Regardless of your home care need, you should always seek companies who provide skilled nursing services. Quality is essential and before you make the decision to hire anyone, you need to have a full understanding of the medical background of the company and/or independent nursing professional. Below is a basic informational guide of what skilled nursing services is comprised of, and how it can work for you and your situation.
What are these Services?
Much more than the moniker suggests, skilled nursing services are all of the medical services provided by nurses who specialize in long and short-term care for patients who require rehabilitation and/or who may suffer from a long term health issue of some kind. Health issue can refer to Alzheimer’s, Dementia, post-operative treatment or a host of other medical issues. These nurses administer intravenous medication as well as clean wounds, change dressings, monitor vitals and arrays of other duties.
What Other Professionals Fit into this Category?
While nurses may provide the bulk of the services, they are not the only medical professionals who administer treatment. Other professionals who may be privy to providing service include speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists.
Home-Based versus a Facility
Whether the nurses are home-based or based out of a facility you can count on them to provide high level of treatment. In both instances nurses provide similar treatment services. For example it is not uncommon for the nurses at a skill nursing facility or home-based to provide pharmaceutical, lab or radiology services as well as respite and hospice care. In rare situations, the nurses may help patients with laundry and transportation. More often than not, the nurses aid the patients with bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, eating and incontinence issues. Skilled nurses provide more intense care, they are available 24/7 if necessary and can provide a high level of customer service that surpasses that of a general caregiver.
Insurance Coverage
Depending on the insurance, more often than not skilled nursing services are covered. It may prove beneficial to check directly with your insurance company to see if there are any services not covered. For example, a good question to pose is whether or not there is a difference, coverage-wise, regarding services provided at home as opposed to in a facility. This question is essential because you need to know how to handle services that are not covered by the insurance.
The Benefit of a Social Worker
When it comes to skilled nurses, a patient or family member may find much needed peace of mind in getting information from a social worker. Social workers make it their duty to provide customers and family members with vital information and resources that can be of assistance. Furthermore, a social worker can make the search for a skilled nursing facility that much easier. Consider setting up an appointment with the social worker assigned to you or your loved one in order to better discern what options are available to you regarding nursing care facilities or home-based services.
When searching for the right services, it is important to consider the credentials of the nurses employed in addition to the services offered. Furthermore, consider the price of the service and the ability of your insurance to cover it. If you have searched and yielded mediocre results thus far, consider checking out .
