What impact does the historical perspective of the nursing home have on the stigma related to the quality of care?
During the nineteenth and the twentieth century, the term “nursing home”
was synonymous with long-term care. Although today the exclusive use of
the term “long-term care” is no longer accurate for nursing homes, it
continues to remain and will not change easily. However, newer terms
such as “nursing facilities” will help clarify the role of specific
long-term care organizations and will differentiate them from others in
the health care industry.
Subacute care is a relatively new but
rapidly growing medical service in the continuum of care. Today, it is
considered the fastest growing segment of the health care delivery
system.
Research the online references such as EBSCOhost, SocINDEX,
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), or
PubMed for information on nursing facilities and subacute units and
respond to the following questions:
• Do you agree with the change in
the terminology of nursing homes to nursing facilities? Why or why not?
How do the terms relate with each other?
• What impact does the historical perspective of the nursing home have on the stigma related to the quality of care?
•
How were nursing facilities developed? What have been the consequences
of the change in terminology? Do you think the change in terminology
will impact the quality of care in the future? If yes, how? If no, why?
•
What changes do you see nursing homes making in the future in order to
keep up with the ever changing needs of the demographics of seniors?
•
What are subacute units? How did subacute care emerge? What are the
strengths and limitations of the emergence of subacute care in long-term
care as related to issues in levels of patients’ acuity (various levels
of nursing care based on the needs of patients)? Support your answer
with relevant examples.
• What is the impact of subacute care on the
cost and quality of care? Do you think subacute care needs to be an
integral component of hospitals, or should it be an integral part of the
long-term care system? Provide a rationale for your answer.
Based on your learning about nursing home care and subacute care, compare their funding, staffing, regulation, and marketing.
