A nursing home is a medical care facility that houses patients who are unable to care for themselves or are in need of supervised, around the clock medical care. A nursing home should be able to provide its patients with the resources they need to have a successful and comfortable lifestyle. Nursing homes are generally designed for patients looking for long-term care placement or rehabilitation assistance until they are able to function independently.
Provide Quality Care
One of the most important duties of a nursing home staff is to provide quality care. This means making sure that every patient's needs are met through the assistance of management, nursing, social work and spiritual care. A medical director or on-staff physician can evaluate and diagnosis patients who cannot get out to see a primary care physician. Keeping patients healthy, stimulated and clean is a huge part of quality care duties.
Hire and Train Qualified Staff
An important aspect to fulfilling duties of a nursing home include hiring and training a qualified care team. This means making sure the correct ratio of nurses, certified nursing aids and social workers are available to care for the number of patients in the facility. Once the staff is in place, making sure to check on licenses and continuing education credits is important to ensure quality of care. This is usually done by a QC manager. Providing annual training within the staff is also important so employees are reminded to follow facility guidelines pertaining to care and safety.
IDT Meeting
Holding IDT (interdisciplinary team) meetings is an important part of a nursing home. These meetings include management, medical director or physicians, pharmacists, nurses, certified nursing aids, social workers, occupational therapists, spiritual care and other care team members. They gather together at regular intervals, generally every 30 days to discuss and make changes or alterations to each patient's care plan.
Fulfill Safety Standards
A nursing home must fulfill safety standards. This includes safety standards related to both direct and indirect patient care. Safety precautions include handling spills and cross contamination. Others may include safety drills pertaining to fire, tornado or earthquake. Knowing how to properly move and care for special needs patients or those who are immobile or bed ridden may also fall under fulfilling proper safety standards.
Treat Residents With Respect
Making sure that residents or patients are treated with respect and dignity should be of the highest priority for all staff members and volunteers. Because many patients are unable to care for themselves, they rely on medical staff for assistance. Staff must follow the laws of HIPAA by not discussing patient information with other residents or unauthorized personnel. Patients should be clothed and presentable at all times and given privacy if they are distraught or seeking to be groomed or bathed.
