What Is a Skilled Nursing Facility vs. Nursing Home?
When navigating the world of post-hospital care and residential care, families will often come across two terms that may be slightly unclear: skilled nursing facility and nursing home. While these terms are easily confused, they’re actually distinct and precise terms with key differences.
While both care for the sick and elderly, there are marked differences in level of care, services included, and length of stay for each.
Today, we’ll break down the differences between the two types of care so you ensure your family or loved ones get the appropriate care they deserve.
What Is a Skilled Nursing Facility?
A skilled nursing facility, also called SNF for short, is a medical care facility that offers both short-term rehabilitation services, as well as long-term care, for patients who need access to medical staff around-the-clock.
A skilled nursing facility is most often for people who have just left the hospital, but are not ready to go home yet, and still need constant care. It is often referred to as a “bridge” between hospital and home.
In some cases, such as patients with a chronic illness that requires constant medical attention, patients may stay indefinitely, but this is less common.
In all cases, skilled nursing services and medical treatment is provided by licensed medical professionals and is often coordinated under the care of a doctor. Care teams also almost always include different kinds of therapists, such as physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists.
Examples of care services include:
- IV therapy
- Wound care
- Physical/occupational/speech therapy
- Medication management
- Rehabilitation support after surgery or illness
- Cardiac care
- Dietary care
- Tube feedings
- Diabetes management
- Infectious disease management
- Surgery
The typical length of stay in a skilled nursing facility is short-term, with a goal-oriented recovery plan, although there are some exceptions.
What Is a Nursing Home?
A nursing home, also known as a long-term care facility or an elder care facility, is a residential option for people who need ongoing assistance with the activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Patients are usually elderly, but not always, and facilities may include people with chronic diseases or developmental disabilities.
A nursing home focuses on long-term care services rather than intense medical treatment. They are designed for people who may not be able to live independently and require help with the activities of daily living, such as:
- Bathing
- Eating
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Bathroom use
- Communication
The typical length of stays in nursing homes is long-term or as a permanent residence. Care typically does not focus on rehabilitation or intense medical care.
Key Differences Between Skilled Nursing Facilities and Nursing Homes
Understanding the key differences between SNF’s and nursing homes will help your family make the right decision for your loved ones when deciding the best place for them.
Level of Care
- Skilled nursing facility: SNFs offer care for cases with higher medical complexity, such as post-hospital recovery. They are most often for short-term recovery situations and are closer to a hospital than a nursing home.
- Nursing home: Nursing homes excel at supportive daily living care, for people who need help with daily activities, such as bathing. They provide life-long or permanent ongoing supervision.
Services Included
- Skilled nursing facility: SNFs provide daily skilled nursing services, therapies, and rehab. They also provide support for IV medication, different forms of therapies, such as speech, occupational, and physical therapy, and rehabilitation services for people who are expected to return home.
- Nursing home: Nursing homes offer individualized personal care, support for the activities of daily life, and social activities. Typically these facilities don’t offer intensive medical services outside of medication distribution.
Length of Stay
- Skilled nursing facility: Typically a skilled nursing facility will offer temporary stays focused on recovery. In some rare cases, for those with chronic health challenges, patients will stay indefinitely.
- Nursing home: Most often in nursing homes, the length of stay is indefinite or long-term.
Medical Treatment vs. Daily Care
- Skilled nursing facility: SNFs offer a hospital-like care environment for patients, where trained medical professionals can offer IV care services, medication management, and access to medical professionals around-the-clock.
- Nursing home: Nursing homes offer home-like environments, with supportive services for the things we must do daily, like bathing, eating, hygiene, and bathroom care.
Choosing the Right Option for Your Needs
Deciding between these two forms of care should begin first with assessing your loved one’s medical condition:
- Do they need access to nurses, doctors, and therapists daily? Or do they need more help with activities of daily living?
- Are they just being released from the hospital? Or are they looking for somewhere to stay long term?
- Do they have recovery goals? Or long-term needs?
If the answer to the former questions are “yes,” they likely need skilled nursing care. If the answers are “yes,” for the latter, then you should consider a nursing home.
However, you don’t need to make this decision alone. Your loved one’s doctor and other medical staff and medical coordinators can help in making the decision.
If You Need Skilled Nursing Care or A Nursing Home, Look No Further Than Monument Health Group
When looking for care for your loved ones, it is essential to match the level of care to individual needs. For those requiring daily medical care from trained medical professionals and are likely to recover, skilled nursing is appropriate. For those looking for help with the activities of daily life and are looking for somewhere to live indefinitely, a nursing home is the better choice. For either option, you can call Monument Health Group today.
