Our site aims to provide seniors and their families with essential facts about nursing care. We want to help them with the difficult decision of choosing a nursing home. Framingham nursing homes offer varying degrees of medical, social and custodial services for patients who have chronic, serious, terminal, permanent, acute and sub-acute health conditions. Area nursing homes, or skilled nursing facilities, admit members for temporary to extended-term residency. Facilities have comprehensive supplies and services that can provide for the individual needs of each patient. Nursing homes are fully staffed with a multidisciplinary team of caregivers, including nurses, doctors, therapists, social workers, non-medical personnel, specialists and dietitians.
Depending on the institution, Framingham skilled nursing facilities deliver either short-term or long-term nursing care. Certain facilities also have expert care units that are separated from their general treatment centers. Specialized care treats patients for specific ailments, like Alzheimer’s or osteoarthritis.
A large proportion of short-term nursing patients are in need of rehabilitative services after being hospitalized for acute medical trauma like a heart attack, stroke, aneurism, fall or surgery. After spending a few days under hospital care, patients are usually funneled to an area nursing home to closer observation and further treatment on a doctor's orders. During a short-term nursing visit, nursing professionals map out a personalized path of recovery that will aid patients in rebuilding certain functions and strength. Patients undergo respiratory, speech, physical and occupational therapy and other various forms of rehabilitation. Full recovery is not the goal of short-term care. That is usually left to a less inclusive form of care, like assisted living or in home care. Most patients need such care after being discharged from a short-term stay, although some are ready to resume their normal lives.
Hospital care is often the foundation that a patient’s recovery process must build upon. Proper hospital care can shorten the time patients need to spend recuperating after an acute medical event. The most quality health care services in Framingham, based on patients’ past hospital experiences, are found at Metrowest Medical Center.
Long-term care concentrates on the provision of extensive and extended forms of treatment for patients with serious medical conditions. Patients are often forced to seek long-term care because their existing condition, like dementia, cancer, multiple sclerosis or kidney disease, is on the decline. Nursing professionals do all they can to stem the deterioration of patients’ conditions and eventually help them improve their health. Patients require complex and responsive care. Doctors and nurses provide periodic to continuous health monitoring and perform medical procedures like tracheostomies, dialysis, medication adjustment, wound care, intravenous therapy and injections. Non-medical staff are on hand to assist patients with basic hygiene and activities of daily living. The social component of long-term care encompasses social workers who give patients companionship and recreational planners who coordinate events, trips, activities and games.
Nursing care costs in Framingham sit much higher than the national average and above the Massachusetts median level. Private SNF rooms cost $12,471 per month, nearly $1,800 per month above the state median. Semi-private SNF accommodations clock in at $11,710 per month, over $1,900 per month more than the median.
When planning and preparing for transitioning to nursing care, one resource that can help you with any aspect of nursing care is your local long-term care ombudsman. Ombudsmen are happy to help any person who has questions about nursing care at no cost. They are advocates of patients’ rights and proper care practices. They settle disputes and complaints about nursing homes, help people find affordable nursing care options, and provide assistance with government benefits and insurance.