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What is a Nursing Home? Services, Cost & Options

Find nursing home options

What is a nursing home?

Nursing homes, also called skilled nursing facilities, provide 24-hour nursing and personal care for seniors. Nursing homes offer the highest level of care for seniors who need long-term or short-term medical care but don’t need hospitalization. Elderly adults who need long-term care at a nursing home often have severe physical or cognitive health conditions that require 24-hour nursing care. They may be incontinent, unable to eat independently, or unable to transfer from bed to a wheelchair without the assistance of a staff member.

 

Nursing homes play a crucial role in post-hospitalization care. They offer short-term rehabilitation for seniors recovering from illnesses, accidents or surgery. Rehab care focuses on restoring mobility, strength, and function so seniors can get back to their normal activities.

 

Nursing homes provide a distinctly higher level of medical care than other types of senior living, such as independent living, assisted living, and memory care. Nursing homes can also be called “care homes,” “skilled rehab facilities,” or “long-term care facilities.”

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Nursing home services

Nursing homes offer specialized medical care and employ nurses and onsite physicians. Nursing homes are equipped to handle wound care, feeding tubes, catheters, IV therapy, dialysis, injections, and heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. They may also offer physical, occupational, speech, orthopedic, and psychological therapy. Nursing homes also offer care coordination and transportation to medical appointments. Assisted living or memory care residents may move into a nursing home when they’ve become bed-bound or have medical needs that their senior living facility is not meant to handle.

Who needs a nursing home?

Elderly nursing home residents often have significant physical or mental health conditions that require long-term, 24-hour nursing and personal care. Seniors who can no longer lift themselves out of bed or who require daily skilled nursing are often ineligible for assisted living or memory care and may need nursing home care.

Nursing Home Requirements for Seniors

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Alternatives to nursing homes

Many seniors are a better fit for assisted living or memory care. Consider these options before deciding on a nursing home.

Both nursing homes and assisted living facilities offer senior housing, meal services, and help with personal care. However, seniors in assisted living communities are generally active and relatively independent, although they may need help with certain daily tasks. Nursing home residents typically have debilitating health problems that require 24-hour care and skilled nursing services. Because assisted living facilities don’t offer medical care, they are cheaper than nursing homes.

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Finding a nursing home

Finding a nursing home for your loved one may feel overwhelming. You may have many different facilities to choose from, so how do you know which one is right? Start with your family member’s prioritized needs and consider the facility’s medical services and ratings.

 

Ultimately, there’s no substitute for visiting and experiencing a typical day at the nursing home. As you tour different facilities, be sure to ask whether the nursing home you’re visiting is Medicare or Medicaid certified and licensed if you plan on using your benefits to help cover your care costs there. You can also check the facility’s rating on the Medicare website.

 

Use these resources to discover what to look for when searching for a nursing home and how to find the best nursing homes near you.

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Medicare Nursing Home Ratings: A Brief Guide

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Nursing homes costs and payment

Nursing homes are more expensive than assisted living or memory care because they require medically trained staff and more supervision. Nursing homes may cost twice as much as assisted living or memory care facilities in your area.

 

Paying for a nursing home is not always straightforward, and families can use multiple sources to cover nursing home costs. Often, some nursing home care can be covered with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or veterans benefits. Short-term stays in skilled nursing facilities for rehabilitation may be covered by Medicare, while indefinite stays in a nursing home will require some out-of-pocket payment for rent and meals. Learning how to pay for nursing home care now can help you plan for your future needs.

How Much Do Nursing Homes Cost? A State-By-State Guide

The cost of nursing homes varies from state to state and depends on a number of factors. Learn more about how much nursing ho...

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How to Pay For a Nursing Home: Know Your Options

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How to Pay for Nursing Home Care With Social Security

Social Security can cover some nursing home costs. Understand the types of benefits, how to pay with benefits, and other opti...

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Learn how you can deduct expenses related to nursing home care on your taxes. Get tips for tracking expenses and utilizing th...

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Learn about the many pay options available for covering some or all of the costs of hospice care in a nursing home, and get t...

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A Place for Mom has the largest network of senior living communities and home care providers in the nation. We enable caregivers to make the best decisions for their loves ones.

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Nursing Homes

Nursing homes provide short-and long-term care for seniors who have physical or mental health conditions that require 24-hour nursing and personal care.

The score shown is the overall experience rating which is an average of the reviews submitted for those communities. The overall experience rating is a star rating that ranges from 1 being the lowest to 5 being the highest.

Below are the 51 largest cities grouped by their metropolitan area.

Top states for Nursing Homes

7.5
Alaska, AK
42 facilities
8.2
Alabama, AL
341 facilities
7.3
Arkansas, AR
194 facilities
7.8
Arizona, AZ
616 facilities
8.2
California, CA
1795 facilities
7.6
Colorado, CO
422 facilities
8.2
Connecticut, CT
235 facilities
7.8
7.8
Delaware, DE
54 facilities
7.9
Florida, FL
1811 facilities
7.8
Georgia, GA
745 facilities
4.7
Hawaii, HI
37 facilities
7.3
Iowa, IA
522 facilities
7.4
Idaho, ID
175 facilities
7.8
Illinois, IL
961 facilities
7.8
Indiana, IN
594 facilities
7.6
Kansas, KS
347 facilities
7.8
Kentucky, KY
338 facilities
7.3
Louisiana, LA
196 facilities
7.7
Massachusetts, MA
517 facilities
7.5
Maryland, MD
283 facilities
7.6
Maine, ME
163 facilities
7.8
Michigan, MI
947 facilities
7.2
Minnesota, MN
912 facilities
7.2
Missouri, MO
641 facilities
7.5
Mississippi, MS
216 facilities
6.9
Montana, MT
138 facilities
7.6
North Carolina, NC
784 facilities
7.2
North Dakota, ND
106 facilities
7.6
Nebraska, NE
335 facilities
8.1
New Hampshire, NH
118 facilities
7.6
New Jersey, NJ
545 facilities
7.8
New Mexico, NM
134 facilities
7.8
Nevada, NV
148 facilities
7.4
New York, NY
781 facilities
7.8
Ohio, OH
1065 facilities
8.0
Oklahoma, OK
304 facilities
7.2
Oregon, OR
472 facilities
7.8
Pennsylvania, PA
1281 facilities
7.9
Rhode Island, RI
113 facilities
8.1
South Carolina, SC
451 facilities
6.3
South Dakota, SD
152 facilities
8.1
Tennessee, TN
540 facilities
8.0
Texas, TX
1614 facilities
7.9
Utah, UT
194 facilities
8.0
Virginia, VA
563 facilities
8.2
Vermont, VT
68 facilities
8.0
Washington, WA
597 facilities
7.5
Wisconsin, WI
1148 facilities
8.5
West Virginia, WV
94 facilities
4.1
Wyoming, WY
49 facilities

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical, legal, or financial advice or create a professional relationship between A Place for Mom and the reader. Always seek the advice of your health care provider, attorney, or financial advisor with respect to any particular matter, and do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of anything you have read on this site. Links to third-party websites are only for the convenience of the reader; A Place for Mom does not endorse the contents of the third-party sites.