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Introduction
Health care delivery systems
were previously exclusive to hospital services. However, in the previous
decades with the rapid increase in the population of the older age groups
nursing homes have become an established specialized health care delivery
system. The importance of nursing homes is expected to persist in the
future because every person will inevitably experience ageing and the
manifestations of ageing. The primary condition requiring health care in
nursing homes is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a
neurodegenerative disorder. The disease
is not part of the normal ageing process. Nonetheless, the risk of having
this disease is higher in older people. (Edwards et. al., 1998).
Because it is progressive,
the person suffering from the illness is not the only one affected. The
entire community of people in which the person is part is affected. The
person with Alzheimer’s disease, in the latter stages, may suffer from
dementia to the extent of becoming disoriented about their surroundings,
oblivious of family members and friends, and unaware of their needs and
wants. (Doble, 1997)
Discussion
Nursing homes provide
specialized health care services to their patients. The different aspects
of health care provided includes the promotion of the health of the ageing
population by informing patients, their families and the community on how
to take care of their health through information drives and community
outreach programs. In the nursing care facility, patients are monitored to
prevent them from incurring diseases through supervised exercise and diet.
Primary health care is available through the regular check-ups given to
patients as well as a clean and healthy environment of patients through
assisted hygiene and sanitation regimens. Specialist care is readily
available to patients such as geriatric care, psychogeriatric care as well
as palliative care services. Nursing homes provide both long term and
intermediate care in the nursing care facility, the residence of the
patient and in the community in general. In sum, nursing homes provide the
health needs of patients who cannot or who have trouble in providing it
for themselves.
Nursing care in
homes for the aged contributes to the management of health care resources
of the facility by implementing a uniform system of guidelines in
determining and prioritizing the particular needs of each patient as well
as coordinating the tasks of every personnel to achieve optimum results.
Although this is difficult to achieve and goes through the trial and error
phase prior to arriving at an effective system, resources are effectively
managed in the long run. One aspect of resource management system is
identifying patients with common needs, scheduling activities to ensure
that needs are provided at the right time and choosing activities
appropriate to the patient to prevent waste of time, effort and material
resources.
Even in nursing
homes, there is also a health care continuum because the physical
conditions of patients vary. There are patients who can support their body
and capable of walking and fending for their needs. However, there are
also patients undergoing palliative care that developed serious illness or
experiencing the latter stages of ageing. Health care systems play an
important role in this transition process through the health care workers
and management. On one hand, it is the health care workers who are aware
of the condition of the patients and who can determine whether there is
need for transition from one aspect of care to another. On the other hand,
it is the health care management team that develops a system of
determining the appropriate time and manner of transition and the
procedure and formalities that should be followed by the staff based on
the effective experiences of the staff. A common problem of transition in
health care facilities is the requirement of payment prior to the transfer
of a patient from one aspect of health care to another. However, in the
case of nursing homes, funding involves welfare subsidies that in a way
solve the problem of payment.
Conclusion
Nursing homes
comprise a significant health care delivery system in every community. Its
importance is supported by both the specialized care that it provides and
social implications of its existence. However, nursing homes also have
different classifications in the same way that hospitals have different
accreditation status. To provide effective health care services, there
should be a uniform standard issued by the appropriate government
authorities that regulate the operations of nursing homes, an in-house
standard complying with the national standard but fitted to the particular
operations of the facility and health care personnel who are qualified and
trained.
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