Nursing home handbook: a guide for families

Abstract

Provides guidelines for the families of those elderly needing nursing home care, from the usually stressful first step of deciding that placement is needed, to choosing a home, to the actual movement into the nursing home, and finally to the monitoring of the care and quality of life in the nursing home. Examines the factors that influence the cost of nursing home care and the four common payment sources--Medicare, private insurance, personal funds, and Medicaid. Describes the three broad categories of resident care provided by nursing homes, medical care, residential care, and social care, and provides a checklist for use when touring a prospective nursing home. Discusses what to do when moving a relative into a nursing home and lists the type of clothing and articles needed for the home. Recommends ways to help the new nursing home resident adjust to the environment and ways for working with the staff in order to insure quality care in the nursing home. Appends a list of state long term care ombudsperson offices, a list of resident rights, and highlights of the Omnibus Reconciliation Budget Act of 1987 Nursing Home Reforms. (JG) (AgeLine Database, copyright 2001 EBSCO Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved)