Nursing Home for Aging - Essay Example

Nursing Home for Aging Nursing Home for Aging This paper aims to discuss ‘Nursing Home for Aging’ as the contemporary healthcare issue in USA. Different research articles are used to discuss this issue from diverse perspectives. Introduction Basis Facts and Information Nursing homes for aging are particularly associated with providing extensive health care services to old people with relatively low family and community support. These services are usually given within a nursing center which falls in between the typical hospitals and households. Here, nurses are especially trained to deal with these patients while having comprehensive medical knowledge, clinical skills, analytical skills and a strong ability to think critically and advocate patients (Gerber, 2012). Moreover, nursing homes play an important role in developing patients in to self reliant and flexible individuals who can adjust easily in the new environment. Research indicates that more than 1.000 million people at the age of 60 or more will comprise of the total world population whereas approximately 700 million old individuals will be living in the developing countries by 2020 (Ayranci, 2005). This shows that there would be a significant change in lifestyle of people in the near future which will subsequently increase health care issues, family responsibilities of young individuals and the overall social set up. Furthermore, meeting the health care needs of the older generation will become a greater challenge (Ayranci, 2005). These problems can be met through facilitating nursing homes for aging at the government level. Is a Nursing Home Right for aging? Based on ethical standards and traditional family systems it can be argued that nursing homes aren’t the right choice for aging persons fundamentally because they create distance between elderly and young while also transforming an individual in to an irresponsible and egotistic being. However, on the other hand old individuals who are particularly diagnosed with fatal or transferable diseases can be treated and cared more conveniently in nursing homes. This actually relates to careful assessment of an old person, safety factors, health care practices and interventions required to counter with the disease. Since nurses are trained to deal with aging people therefore these patients are usually shifted to nursing homes to get benefitted by the professional health care practitioners. The Quality Nursing Home Care The quality of Nursing Home Care is basically derived from following factors (Saver, 2006): Mobility and Portability: Nursing homes’ quality standards are mostly judged on the basis of technotherapeutic interventions that they have. In addition to this, they also need to develop freestanding clinics, significant nonhospital settings and the ambulatory care centers. Evidence-based Practice: It is one of the most common and widely acknowledged concepts of nursing care primarily because it is helpful in improving the patient care, developing the foundations of disease management etc. Safety: Quality of nursing homes cannot be ensured in absence of safety procedures. These usually have an emphasis over how nurses are dealing with aging patients while also addressing their family needs. More specifically it includes all the emotional and physical security measures taken by health care professionals. Technology: The development of medical technology has actually facilitated the life enhancing and lifesaving procedures. These have become crucial for the nursing homes in order to make health care more precise and cost effective for aging people. Characteristics of Nursing Homes Following are the most important characteristics of Nursing Homes (Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice, 2012): They should be similar to hospitals in terms of providing basic health care services. This is subsequently related to the maintenance of medical care staff that is particularly trained in speech, physical care and occupational therapy. On the other hand couples are usually allowed to live together in nursing homes as opposed to hospitals while also decorating the rooms with family photos and other similar things. This subsequently helps in giving home-like facilities to patients where they are also allowed to carry their routine activities. Staff members are specifically needed to maintain relax environment through opening kitchens for residents. Furthermore, they are instructed to develop good relationships with the residents and patients of nursing homes. Hence it can be said that nursing homes are a combination of household-like and hospital-like units. These also have separate areas for people with memory issues or other serious diseases. Risk Factors for Admission There are number of risk factors for admission in nursing homes for aging. One research reveals that patients who stay longer in health care institutions including nursing homes develop severe issues of mental impairment and deviating behavior. Moreover, these aging persons also increase the risk of physical impairment and disabling diseases when distanced from their families (Nygaard, 1992). How to choose a Nursing Home? While selecting a Nursing Home following factors should be considered (Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice, 2012): Developing the preference criteria is the very first step, for instance, what is more important either nursing care, physical therapies, meals, distance from family or anything else. Consult with friends, family members and other relatives in order to find best suitable nursing homes for aging people. Also ask the health care practitioners for their suggestions about the nursing homes and their facilities. Use these suggestions to make the final decision. Inquire about all the nursing homes that you are considering prior to shifting the aging individual. This will actually help you in getting information about how many people live there, what are the costs and admission procedures etc. It is also important to check the Medicare certificates, interaction between staff members, handicap access and other facilities while choosing a nursing home. Conclusion As discussed previously, due to the changing lifestyle people are now living in small families whereas aging individuals are shifted to nursing homes. This is primarily because caring old age people has become the responsibility of government agencies, non government organizations and health care service providers in addition to the immediate family members. The above discussion comprehensively explains the risk factors associated with admissions in to nursing homes, the procedure of selecting the nursing home for aging, quality measures and other related facts and information. References Ayranci, U. &. (2005). Health of Elderly: Importance of Nursing and Family Medicine Care. The Internet Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology . Gerber, L. (2012). Community health nursing: A partnership of care. American Journal of Nursing , 19 - 20. Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice. (2012). National Institute on Aging , 1-12. Nygaard, H. &. (1992). Risk factors for Admission to a Nursing Home. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care , 128-133. Saver, C. (2006). Nursing – today and beyond. American Nurse Today , 18-25. Read More