Helping seniors manage the challenges of aging can mean exploring all of the different types of care and choosing the right ones for their needs. Some families might need home care assistance while others might need skilled nursing care services at home or even both types of help at different times.
What is the difference and how can families figure out what they need?
What Is Home Care?
Home care services offer non-medical help with activities of daily living. Seniors who benefit the most from home care often don’t need constant medical help but instead have trouble with personal hygiene tasks, light housekeeping, or transportation. Home care can also offer companionship to aging adults, helping them avoid spending a lot of their time alone.
What Is Skilled Nursing Care at Home?
Skilled nursing care is medical care at home that is provided by licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. This type of care is intended for people who may have more complex medical needs. Seniors recovering from surgery or managing chronic health conditions might benefit from skilled nursing, for instance. Nurses come to the patient’s home, where seniors are comfortable and surrounded by a familiar setting.
Medical Monitoring and Post-Surgical Care
Skilled nurses monitor vital signs and help patients to track their progress as they recover. After surgery, patients might need help managing wounds and ensuring proper healing. Skilled nurses can help with all sorts of post-surgical care and keep medical providers aware of how the healing process is going.
Chronic Illness Management
Seniors dealing with chronic health issues like heart disease, respiratory illnesses, or diabetes may need assistance managing those conditions. Nurses can help seniors understand more about their illnesses, keeping them aware of what they need to do to maintain better health. They can also help seniors keep track of important information like blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and more.
Medication Management
Often seniors take a great many medications to manage health issues. Nurses can help manage these medications and also assist with medications that need to be injected or infused via intravenous lines. Skilled nurses stay on top of issues like side effects and medication interactions, helping patients avoid complications because of these concerns.
Rehabilitation Support
Throughout recovery, skilled nursing care at home can help seniors to balance recovery with rehabilitation. That might involve therapies like physical therapy or occupational therapy to help seniors rebuild strength and skills. Skilled nurses can help make sure that seniors get the care that they need to continue their recovery.
Home care providers can’t help with any of these medical needs, but they can support seniors with activities of daily living as they heal. Skilled nursing care at home offers seniors the medical assistance that they need when they want to recover at home instead of at a hospital or rehabilitation center. Although the types of care that these services offer are different, they both can support seniors in their goals to recover as thoroughly and quickly as possible after an injury or illness.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Skilled Nursing Care Services in Stony Brook NY, please contact the caring staff at Star Multi Care today. Call (631) 424-7827
Star Multi Care is a Trusted Home Care Agency serving Long Island and in NYC including Dix Hills, Floral Park, Great Neck, Huntington, Manhasset, Massapequa, Northport, Plainview, Rockville Center, Stony Brook, Suffolk County, Nassau County, and Queens County.
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