Portland Nursing Homes Information

Nursing care is most broadly broken into short-term and long-term care. Some Portland area facilities can tend to patients with both care needs. Certain institutions also offer specialized care. These institutions lend their expertise to caring for patients with specific medical conditions, like Alzheimer’s.

Short-term care is for patients who have recently been hospitalized for an acute medical incident, like a stroke, heart attack, invasive surgery, aneurism or fall. Nursing professionals focus on providing patients appropriate forms of rehabilitation to get them back to pre-incident health levels as efficiently as possible. Patients undergo auditory, speech, respiratory, occupational and physical therapy to regain strength and function. Facility personnel try to maximize the effectiveness of these forms of therapy. When patients have sufficiently healed but still need time to reach full recovery, many choose to move to assisted living or in home care.

As the first instance of medical treatment for many short-term nursing patients, hospital care can be a large factor in determining how a patient will eventually recuperate. Proper hospital care can set patients on an appropriate track to an optimal recovery. The best hospitals in Portland, based on patients’ hospital experiences, are Mercy Hospital and Maine Medical Center.

Long-term nursing care offers advanced medical and social treatment to patients with serious, terminal or chronic mental or physical disorders like cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Patients with terminal diseases will eventually need hospice care. Many times, patients with non-terminal disease are able to stabilize and improve their health through a long-term stay. Some patients are even able to move back to less inclusive care due to the extensive and responsive courses of action undertaken by long-term facility caregivers. Doctors and nurses deliver around-the-clock health monitoring and execute medical procedures like wound care, medication adjustment, injections, intravenous therapy and blood testing. Non-medical personnel offer 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living. Social workers and recreational planners try to stimulate interaction and independence through events, games, activities and outings.

Portland skilled nursing facility residency bears a monthly cost that sits nearly $400 per month above the Maine median level. Private and semi-private SNF rooms cost $9,125 and $8,593 per month, respectively.

Seniors and patients who may be in line or are in line to receive supplemental government help to cover some of the cost of nursing care need to be aware of the benefits they deserve, the limitations of each program and the requirements for activating such coverage. Medicare is provided for seniors over 65 and disabled persons. Medicare covers skilled care needs but does not help those only in need of custodial care. Patients must have had a qualifying hospital stay of at least 3 days before moving to a nursing home. Patients are provided with 100 days of nursing stay coverage. The first 20 days are fully covered, while patients have to pay a daily copayment fee for the last 80 days. Medicaid is provided for patients who have very limited means of paying for nursing care. Depending on patients’ income levels, Medicaid will cover most of the cost of a patient’s nursing stay. However, eligibility for Medicaid is decided at a state level. Your state’s Medicaid office will have more information regarding its requirements and services.