure you meet with all staff involved with your family members care. It not only establishes accountability but you can also provide additional information to clinical staff who will completing their admission assessments. Treat the admission as you would be checking into a hotel. Find out how to initiate all the services you want. Ask about how to start phone service, cable service and other amenities the nursing center may offer. Check all furniture and equipment issued to your family member and inform the charge nurse if anything needs repair. Make sure that the bathroom is in working order and your family member has clean linens and pillows. Don't assume the staff will fix these problems. They are busy and often overworked. The more you double check the more comfortable your family member will be with your choice of nursing homes.

Like everything else in life, you will get what you put in. To get a satisfactory outcome from a nursing home stay you must stay involved. This begins the day of admission and lasts throughout the entire stay. By being involved, you will be insuring better care for you family and give yourself piece of mind knowing your family member is receiving the best possible care. Think of yourself as the head coach of your family members health care team. Using a team approach with you calling the plays will make for a satisfying nursing home experience.