Virginia Beach nursing homes provide physical, social, psychological and medical needs for seniors and patients with rehabilitative or long-term needs. Also called skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes offer the most advanced medical treatment for seniors and patients outside of a hospital. Virginia Beach skilled nursing facilities often specialize on care for a specific medical issue. The most general categories of nursing home care are short-term and long-term care. Depending on an institution’s capabilities, they may provide one or both types of care.
Short-term care concentrates on rehabilitative services. Patients most commonly need short-term nursing care because they have suffered acute medical events like strokes, aneurisms or falls. Under nursing care, staff and therapists will work to rebuild their patients’ strength and function so they can move to less inclusive care or return to independent living. Long-term care is for patients with moderate to severe mental or physical disabilities. Nursing homes care for patients with brain damage, dementia, Parkinson’s or general physical decline. A professional team of medical personnel work to maintain long-term patients’ levels of health. Nurses and physicians address their specific medical needs, like medicine management and blood testing. Other staff members help with activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, walking and eating. Social workers and non-medical staff are tasked with providing companionship and support for long-term patients. Although some long-term patients need to move to hospice, others improve enough to use in home or assisted living care.
Long-term patients usually turn to nursing care when less inclusive care options can no longer provide proper medical treatment. For short-term patients, hospitalizations following acute medical events usually precipitate a nursing home stay. If further recover is needed, their doctors will require and approve a nursing home stay. This approval is necessary for Medicare recipients to receive 100 days of nursing care coverage. Doctors are also a good source to tap for recommendations and referrals on nursing homes with the best reputations. Top quality health care is essential not only for the most knowledgeable physicians but also because hospital care is the first leg of a patient’s recovery period. In Virginia Beach, Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and Sentara Princess Anne Hospital offer the most quality care based on patients’ previous hospital experiences.
Virginia Beach nursing care costs are elevated relative to the national average. Semi-private and private SNF rooms have a monthly cost of $5,947 and $6,935, respectively. Assisted living costs are closer to the national average at $3,395 per month.
Transitioning to nursing care is difficult for seniors and their families. One overlooked aspect of this is the result it has on caregivers. Seniors who are unhappy about their loss of social freedom and independence under nursing care can make it difficult for caregivers to provide proper treatment. Other times, families with inheritance or estate disputes can be at odds with the type of care being given. When searching for the right nursing home, research is vital to finding the best choice. SNFs with a positive environment, happy staff and patients and a supportive feel are more likely to serve patients with proper and caring treatment. Our site wants to help enhance the understanding of all the complex aspects of nursing care. We ultimately want seniors and their loved ones to be receive attentive, committed, well-trained and quality care that meets their financial, emotional and medical needs.