Smart Care:
When a Loved One is in a Nursing Home
By: Wendy Meltzer
This guide is intended to help a resident get the care she needs and to which she is legally entitled, from the day she first enters the nursing home. You will see that throughout this guide, we refer to the resident as "your mother." This is because most nursing home residents are women, and the people most likely to be concerned about their care are their children. What we tell you is equally applicable to male and female residents, and to all the friends and relatives who want to help them.
The guide is organized in two parts.
PART ONE discusses general issues everybody will likely encounter. Because we do not want to overwhelm you with more information than you need at any time, we have tried to put the material in PART ONE in the order you are likely to need it. We start with what you need to know and do before the resident moves in, then with what to expect on the first day, and then with issues that arise later.
PART TWO discusses more technical, health care related issues. These include the use of retraints and psychotropic drugs, preventing falls, malnutrition and dehydration, good skin care, and infection control.
At the back of the guide you will find a glossary of common nursing home terms and jargon. Terms that appear in the glossary are written like this the first time they appear in any chapter. You will also find a long form called the Minimum Data Set that nursing homes use to assess a resident's abilities and needs. CHAPTER 14 explains in detail how to use the Minimum Data Set.
Or take a sneak peek first:
- Table of Contents
- Chapter One: Before Your Mother Enters The Nursing Home
- Appendix One: Minimum Data Set with Triggers