Lake Charles Nursing Homes Information

The two broadest forms of nursing care are short-term and long-term care. Some institutions in the Lake Charles area admit patients who need both types of care. There are also facilities with expert care units for particular medical conditions like osteoarthritis.

Short-term care is centered on the provision of rehabilitation services to seniors and patients who have had strokes, heart attacks, falls, surgeries, aneurisms or other acute medical incidents. Most short-term patients come directly from hospital care. As a form of outpatient care, short-term nursing stays are an intermediate component to many patients’ recovery processes. The main objective of this type of care is to help patients recover their strength and function so they can move on to a less comprehensive care option. Patients are guided down a personalized plan of recuperation, which often consists of speech, physical, occupational or respiratory therapy. Assisted living and in home care are the most popular destinations for discharged short-term patients.

Hospital care can aid patients’ recoveries by giving them a proper foundation for further levels of care. Knowledgeable doctors can also give patients valuable information regarding area SNFs. In Lake Charles, based on patients’ hospital experiences, Lake Charles Memorial Hospital and W.O. Moss Regional Medical Center provide the best health care.

Long-term care patients seek nursing homes for prolonged forms of advanced social and medical treatment. These patients often have diagnoses, like multiple sclerosis, kidney disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s and dementia, which have deteriorated past a point their previous care option could properly treat. Nursing home staff members try to maintain, stabilize and reverse the declining trend of many patients’ diseases. They offer extensive and responsive courses of action that are designed to fit each patient. Nurses and doctors provide continuous monitoring and perform procedures like check-ups, medication adjustment, injections, colostomies, tracheostomies and blood work. Non-medical caregivers are present to assist patients with certain activities of daily living. Recreational and social workers try to maximize patients’ independence and social interaction through daily home-wide games, activities, events and outings.

Lake Charles skilled nursing facility residency bears monthly costs that fall well under the national average but slightly above the Louisiana median. Semi-private SNF rooms cost $4,684 per month, almost $400 per month higher than the state median. Private SNF rooms run $4,867 per month, over $150 per month more than the median.

Nursing care is often stigmatized due to viewpoints that do not fully correspond to the industry. Many people see nursing homes as facilities where patients wait out the final years of their lives. This is totally contrary to the goal of short-term care and is also not representative of long-term care. While some patients do have terminal illnesses that will result in them moving to hospice, nursing care is often able to help long-term patients see marked improvement in their health. In certain instances, patients can return to less inclusive care after a period of long-term care. Quality nursing homes do all they can to fulfill the many components of patients’ lives. They use both social and medical care to beneficially impact the outcome of treatment. Nearly 70 percent of seniors over 65 will need a period of long-term care in their lifetime. It is important for seniors and their families to understand that a nursing home is not always a final destination.