Nursing Home Decisions Difficult in an Emergency

January 25th, 2010 · No Comments

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Under ideal conditions, families should choose nursing homes with deliberation and care. Pertinent families members such as the patient and those closest who are familiar with the patients wishes should be involved in the discussion and decision.

Unfortunately, many times families have less than 48 hours to make a decision, and the patient is not always able to participate or even express their preference in the case of a stroke or other debilitating situation, and the patient is about to be discharged from the hospital. Discharge from a hospital into a nursing home is the usual path taken, and often when families have not had time to plan ahead.

Nursing homes not just for the elderly

Many people who enter nursing homes for stays of three months or less are under sixty-five-years-of-age. According to recent statistics, that includes 14 percent of the more than 3.2 million Americans who find themselves in need of a nursing home each year. Their health is not in chronic decline, but they may have need of rehabilitation services or short term nursing care prior to returning to their home.

Good communication among family members is key in finding the best place for short or long term care. Careful planning and understanding the basic need of the patient aid in their ability to transition to a nursing home:

Do their needs include meals in their room or are they mobile enough to go to the dining room?
What level of nursing care are they going to require?
What types of services does the nursing home have, i.e. rehabilitation?
Will they require such amenities as music, daily newspaper, cellphone or room phone, access to visitors?
Are they able to express their own desires or will they require an advocate on a daily basis?

There are many points to consider when seeking short or long term care. There are some people who believe anyone over twenty-one-years-old should already begin to think about what to do in care of an emergency. No one knows when an accident or severe injury might occur.

Know your family members desires in case of emergency

When family members are aware of what each others preferences might be, the transition to extended care will be much easier for everyone involved. As difficult as it might seem, families should consider discussing the topic of “What if…” with one another as soon as possible.

The longer families delay in knowing each others desires, the more likely they will have to make important decisions under extreme stress and a tight deadline.

Nursing home care, whether short term or long, plays an important role in the health of a loved one. Now is the time to hold those difficult conversations, while everyone involved can discuss their nursing home options under the least amount of stress.