During the nineteenth and the twentieth century, the term "nursing home" was synonymous with long-term care. Although today the exclusive use of the term "long-term care" is no longer accurate for nursing homes, it continues to remain and will not change easily. However, newer terms such as "nursing facilities" will help clarify the role of specific long-term care organizations and will differentiate them from others in the health care industry.
Subacute care is a relatively new but rapidly growing medical service in the continuum of care. Today, it is considered the fastest growing segment of the health care delivery system.
Research the online references such as EBSCOhost, SocINDEX, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), or PubMed for information on nursing facilities and subacute units and respond to the following questions:
• Do you agree with the change in the terminology of nursing homes to nursing facilities? Why or why not? How do the terms relate with each other?
• What impact does the historical perspective of the nursing home have on the stigma related to the quality of care?
• How were nursing facilities developed? What have been the consequences of the change in terminology? Do you think the change in terminology will impact the quality of care in the future? If yes, how? If no, why?
• What changes do you see nursing homes making in the future in order to keep up with the ever changing needs of the demographics of seniors?
• What are subacute units? How did subacute care emerge? What are the strengths and limitations of the emergence of subacute care in long-term care as related to issues in levels of patients' acuity (various levels of nursing care based on the needs of patients)? Support your answer with relevant examples.
• What is the impact of subacute care on the cost and quality of care? Do you think subacute care needs to be an integral component of hospitals, or should it be an integral part of the long-term care system? Provide a rationale for your answer.
Based on your learning about nursing home care and subacute care, compare their funding, staffing, regulation, and marketing.