Fort Collins Nursing Homes Information

Nursing homes, also called skilled nursing facilities, deliver the highest level of medical care patients can find outside of a hospital.

Nursing care is broken into two main categories, short-term and long-term care. In addition to more general provisions, some institutions also specialize in expert care for specific conditions, like spinal injuries, memory loss and speech rehabilitation.

Patients in need of rehabilitation services to recover from operations, falls, strokes, heart attacks, aneurisms and other acute medical events seek short-term care. This type of care aims to help patients recuperate to a level of health that allows them to move to less comprehensive care. Short-term care usually follows a hospitalization. Patients follow a carefully mapped out plan of recovery that is designed by nursing professionals. Their path often includes occupational, auditory, speech, respiratory or physical therapy. Upon reaching a sufficient level of health, discharge professionals give patients guidance on suitable area in home, assisted living or other less inclusive care options.

Since hospital care is often the first component of short-term patients' recoveries, it is vital for them to have access to the best health care service possible. Proper hospital care, given by the best physicians and specialists, can help patients get on the right track for an efficient recovery. In Fort Collins, the hospitals with the highest ratings based on patients’ prior hospital experiences are Poudre Valley Hospital and McKee Medical Center.

Long-term care treats patients with chronic, terminal and serious physical or mental disabilities. Patients normally move to long-term facilities because their condition could no longer be properly treated by their previous form of care. Long-term patients have diagnoses such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, kidney and cardiovascular disease, cancer and general physical decline. Caregivers use a collective effort to treat the elaborate and complicated issues of each long-term patient. Registered and licensed doctors and nurses administer routine check-ups and medical procedures like blood work, medication adjustment and colostomies. Non-medical personnel assist patients in need of help eating, washing, dressing, traveling and other custodial needs. The social welfare of long-term patients is encouraged through activities, games, events, dinners and trips coordinated by social and recreational workers

Fort Collins skilled nursing facilities bear monthly costs that are more than $200 above the Colorado median level. Semi-private SNF rooms cost $6,524 per month. Private SNF rooms will run patients $7,270 per month.

Moving to skilled nursing care is a stressful situation for all parties involved. Patients’ families must often deal with the feeling that they let their aging parents or relatives down. Today, many parents tell their children that they do not want to end up in a nursing home. However, the need for nursing care is real for many people. An estimated 70 percent of seniors age 65 and above will need long-term care during their lifetime. Quality nursing facilities understand these challenges and have resources to help both patients and their families with the transition. In the event that a patient needs hospice care, SNFs have grief counselors and psychologists on hand to aid family members through difficult times.