elder-helper

Untrue myths

"A nursing home is just a place people go to die." - This is completely untrue. Nursing homes today
are completely different from the homes just 40 years ago. People who feel that nursing homes are a "last
stop" probably have not visited one in a long time or ever. Most nursing homes are a combination of
sub-acute rehab and long term care. Some even have assisted living units and independent living areas.
Some are as small as 30 beds and as large as 700. Typical nursing homes are full of activity and life!
There is usually a tremendous variety of people with ages ranging from middle age to centurions. Some
residents are completely independent while others may be comatose. Some are very involved in day to
day activities while others are happy and content with solitude, enjoying the peace & quiet in their own
rooms. It is true that some residents are admitted near the end of their life to receive comfort care. It is
also true that some seniors dread the idea of moving into a nursing home for several reasons.

"If a nursing home is bad enough, the state will shut it down." - Unfortunately this is untrue. The
state (or government) cannot afford to shut nursing homes down. They are not in the business of running
state owned homes. The cost would be enormous. The truth is, when a nursing home closes it's because
the owners chose to close it down, not because they were forced to. The most powerful punishment the
state governing agency can administer to a nursing home is "denial of Medicare and Medicaid payment."
A rarely used option is for the state to revoke the nursing home license which would effectively shut it
down. When a nursing home is in a period of "denial of payment", they usually continue to operate
anyway. Reasons are….
1. They will continue to admit new residents that pay privately.
2. They will admit residents that are normally Medicare and/or Medicaid and eat the cost hoping that
they will fix the issues and return to being reimbursed in the near future. This is a face saving measure. It
would be a marketing nightmare if the general public was told, "sorry, we are not taking any admissions
because we are in a period of denial of payment." This would hurt the homes reputation and make
admission more difficult in the future. It's best to pretend like nothing is wrong!

If a home is unable to clear their deficiencies and remain in a period of denial of payment too long, they
will eventually choose to close the home due to a lack of funds.

"Nursing home nurses are different than hospital nurses." - Nursing homes have a variety of
nurse professionals. There are LPNs (Licensed Practical Nurse), RN's (Registered Nurse) and NP's
(Nurse Practitioners). Nursing home nurses go to the same schools and take the same state nursing
board exam as any other nurse in any other field of practice. Some nursing home nurses come from
hospitals. Some hospitals have former nursing home nurses. If a nursing home nurse only works in a
home their entire career, they may miss out on some experiences that other nurses may have like nurses
who work in a hospital ICU.

"If I have an issue with a nursing home and I threaten to call the 'state', they will resolve my
problem quicker." - I hate to break the bad news to you but nope, that won't work. The reason is that
the facility will work to resolve all issues regardless of threats. The have no interest in not resolving the
issue. Please see my page on "Effective Complaining."

"Abuse and neglect are common problems in nursing homes." - Fortunately this is not true.
Nursing homes have advanced greatly in the area of resident's rights in the past 40 years. Staff receive
annual training on resident rights and all nurses and nurse aides are required to receive continuing
education. That's not to say it never happens because it does. Many states are now passing laws
requiring all health care staff to pass criminal back ground checks and be finger printed after hiring. Many
measures have now been put in place to reduce all forms of neglect.

"If I move into a nursing home, Medicare or my private long-term care insurance will pay for
my stay." - Unfortunately, no. If you move into a nursing home to live there long term, Medicare is not
going to pay for your room and board, only skilled care like therapy or skilled nursing care for a
maximum of 100 days, with a few rare exceptions. Click this link for details on Medicare coverage.
Long-term care insurance varies greatly on what your plan covers. Generally it only covers a brief
amount of time in a Nursing home. Many residents are shocked to find out their policy only pays for a
few weeks. It is very important to read the fine print in a long-term care insurance policy before
purchasing. If you are planning to move into a home to live permanently, you will need to pay out of
pocket if you do not have Medicaid. According to the annual MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home
& Home Care Costs, the average private pay cost for a private room in a nursing home is $205/day as
of 2005. The rates nation wide ranged from a low of $115/day in Louisiana to a high of $531/day in
Alaska (that's $193,815 a year!). The rules "never assume" and "you get what you pay for" definitely
apply here.