Dover Nursing Homes

ASL presents seniors and their families with important information about many complicated aspects of nursing care. We aim to enhance their understanding of these issues, so they can ultimately wind up with skilled nursing care that fits their emotional, medical and financial needs.

Residents of Dover nursing homes are given comprehensive levels of medical, social and custodial care to meet their specific health needs. Also known as skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes admit residents for a wide variety of medical conditions. Patients spend temporary to extended periods under nursing care to recuperate from acute medical crises, for postoperative recovery and for prolonged health evaluation and maintenance. Facilities are fully staffed by registered nurses, licensed physicians, certified nursing assistants, specialists, non-medical personnel, therapists, social workers and food service workers who are all part of a team that offers continuous care to every patient.

Dover skilled nursing facility residency bears a monthly cost that falls around $300 per month under the Delaware median level. Semi-private and private skilled nursing facility rooms cost $7,330 and $7,787 per month, respectively. Patients looking for less inclusive levels of care have many options in the area. Homemaker services, home health aide and adult day health care have monthly costs of $3,850, $4,040 and $1,083, respectively. Bedrooms at assisted living facilities cost $5,269 per month.

Nursing homes in the area deliver many services and forms of care to aid family and in home care arrangements. Adult day health care allows working family members to avoid leaving their parent, relative or friend alone during the day. Respite care is used to give both parties temporary relief from the everyday stresses of such situations. For patients, it may be a welcome change of scenery. For caregivers, it is a break from their normal care duties. Facilities also tend to patients with certain medical conditions. Specialized care programs offer expert equipment and services for issues like memory loss. Residents most commonly seek either short-term or long-term nursing care, which are the broadest forms of care.

Short-term care is given to patients who are rehabilitating from acute trauma like strokes, falls, operations, aneurisms and cardiac arrest. These patients come from hospital care where their doctor concluded further recovery was necessary. Patients should try to seek the best possible hospital care due to its possible effects on the rest of their recuperation process. Dover’s best hospital, based on patients’ recent hospital experiences, is Bayhealth – Kent General Hospital. Short-term care mainly consists of occupational, respiratory, auditory, speech or physical therapy that is designed to rebuild patients’ functioning and strength. Patients follow a path of recovery that helps them reach a point where they can transfer to a less inclusive care option. Nursing care is the second stage of recuperating from acute trauma. Full recovery is usually achieved under in home or assisted living care.

Long-term care treats patients who are suffering from aggressive, chronic, serious, permanent and progressive illnesses. Some patients have terminal diseases that will eventually require hospice. Physical and mental disabilities like Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes mellitus, Huntington’s disease, congestive heart failure and peripheral artery disease require intensive, cooperative and prompt responses from nursing personnel. Doctors and nurses are on call all hours of the day. They are responsible for administering routine check-ups and performing medical procedures like injections, wound care, medication adjustment, enteral feeding tubes, respiratory therapy and indwelling urinary catheter care. Non-medical staff assist patients with general hygiene and activities of daily living like grooming, bathing, feeding and walking. Facility social services consist of activities like religious services, games, events and outings that are designed to maximize patients’ independence and interaction.

Nursing homes are often stigmatized in popular culture. This is usually driven by the feeling that facilities neglect patients and their heath more often than not. They may also decry the lack of patients’ social freedoms. Sometimes it all depends on a person’s outlook. Many patients are able to thrive under nursing care. Through socialization and participation in nursing home activities, along with quality medical treatment, many are able to return to lower levels of care. Homes are dedicated to ensuring the psychosocial health of its patients. Personnel are well aware of the frequent incidence of ailments like depression, anxiety and delirium and do all they can to monitor these problems and prevent them from happening in the first place.