Understanding Skilled Nursing Services
ShareSkilled nursing services refer to nursing care provided to patients only by licensed nurses. It involves providing short-term and long-term care or rehabilitation nursing homes, assisted living communities, and other skilled nursing facilities to individuals recovering from illness or surgery to help them get back to their feet or regain mobility. It is essential to elaborate on skilled nursing services, and some of the common skilled nursing services are often required.
Need for Skilled Nursing Services
Licensed nurses can offer skilled nursing services in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and other certified locations. A physician determines the need for this type of care after establishing that skilled nursing service is crucial in enabling patients to meet their health or recovery objectives. Therefore, patients whose health status changes quickly due to an accident or after contracting a serious health condition are the ones that receive skilled nursing services. Hence, it is common for individuals who have gone through surgery or experienced a stroke an extensive heart, kidney, or respiratory illnesses to seek skilled nursing services during their stay and after their release from the hospital into nursing homes or assisted living facilities. The main goal of skilled nursing care is to ensure that patients can transition back to independent living. In some cases, skilled nursing services can help patients transition into high-quality assisted living after undergoing serious hospital procedures. The main aim of skilled nursing care is to facilitate an individual's return to everyday life after being hospitalized, mainly by reducing assistance and enhancing their level of life independence.
Skilled Nursing Services that are Commonly Offered
Physicians commonly prescribe skilled nursing services as specialized therapies required to help a patient get better. The most frequently prescribed skilled nursing services include physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy in assisted living communities and nursing homes provided by licensed nurses. Physical therapy aims to help patients who have suffered from an illness, injury, or surgery regain the maximum range of motion possible. It is also common for people to experience challenges with compromised speech after a serious health event. Speech therapy helps these types of patients address swallowing dysfunction and communication issues. They achieve this by providing the patient with diet recommendations, language ability, and alternative communication strategies. Physicians recommend occupational therapy to help address various health factors such as range of motion, strength, cognition, mobility, and motor planning. The assisted living communities use this therapy to help patients adapt to physical and social environments through various specialized interventions, including coordination exercises, getting dressed, and memory training. Other skilled nursing services offered in assisted living communities, nursing homes, and hospitals include wound care, pain management, joint replacement care, and oversight of prescription medication.