Skilled Nursing Facility for Seniors

What Is a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)?

Patients go to an SNF to continue their recovery after an illness, injury, surgery, or release from the hospital. They usually remain at an SNF until they are well enough to go home.

More often than not, skilled nursing facilities meet the criteria for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, making this type of care available for and accessible to many patients with temporary medical conditions.

Skilled Nursing Services

Besides basic nursing care, skilled nursing facilities offer many other types of services. These include:

• Medication management
• Pain management
• Assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) like dressing, bathing, and eating

SNFs also offer various types of therapy that commonly include:

• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech therapy

Skilled nursing facilities offer specialized care for patients dealing with particular conditions. The most common offerings by SNFs across the country include these services:

• Stroke recovery: SNFs provide various therapies to help stroke patients regain mobility, speech, and daily living skills.
• Wound care: A common practice at SNFs is to manage surgical wounds, pressure ulcers, and diabetic ulcers.
• Acute medical conditions: Patients transitioning from hospitals often need treatment for infections, pneumonia, and post-surgical complications that require IVs or close medical monitoring.
• Chronic disease management: SNFs provide care to stabilize patients that have diabetes and heart disease. These patients are often too ill to return home or resume independent living.
• Orthopedic recovery: Rehabilitation following hip fractures, knee replacements, and other orthopedic surgeries helps patients improve mobility and is almost universally offered by SNFS.

Skilled Nursing Care vs. a Nursing Home

Seniors undergoing short-term and medically necessary rehabilitation get skilled nursing care on a temporary basis.

On the other hand, they reside at a nursing home indefinitely when they can’t care for themselves. Thus, a nursing home often becomes a permanent residence. Nursing homes provide custodial care. Residents can receive 24-hour care as well as room and board. Many nursing homes also have special wings for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia patients.

SNFs therefore differ from nursing homes in the type of care and length of stay. Here is how they compare in care, cost, and staffing:

• Care: SNFs offer a higher level of care than nursing homes. SNFs enlist specialized medical staff to address intensive care needs. Nursing homes, however, primarily cater to long-term care patients. So, their focus is more on daily assistance, caregiving, and support services for residents with chronic conditions over the long haul.
• Cost: SNFs are typically less expensive than nursing homes as they’re for short-term stays and focus on rehabilitation or post-acute care. Nursing homes, on the other hand, provide long-term care for patients with chronic conditions and higher levels of ongoing care, which leads to higher overall expenses. Medicare may cover skilled nursing facility admissions (they cover up to 100 days of skilled nursing services), but does not cover nursing home care.1
• Staffing: Both SNFs and nursing homes are alike in that they include nursing staff, an executive director, a medical director, occupational and physical therapists, speech pathologists, activities directors, and housekeeping and maintenance staff. As we mentioned SNFs differ in that they’re designed for shorter stays and employ more specialized medical staff.

Skilled Nursing vs. Assisted Living

Skilled nursing facilities are geared for temporary stays until a patient’s health improves enough so they can go home.

Assisted living communities are built to be a permanent residence for seniors who are pretty healthy and can live on their own. Assisted living facilities offer amenities and social activities as well as help with everyday tasks.  By and large, seniors at assisted living facilities can still live independently.

Benefits of a Skilled Nursing Facility

The services a patient receives at a skilled nursing facility are crucial to their recovery. These services usually fall under the umbrella of transitional care since they often follow hospitalization and remain in place until the patient improves enough to go home.

Here are benefits of an SNF:

• A tailored care plan
• Constant monitoring and supervision
• Daily assistance with tasks
• Medication management
• Reduced risk of injury
• Reduced risk of family caregiver burnout
• Social activities to get involved in
• Care is focused on your recovery

Cost of Skilled Nursing

As of 2024, the cost of a semi private room at a skilled nursing facility runs about $284 per day. Even if your stay is only temporary, skilled nursing costs can add up quickly. Medicare covers the cost of a skilled nursing facility for a limited time under certain conditions, but not for long-term care. It’s best to check your individual benefits to see what you are covered for.

Medicare services that are covered typically include:3

• Meals
• Semi-private room
• Skilled nursing care
• Medication
• Medical social services

It’s important to check your individual benefits to see what may be covered for you and if you’re eligible.

Questions to Ask About Skilled Nursing Facilities

As with any type of care facility, you want to know what type of services you can expect and ensure the facility meets your needs.

Here are some things to consider:

• Can the facility take care of my specific needs? If you are recovering from a stroke or specific illness, ask how that condition is taken care of on a daily basis.
• Check reports and violations. See what, if any, violations or problems the facility has had in the past and how they have dealt with them.
• Consider if the facility is close enough for family to visit. If your family plans to visit on a regular basis, you want to choose a facility that isn’t too far away.
• What types of activities are offered? Ask about social activities and daily exercise.

Is There a Skilled Nursing Facility Near Me?

If there is a local facility near you, schedule a tour to get a feel for the skilled nursing environment. Depending on the situation, ask to speak with not only the director, but current patients to see how they rate the care at the facility.

Know that if you do want to find skilled nursing near you for yourself or a loved one, we can help. Search our extensive database of available skilled nursing facilities in your area. Just type in your ZIP code and let us do the rest.

If you need assistance over the phone or would like to talk to someone about covering skilled nursing costs, give us a call. We can discuss your medical needs and recommend a skilled nursing facility that meets your requirements. We can also walk you through skilled nursing costs and payment options. Our team can also help you determine if your Medicare, Medicaid, or Medigap plan covers your skilled nursing costs.