Many people look for solutions at a senior rehabilitation center when their loved one needs help recovering from an accident or health problem.
Professional senior rehab can provide a variety of therapies and leading-edge medical techniques to help seniors regain their health and independence.
The benefits of choosing the right follow-up care facility don’t just end when the physiotherapy is complete. The ability to seamlessly transition to a senior living community afterward can have additional positive effects.
This article will look at what you need to know about choosing the proper follow-up care after surgery or a hospital stay that ensures your loved one has the best opportunities to get back to happy living.
Common reasons for rehabilitation services
Physicians often recommend rehabilitation services for one or more of these health conditions including (but are not limited to):
- A joint injury or replacement
- Major fractures
- Aneurysms
- Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis or other degenerative diseases
- Stroke or brain injury
- Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or heart attack
- Arthritis or osteoporosis
- Cancer and post-cancer treatment care
- Mobility issues
What senior care means at rehabilitation centers
Senior rehab is a term that skilled nursing professionals use to describe the method of returning patients to their maximum potential functionality after suffering a traumatic event.
In other words, these senior rehab facilities enable older adults to return to the activities of daily living to the best of everyone’s abilities.
Senior rehabilitation centers frequently offer a wide variety of care services and care options from health care workers. These services might include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, or consultations with social workers.
Therapy may vary between outpatient treatment or inpatient rehab, short-term care or long-term care and may also be part of the transition to an assisted living community.
What to expect in rehabilitation centers
Senior rehabilitation centers are different from old-style nursing homes and nursing home facilities. Inpatient health care provides supervision and treatment for patients 24 hours a day, closely monitoring their progress and health care.
Days tend to be fully structured, with patients participating in prescribed inpatient rehabilitation from their physicians, including follow-up care from skilled nursing.
In addition, aid or nursing services include daily activities like grooming, eating, bathing, and dressing.
Patients will generally have semi-private or private rooms. Frequently, there will be a senior living facility available with ample dining and common areas for socialization. Depending on their level of care and rehabilitation, group activities might also be available for patients.
The duration and type of senior care will vary depending on the severity of their condition and their progress.
Rehab center staff work closely with patients’ physicians to adjust their care plans accordingly. In many cases, Medicaid and Medicare will only cover the senior rehab services a doctor orders and has certified as medically necessary.
Transitioning to long-term care at an assisted living community
While specific programs can be completed with home care and others as short-term rehabilitation, still others may lead to a need for long-term care.
Your loved one may have already transitioned to an assisted living facility before the traumatic event led them to a hospital stay. Or they may have been living in a private home before the event.
Regardless of their prior living situation, transitioning to an assisted living community after a hospital stay can present challenges for both patients and caregivers.
Benefits of a senior rehabilitation center
As we showed earlier, hospitalizations can happen suddenly and from a wide array of medical issues—from cardiac events to simple dehydration. Coping with changes in personal abilities and living arrangements might also be emotionally trying.
Having experience and an understanding of post-hospitalization can help loved ones avoid unnecessary stresses in these scenarios.
Also, if your loved one becomes frailer after their traumatic event, the benefits of having dedicated long-term care facilities immediately become apparent.
Crucial communication between skilled nursing and caregivers
The need to maintain lines of communication between loved ones, their caregivers and their assisted living communities becomes quickly apparent after hospital stays.
Trips to hospitals may only take a few hours as an outpatient, or they might be extended stays for weeks. All parties must be kept up to date about the patient’s status in these cases. Many senior rehabilitation centers will be able to keep the patient’s privately paid bed on hold while hospitalization continues.
Possible hospital-induced delirium
Elderly hospitalized individuals are at a higher risk of cognitive decline following their hospital stay.
A recent study by health care researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that decline of cognitive skills was more than double in older patients who were non-electively hospitalized.
Older individuals who leave the hospital may be in better physical condition compared to when they arrived, but the brain may need extra time to heal from the ordeal.
In addition, anesthesia and antibiotics can contribute to a kind of ‘haziness’ for weeks or months after seniors have been discharged.
Disorientation generally lessens with reintroducing a structured routine in a healthy, enriching environment—however, patients with dementia problems like Alzheimer’s risk worsening cognitive decline because of hospitalization.
Choosing The Kensington Sierra Madre Senior Rehabilitation Center
Acceptance of new reality can be trying for the best of us. If rehabilitation services are necessary for residents, Our Promise is to treat them as we would our own family. We give them the time and ability to focus on healing for as long as needed.
The Kensington Sierra Madre is proud to partner with HealthPRO® Heritage, an outstanding regional leader in therapy services. Together, we offer comprehensive senior rehabilitation services, promote acute health education, and expand the wellness opportunities for your loved ones.
This vibrant partnership provides support by offering the latest full-service assisted-living solutions.
On-site skilled nursing services maintain progress through occupational, speech, and physical therapy. We also offer a dynamic calendar of social activities through our life enrichment team.
See how we can help your loved one transition to a senior living or assisted living community by contacting The Kensington Sierra Madre. Together, we can meet their need for rehabilitation services and get back to enjoying life.