Nursing Homes

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

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 older adults, but for anyone who requires 24-hour care.

NIH: National Institute on Aging

Start Here

• Eldercare at Home: Choosing a Nursing Home (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
• How to Choose a Nursing Home (National Institute on Aging)
• Nursing Homes (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)

Related Issues

• Hospice Care (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Report a Patient Safety Concern or File a Complaint (Joint Commission)
• What Are My Other Long-Term Care Choices? (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Nursing Home Checklist (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - PDF

Statistics and Research

• National Nursing Home Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Long-Term Care (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Nursing Homes (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Quality of care is what we make of it: a qualitative...
• Article: The Caregiving Crisis: Significant Changes Needed to Fill the Void of...
• Article: Analysis of social interactions and risk factors relevant to the spread...
• Nursing Homes -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• AAAs (Area Agencies on Aging) & Title VI Aging Programs (USAging)
• Find a Nursing Home (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Locate an Ombudsman (National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care)
• Medicare: Find and Compare Health Care Providers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• How to choose a nursing home (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish