A nursing home is a place for people who don't need to be in a hospital but can't be cared for at home. Most nursing homes have nursing aides and skilled nurses on hand 24 hours a day.
Some nursing homes are set up like a hospital. The staff provides medical care, as well as physical, speech and occupational therapy. There might be a nurses' station on each floor. Other nursing homes try to be more like home. They try to have a neighborhood feel. Often, they don't have a fixed day-to-day schedule, and kitchens might be open to residents. Staff members are encouraged to develop relationships with residents.
Some nursing homes have special care units for people with serious memory problems such as Alzheimer's disease. Some will let couples live together. Nursing homes are not only for the elderly, but for anyone who requires 24-hour care.
National Institute on Aging
- Nursing Homes(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/overview.asp
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Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice
(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/longterm.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/longterm-sp.asp
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Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Large PDF file - http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02174.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02174_s.pdf
- Nursing Home Care(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=15
- Planning Ahead: A Consumer's Guide to Nursing Facilities(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/planning_ahead/nursing/nursing1.htm
- Mealtime Help Cuts Weight Loss in Residential Care(09/12/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69205.html
- Nursing Homes Unprepared for Pandemic Flu Fallout(07/22/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67250.html
- Guide for Families: Making the Transition to Nursing Facility Life(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/family_guide/transition/trans1.htm
- Having the Conversation about Long Term Care(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/family_guide/conversation/conv1.htm
- Tips on Visiting Friends and Relatives(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/family_guide/visit/visit1.htm
- About Nursing Home Inspections(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/aboutinspections.asp
- Alternatives to Nursing Home Care(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/alternatives.asp
- Falls in Nursing Homes(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/nursing.htm
- Long Term Health Care: Plan Ahead(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/long-term-care/HA00054/METHOD=print
- Long-Term Care Planning Tool(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/LTCPlanning/Include/DataSection/Questions/SearchCriteria.asp
- Nursing Home Checklist(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Links to PDF - http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/checklist.pdf
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Planning for Your Discharge(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Links to PDF - http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11376.pdf
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Report a Complaint about a Health Care Organization(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Complaint/
Also available in Spanish http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Complaint/sp_complaint.htm
- Where to Report Nursing Home Abuse(National Center on Elder Abuse) - http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/FAQ/Nursing_Home_Abuse/Report_Abuse.aspx
- Financial Information: Understanding Long Term Care Insurance(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/financial_information/insurance1.htm
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Medicare and Skilled Nursing Facility Care Benefits(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Links to PDF - http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11359.pdf
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Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Large PDF file - http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10153.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10153_s.pdf
- Paying for Long-Term Care(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/Static/PayingOverview.asp?
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Long-Term Care(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Long-Term+Care%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Nursing Homes(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Nursing+Homes%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Care suffers when nursing homes switch to for-profit status. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18664748&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Care planning integrity in nursing facilities. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18641496&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Field testing, refinement, and psychometric evaluation of a new measure... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18578107&tool=MedlinePlus
- Nursing Homes -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=nursing+homes[majr]+NOT+(education,nursing[mh]+OR+nursing+theory[mh])+AND+english[la]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+guideline[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Long term care -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=long+term+care[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+systematic[sb])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Glossary of Terms about Long Term Care(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/glossary/
- American Association of Homes and Services Directory(American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging) - http://www2.aahsa.org/section.aspx?id=280
- National Long Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center(Administration on Aging) - http://www.ltcombudsman.org/static_pages/ombudsmen.cfm
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Nursing Home Compare(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp?Language=Spanish
- Administration on Aging - http://www.aoa.gov/
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National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program(Administration on Aging) - http://www.aoa.gov/eldfam/elder_rights/LTC/LTC.aspx
- Nursing Homes: Resident Rights(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/Nursing/ResidentRights.asp
- FASTATS: Nursing Home Care(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/nursingh.htm
- Assisted Living - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/assistedliving.html
- Health Facilities - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthfacilities.html
- Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html
- Seniors - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniors.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Nursing Homes is the National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/