The United Health Foundation’s 2023 Senior Report found that more than half of adults aged 65-74 in 2021 had multiple chronic health conditions – an increase of 13% from 2020. The same study reported that 15.8% of seniors over 65 experienced frequent physical distress, rising by 9% in the same period. Seniors typically face a range of physical, mental, social, and financial issues, and reports like this suggest these challenges are only increasing.
Hospitals and healthcare settings are also encountering significant challenges in 2023, from endemic COVID-19 to unprecedented healthcare worker shortages. By keeping seniors with complex health conditions out of the hospital where possible, skilled nursing communities can support seniors, hospitals, physicians, and family caregivers.
What is Skilled Nursing?
Skilled nursing communities provide long-term residential senior care for aging adults whose needs can no longer be met at home or in a residential assisted living community. Alongside activities of daily living (ADL) support from professional caregivers, residents can receive around-the-clock care from registered nurses. Skilled nursing communities promote holistic health and well-being, encouraging and empowering residents to enjoy social connections, a nutritious diet, and engaging hobbies and activities.
Some skilled nursing communities like Chapin Home for the Aging also offer short-term rehabilitation and cardiac or wound care for individuals recovering from acute illness, injury, or surgery. These short-term residents are seniors who require daily support from a skilled nurse or rehabilitation specialist but do not need to remain in the hospital. Skilled nursing allows seniors to enjoy enhanced comfort, daily enrichment, and convenient amenities while they recover.
What are the Benefits of Skilled Nursing Communities?
Improved Safety and Care from a Multidisciplinary Team
In a skilled nursing facility, residents can receive coordinated care from a diverse internal and external healthcare provider team. Before moving in, a detailed care plan will be formulated based on a senior’s medical and ADL needs. Residents at Chapin Home have access to seamlessly coordinated care from professionals, including a medical director, registered nurses, social workers, podiatrists, surgeons, wound care specialists, cardiac specialists, psychiatrists, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists.
It’s common for seniors to become unsafe or need more confidence when living independently in a home that isn’t suited to their medical or mobility needs. Senior care communities are designed to support the practical needs of seniors facing various physical and cognitive challenges. For example, skilled nursing facilities feature accessible bathrooms with grab bars and wheel-in showers to reduce fall risk for residents. This accessible design, combined with hands-on support from a team of caregivers and professionals, means seniors can feel confident, safe, supported, and secure at all times.
Delicious Meals That Support Senior Health
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), healthy eating is helpful in the management of chronic health conditions. People with a healthy diet also tend to live longer and suffer fewer serious health problems. However, according to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), up to 50% of seniors may need help to get the proper nutrients. This can be influenced by factors like reduced mobility, lack of the stamina to cook a meal from start to finish, or poor mental health.
Skilled nursing residents typically have chronic health conditions or are recovering from an illness, injury, or surgery. Still, inadequate nutrition may hinder their ability to maintain good overall health and optimally recover. This is why communities like Chapin Home prioritize offering nutritionally dense, delicious meals that encourage seniors to enjoy food and reap the benefits of great nutrition. At Chapin Home, an in-house dietary team is responsible for providing residents with a varied diet that caters to taste, nutritional requirements, and cultural preferences when possible.
Enjoy an Easier, More Fulfilling Lifestyle
Moving to a skilled nursing community allows seniors to receive the medical and practical support they need, and it can also improve their lifestyle and overall well-being. Skilled nursing facilities offer various on-site services and amenities to make life easier and more fulfilling for seniors who require long-term ADL support and 24/7 nursing oversight for medical conditions.
Skilled nursing homes are great social communities, too, with many offering a range of activities and events each week. At Chapin Home, our residents enjoy music and arts programs, creative writing, social coffee cafes, ladies’, and men’s clubs, and much more. A dedicated professional activities coordinator oversees our dynamic activities schedule.
Arrange a Guided Tour of Chapin Home Today
Born from Hannah and Edwin Chapin’s simple philosophy of “what is your need, not your creed,” Chapin Home for the Aging has compassionately cared for Queens’ seniors for over 150 years. Striving to meet each resident’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs, we’re proud of the quality care we provide and the lifestyle our residents enjoy. To learn more about how Chapin Home’s skilled nurses and rehabilitation specialists can support you or your loved one, give us a call and organize a guided tour today.