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

• Find an Expert

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 the elderly, 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)
• Ensuring Quality Nursing Home Care (American Geriatrics Society) - PDF
• Nursing Homes (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)

Related Issues

• Alternatives to Nursing Homes (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Helping You Choose Quality Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Services (Joint Commission) - PDF
• Hospice Care (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Report a Complaint (about a Health Care Organization) (Joint Commission)

Specifics

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

Statistics and Research

• FastStats: Nursing Home Care (National Center for Health Statistics)
• National Nursing Home Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Residents Living in Residential Care Facilities: United States, 2010 (National Center for Health Statistics)
• Use of Electronic Health Records in Residential Care Communities (National Center for Health Statistics)

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: Assessing nursing assistants' competency in palliative care: An evaluation tool.
• Article: Effects of Pain and Sleep Quality on Falls Among Nursing...
• Article: Outcomes of Patients With Delirium in Long-Term Care Facilities: A...
• Nursing Homes -- see more articles
• Long term care -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• AAAs (Area Agencies on Aging) & Title VI Aging Programs (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging)
• Find a Nursing Home (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Find and Compare Doctors, Plans, Hospitals, Suppliers and Other Providers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Locate an Ombudsman (National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care)
• National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

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