Nursing Facilities: What is Myth and What is Fact?

Many people are not as informed regarding the different aspects of nursing facility care as they would like to be, and many have been misinformed as to what a nursing facility care encompasses and entails. A nursing facility, sometimes referred to as a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, is a communal residence that provides a high level of long-term personal or nursing care for elderly individuals who are unable to care for themselves properly. To help clear up some of the confusion regarding the purpose of nursing facilities, this post will list several myths regarding nursing facilities and provide facts that disprove these myths.

Myth #1: All The People Who Live In Nursing Facilities Are Dying

Nursing facilities provide medical services to individuals that have conditions that require continuous care. Many nursing facility residents are not dying, but rather need higher levels of care than can be provided by an assisted living facility.

Myth #2: Nursing Facility Is Another Term For Hospital

Nursing facilities are not hospitals, although they provide many types of medical and nursing care. In a nursing facility, residents are cared for while also maintaining as active a lifestyle as possible. Nursing facilities do not have restrictive visiting hours and the environment in a nursing facility is much less clinical than it is in a hospital. Additionally, nursing facilities offer activities to keep residents engaged in the community and that allow for socialization.

Myth #3: Residents of Nursing Facilities Lose All Their Independence

Nursing facilities respect and encourage independence as much as possible. Becoming afflicted with a condition that requires admittance into a nursing facility does not mean an individual is losing their independence, but simply that they need extra assistance with day-to-day tasks. Additionally, as long as they are not incapacitated, nursing facility residents retain all their legal rights and can make choices about their activities, schedule and health care, among other things.

Myth #4: There Is No Privacy In A Nursing Facility

In a nursing facility, residents’ rooms are considered private and staff will knock before entering. A resident’s room is their own domain and they are given as much personal space as is allowed for their medical care to still be provided in an effective manner. However, if residents want to engage socially, there are community areas in which they have the ability to do so.