Long Term Care ( Ltc )

A.C. is a 79-year-old man living in a long-term care facility. He has had multiple medical diagnoses, including congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and stroke. He is bedridden and receiving enteral tube feedings. He has chronic diarrhea thought to be related to his tube feedings. He receives digoxin (Lanoxin) and furosemide (Lasix) to manage his CHF.

Long-term care can be defined as a broad set of paid and unpaid services for people who are mentally or physically disabled, or whose chronic illness places them in need of medical or personal assistance for long periods of time. “It is estimated that there are more than twelve million Americans of all ages whose mix of serious disability and chronic illness places them at the high risk for functional decline, hospitalization, or nursing home placement.” (Benjamin) Several different populations require long-term care services, and the needs of these populations vary. In addition to the elderly, many of the long-term care users are younger persons with physical disabilities; persons with developmental disabilities; and persons with chronic

Health care is something that everyone requires in order to lead a healthy life. After a visit to a hospital there are instances when certain individuals require further care due to their circumstances. Although hospitals may provide long-term care, it is not usually ideal. Hospitals are in place to handle emergency situations and aid in stabilizing the patients. Once the patients are stable, they must be transitioned to another facility if they require further assistance. This will avoid maximum occupancy for the hospital and allow it to remain available to other patients that may need their services. Patients who require long-term care or around the clock care and are in good medical condition should seek a long-term care facility, such as a skilled nursing facility or nursing home. For some individuals, facilities such as skilled nursing facilities or nursing homes are a blessing. These types of facilities are in existence to aid in the recovery of certain injuries and or to provide living arrangements for those who lack someone to care for them or assist with meeting their health care needs.

According to Barton (2010) Long-term Care “emphasized continuous care over a period of at least 90 days for a range of acute and chronic conditions. Regardless of the length of time (i.e., from weeks to years), LTC is an array of services provided in a range of settings to people who have lost some capacity for independence because of an injury, a chronic illness, or a condition” (pg. 349). This is the description of someone who may have been in a debilitating car accident, an elderly person with Alzheimer’s and dementia, a person diagnosed with chronic mental illness, and individuals who are developmentally delayed or “disabled.” People who are placed in these type of long-term care facilities are usually screened using two different

Speaking to a lady who reside at Atlantic shores skilled nursing and Rehab and whom I will refer to as Mary to respect her privacy and for following the rules and guideline of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). Mary states that with all her chronic ailments and diseases, it is good for her to live within the LTC because her illness are monitored and her medications are managed well. She further went on to say that if something goes wrong, help is always readily available.

What are the Effects of current health care tends on long term care and this facility

This Skilled nursing facilities provide two distinct types of care for residents that are a long-term care for older residents with irreversible functional and cognitive deficits and sub-acute care for patients who require a short admission to complete their rehabilitation and to regain their functional strength before returning to their independent living.

I chose a learning plan topic that would increase my nursing practice competency as a senior nursing student, would be relevant to my placement setting, would build on my knowledge obtained from completing NSE417 – Nursing Practice IV class and NSE407 – Nursing: Professional Issues and Trends class, and was approved by my Primary Preceptor and Faculty Advisor (FA). With a global trend of an increasing senior population and having a placement in a nursing home, it was important to choose a learning plan that focused on the challenges and trends in senior safety. My Overarching goal for my learning plan was to expand my knowledge and critical thinking skills related to expertly assessing and managing elder frailty in a long-term care setting by Tuesday, March 1, 2016. By completing this learning plan, I have fulfilled and demonstrated the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO)’s Continuing Competency Standard by performing a self-assessment of my knowledge, developing and implementing a learning plan, and evaluating the outcomes of the plan (CNO, 2002). Ultimately, the goal is to enhance geriatric care at my placement setting and advance my competency in delivering safe, ethical, competent client-centred care.

The medical model, which originated in the 1950's, delivered high‐quality, standardized care to a large number of individuals. The care provided in long-term care facilities has traditionally been based on a medical model. This is characterized by nursing units with centralized nursing stations and long, doubly loaded corridors with shared bedrooms and bathrooms. Often, the finishes and ambiance are institutional and bare, and the setting provides few opportunities for residents to personalize their environments. Residents follow a rigid routine that dictates when they eat and when they sleep. The medical model involves the use of medical jargon, which can be problematic for residents and families. The medical model also focused on the individual’s

Long term care facilities use Joint Commission Accreditation as a benefit to show the quality and commitment to the health care organization. A long term care facility that is Joint Commission accredited will have a more appealing look to reimbursement centers and to the patient and families that they care for. Having this accreditation is also a risk management tool. The likelihood of a bad outcome is reduced if a facility is accredited by the Joint Commission. There is a team put together to come up with accreditation standards and to make sure facilities stay compliant with these standards. Performance is evaluated to ensure standards are followed.

Long-term care facilities are a traditional approach to caring for the elderly or chronically ill members of society. These facilities are set up in a couple of different ways to provide specialized

In many circumstances, people may move out of long-term care. Those recovering illness or injury may regain independence after they are well. Some may not every be able to live a life without long-term care again. It is noted that 40 percent of people over 65 will need two or more years of long-term care with half of those needing care for more than five years (Grote, 2011). Unfortunately, with today’s aging population, the numbers in the long-term care are most likely to keep increasing instead of transitioning people out. Of the 12 million people who need LTC, 6.6 million are age 65 or older and are likely to be Medicare beneficiaries and entitled to the LTC coverage that Medicare provides (Barton, 2006). That said, not everyone who

The continuum of institutional long-term care is for patients whose needs are not adequately met in a more community-based setting. It is for individuals who need more dependency. There are two ends of the continuum of institutional long-term care spectrum. On the one end there are the individuals that may only need basic personal or custodial care (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 399). An example of personal and custodial care can include help with walking, bladder training, or just helping with bathing. On the other end there are the individuals that may need more round the clock care with nursing or specialized services along with the basic needs (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 399).

Another part of the continuum is health care resources available to the patients. Long-term care does contribute to the management of these resources. Without LTC, these resources would not be in such high demand. According to Medicare.gov, there are many resources that go along with long-term care that need to be used, such as drug and health plans, doctors, hospitals, formulary finder, long-term planning, home health agencies, nursing homes, medical equipment suppliers, dialysis facilities, forms, and publications (Medicare.gov, Resource Locator). These resources will help the patients and their families find the best collaboration of services to meet their needs.

Discharge Planning – Patients who require continuing care after release from the hospital are identified and the appropriate services are arranged through participating home care, medical equipment and other providers.