Tacoma Nursing Homes

Tacoma nursing homes provide the most advanced care for patients and seniors with temporary to long-term health management needs. Also called skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes offer residence and medical and social care to patients through a professional team of doctors, nurses, therapists, non-medical caregivers, social workers, chefs, dieticians and other extended care personnel. Tacoma skilled nursing homes either deliver short-term or long-term care, along with additional specialized care for certain medical conditions.

Short-term care focuses on helping patients recover from acute medical events. The most common events that land people under short-term care are aneurisms, strokes and falls. Short-term patients have access to medical professionals that help to diagnose a personalized plan of recuperation. The plan will often include physical, occupational, speech, auditory or respiratory therapy to help patients regain lost strength and functions. Short-term nursing care ultimately aims to allow their patients to resume independent living or move to lower levels of care. Long-term care patients need periodic to continuous monitoring and treatment for serious medical problems. They may have multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, dementia, diabetes, neurological disorders or general physical decline. Medical procedures, like blood work and colostomies, are performed by nurses and doctors, while licensed social caregivers and non-medical staff assist with activities of daily living. Long-term care is not a permanent option. Although some patients will eventually need end of life care, similar to short-term care, many patients can eventually seek in home care, assisted living care or senior apartments.

Long-term care stays are often the result of a condition that can no longer be treated by previous modes of care. An acute medical crisis requiring hospitalization normally precedes a short-term nursing stay. The patient’s physician will assess the need for further medical treatment in a nursing home. Future short-term patients should receive the best quality hospital care they can find because a hospital stay is the first step of their recovery. The most quality health services in Tacoma, based on patients’ hospital experiences, can be found at Tacoma General Allenmore Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center.

Tacoma’s nursing care costs are higher than the Washington median and national average. Semi-private and private SNF rooms cost $7,811 and $8,803, respectively. Other seniors care costs are even more expensive against the national average. Assisted living facility bedrooms have a monthly cost of $4,500. Homemaker services, home health aide and adult day health care cost $4,690, $4,763 and $1,282 per month, respectively.

Many seniors and their families do not prepare ahead for nursing care even though nearly 70 percent of those aged 65 and older will need long-term care in their lifetime. This incidence can partially be explained by the fact that many simply do not believe they need such care. Even once under nursing care, patients often feel that should still be on their own. This can make administering proper care a difficulty for nursing personnel. Others view nursing homes in a negative light and shy away from them until the moment of need. Careful planning and research can enable seniors and their families to find the best skilled nursing facility for their needs. The most effective ways to procure quality care are to visit area nursing homes and to gather as much information on all the issues surrounding skilled nursing care. Our site wants to give patients the information they need to make the most educated decision possible.