4 Signs Your Senior Parent May Need Skilled Nursing
Seniors who want to stay at home as they get older may think that if they get sick or have medical conditions that are tough to manage they can’t stay at home. With skilled nursing care, seniors can stay at home even if they need help managing their medical conditions. Skilled nursing provides in-home medical care and monitoring for seniors so that they can continue to live independently if they want to. If you’re not sure whether or not your senior parent is a good candidate for skilled nursing care, look for any of these signs.
Recent Hospitalization
If your senior parent was recently in the hospital because of a fall or because of a medical incident like a heart attack or a stroke, they can benefit from skilled nursing care at home as they recover. With skilled nursing care, your senior parent will have a medical professional monitoring their condition to make sure they don’t have another heart attack or stroke. They will also get the benefit of having a medical professional monitor their surgical incision for signs of infection or other complications.
Regular Use of Medical Equipment
If your senior parent relies on supplemental oxygen, a pacemaker, or other medical equipment due to their medical condition, a skilled nurse can make sure their medical equipment is running properly and doesn’t need any kind of service or repair. They can change oxygen tanks and make sure that your senior parent has enough back up tanks. If your parent has a disease such as diabetes, skilled nursing can also give injections. That way your senior loved one won't need to go through the hassle of going to the doctor’s office or a medical facility.
Medical Condition Monitoring
If your senior parent has any type of medical condition that needs medical supervision like diabetes, ALS, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, skilled nursing care can provide the medical monitoring that they need at home. Because it can be very difficult to get seniors who have serious medical conditions to and from the doctor’s office, having skilled nursing care at home makes monitoring their conditions much easier on them and on you.
They Need Wound Care
Seniors that are bed bound either permanently or because they were hospitalized with a recent injury, are more prone to getting bed sores or friction sores. Those sores can become serious wounds if they aren’t treated. Seniors who have skilled nursing care can get the treatment they need for wounds at home so that they don’t raise their risk of infection by having to go to a medical facility where they could get an infection or staph. Getting bed sores and wounds treated at home rather than having to go to a hospital or to a doctor’s office is easier and safer for seniors.