Understanding the types of nursing care at Stone County Rehabilitation & Nursing Center

November 2018

Nursing facilities can offer a variety of services from short-term rehabilitation to long-term care. With all levels of nursing care offered at Stone County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, we are committed to helping our residents to reach their healthcare goals while in our care.

Short-term care encompasses therapy and rehabilitation services (typically less than 100 days of care) that require more involved attention and can’t easily be provided in a setting such as a hospital or patient’s home. There are several scenarios in which older adults might need short-term care following a serious injury or illness. For example, your father may need rehab to help him relearn how to feed and dress himself after having a stroke.

Being in the nursing facility setting provides special rehabilitative health services to patients with a continuum of care, allowing them to stay safe while recovering their strength. At Stone County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, we offer a staff of licensed and certified medical professionals who are readily available. Upon reaching their treatment goals, those short-term care patients can return home.

Long-term care provides patients a wide variety of services encompassing a full continuum of care when assistance is needed with daily living activities. Stone County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center offers various levels of long-term care supporting health or personal care needs over an extended period.

Many people develop the need for long-term care gradually (often progressing with age) or as a chronic illness or disability becomes more debilitating. This can include cognitive impairment like memory loss, confusion or disorientation associated with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Personal care residents are independent with the majority of activities of daily living (ADL) but need minimal assistance. Other residents receive non-skilled personal care assistance, such as help with daily living tasks like:

• Eating
• Bathing/grooming
• Dressing
• Using the toilet
• Caring for incontinence
• Transferring (to or from bed/chair)
• Medication oversight/administration

When short-term care turns into long-term care

With short-term rehabilitative therapy, an initial treatment plan covering the patient’s condition and length of time expected to reach their goals is set. Upon recovery, residents are expected to return home after completing their rehabilitative therapy. While not always expected, a patient may need to move to a long-stay unit within the same facility or to a different nursing home.

Some patients reach their goals on or ahead of schedule, but in some cases, progress is reached at a slower pace than expected. This can be due to the patient being too weak, sick or not responding to the treatment right away. The amount of progress toward the plan/goals can affect insurance coverage. Other factors that may prevent a resident from returning home can include:

• Signs of memory loss or disorientation
• Environmental barriers such as lack of wheelchair accessibility or too many stairs in an apartment building
• Insurance not covering all home care services needed
• Signs of depression or isolation without having company or family members at home
• Personal limitations with family members not being able to provide proper care at home

Stone County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center understands required transition from a short-term to a long-term patient can be difficult news when returning home after treatment was the initial plan. Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding care at our center.