Senior Care - What's the best environment for my elderly parent?

I’m Dave Ciccantelli, and I’m the owner of Assisted Living Locators Waukesha. In December of 2017, I launched the first franchise of Assisted Living Locators in Wisconsin after experiencing the challenges of trying to navigate the complicated number of senior care options for my father.

Because of this, I plan, over the next several weeks, to help educate those of us who are looking at senior care options for our parents, relatives, or for ourselves. Because I’m local and in the community, I’m able to look at a wide range of options for seniors. I see my job as educating so people can make the best choice for their situation.

This is my third in a series of articles providing more information about the available options in the senior housing industry. Today, I’m going to discuss Skilled Nursing aka Rehab (the two terms are often used interchangeably). They are also referred to as SNFs.

In my introductory article, I defined Skilled Nursing/Rehab as usually a stopover after being discharged from an extended hospital stay. The level of care is higher as the patient transitions from hospital to home.

The line between Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing care is a fuzzy one. While my earlier definition of Skilled Nursing is true, there are also scenarios where a SNF actually becomes a destination rather than merely a stopover point. If an individual requires 24 hour nursing supervision or a level of care well beyond what a non-professional caregiver (i.e. family/friend) can provide, they are strong candidates for a SNF. Examples of this might include:

• Post-surgical wound care;
• Supervision and administration of intravenous medications;
• Daily physical therapy to address strength and balance issues;
• Significant assistance with meals, bathing, medication management, hygiene;

Medicare will cover this type of care to varying degrees for up to 100 days provided all of the following conditions are met:

• Following inpatient hospital stay for a minimum of 3 days;
• A physician orders skilled nursing care for the condition that required hospitalization;
• Admission to a Medicare-certified SNF within 30 days following hospital stay;

Medicare can also cover skilled nursing care for ongoing long-term issues (no hospitalization was required) if such care deemed medically necessary.

A Skilled Nursing/Rehab setting focuses largely on the patient’s medical needs. If a physician believes a patient’s condition requires active, 24 hour monitoring and ongoing care either due to a chronic condition OR following a hospital stay, that patient very likely will be placed in a Skilled Nursing/Rehab facility.

Assisted Living Locators offers a no-cost service for seniors and their families providing expert advice on short and long-term care options, including in-home care, independent living, assisted living, memory care, and retirement apartments. For more information about Assisted Living Locators, call Dave Ciccantelli at 262-933.8107, email at dciccantelli@assistedlivinglocators.com, or visit our website at www.Waukesha.AssistedLivingLocators.com.