Our site aims to provide seniors and their loved ones with as much information as possible on the many complicated issues of nursing care. We want to help them find a SNF that matches their personal financial, medical and emotional needs.
Charleston SC nursing homes deliver advanced social and medical treatment to those seeking medium to long-term health management and rehabilitative services. Nursing homes, or skilled nursing facilities, provide the most intensive medical care one can find outside a hospital. These facilities have interdisciplinary teams of personnel who each play a certain role in caring for the specific needs of all patients. Nurses, physicians, therapists, specialists, social workers, recreational planners, dietitians and chefs help observe, evaluate and manage all aspects of a patient’s nursing home stay.
Many Charleston SC area SNFs offer specialized services for the treatment of specific health concerns, like memory loss or hypertension. In addition to specialized care, facilities also offer either short-term or long-term care.
Short-term care offers patients rehabilitation with the ultimate objective of helping them move to less comprehensive care. The bulk of short-term patients need treatment due to a stroke, heart attack, aneurism, fall or other incident or medical event that put them in the hospital. A proper path of recovery will often include physical, speech, respiratory or occupational therapy. Patients are prescribed particular courses of actions that will most effectively and most efficiently help them regain and rebuild lost functions and strength. Discharged patients usually go on to assisted living or in home care.
Hospital care is often the first point of medical treatment for future short-term nursing patients. Under hospital care, the patient’s doctor will evaluate if a nursing stay is necessary. Aside from medical treatment that can affect the outcome of a patient’s recovery, doctors can also provide knowledgeable recommendations for area nursing facilities. The best Charleston SC health services, based on patients’ hospital experiences, are at Muse Medical Center, Roper Hospital and East Cooper Medical Center.
Long-term care treats patients with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, hypothyroidism and other serious, chronic or terminal diagnoses. While some patients will eventually need end of life care, some patients are able to move to less inclusive care options. The elaborate and complex courses of treatment necessary to care for long-term patients are administered through a collective and collaborative effort of all caregivers. Physicians and nurses perform medical skills, like blood testing, colostomies, tracheostomies and injections, respond to changes in health and provide support for patients and their families. Non-medical personnel are responsible for custodial care needs. They help patients dress, eat, travel and wash. Social and recreational workers coordinate activities, games, events and trips that attempt to maximize long-term patients’ independence.
Charleston SC skilled nursing facility costs fall right around the South Carolina median and the national average. Private SNF rooms have a monthly cost of $6,083. Semi-private SNFs cost $5,475 per month. Assisted living facility bedrooms cost $2,400 per month. Both in home care options, homemaker services and home health aide cost $3,623 per month. Adult day health care has an expected monthly cost of $1,192.
Finding proper and quality nursing care is a process that takes preparation and planning. Seniors and their families have to weigh many considerations, like cost, location, amenities, staff, food service and social events. During nursing home visits, it is important for patients to get a good feel for the facility’s personnel. It may also be prudent to check the state database or with your local long-term ombudsman for complaints against certain homes before making a final decision.