There are three separate levels of nursing. All nurses are required to be licensed through their state board for the state in which they practice. This should give you an idea of whom you should talk to if you have any questions.
A Certified Nursing Assistant (CAN) assists with the daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, serving meals, making beds and several of the simple tasks of daily life. They know a great deal about the residents needs and condition.
A Licensed Professional Nurse (LPN) gives medications and necessary prescribed medical treatments on a timed scheduled. They are responsible for identifying any major changes in a residents medical condition and communicating these changes to the appropriate physicians.
A Registered Nurse (RN) can do everything a LPN can do; however, RNs can be in supervisory positions such as Unit Directors, Assistant Director of Nursing, Director of Nursing, with direct access to consultation from In-service Instructors, Case Managers, and Specialists from various fields.
The Director of Nurses (DON) is in charge of all the nurses and has the overall responsibility of resident care. He/she is also the individual responsible for the nursing homes compliance with all the state and federal nursing home laws.
Nursing Home Rehab and Special Services
Rehabilitation services are always available at Nursing Homes. Either the specialists are on-staff or on-call. Besides podiatrists, eye doctors, dentists and x-ray technicians, some services that are routinely provided include the following:
Physical Therapy helps build muscles in the back and lower extremities and helps individuals move around better with their new handicap.
Occupational Therapy helps build muscles in the upper extremities. They also help train people on ways to accomplish daily living activities such as bathing, dressing and eating through the use of special adaptive equipment.
Speech Therapy helps restore cognitive skills and increase the ability to communicate. Treats swallowing disorders and helps to increase the ability to ingest required nourishment's.
Respiratory Therapy helps treat breathing disorders.
Psychological Services helps to ease residents minds about the changes he/she is going through or the possible reactions he/she may be experiencing from certain medications.
Social Services. Each facility is required by law to have a Social Services person on staff. This person helps resolve resident problems. They can also help deal with legal, medical and social situations that are affecting their residents.
Residents of a nursing home have many special needs. Consequently, there are many different special departments in a Nursing Home such as:
The Dietary Staff makes the dietary assessments and determines the nutritional needs of the residents. They are also responsible to monitor all intake for each resident and record it.
The Activities Staff coordinates entertainment, religious services, music activities, outside activities and individualized activity therapy.
The Maintenance Staff is responsible for all buildings and ground repairs, renovation projects, preventive maintenance and security.
The Housekeeping Staff deals with the cleanliness of the facility.
To supervise all of the above mentioned, there is a separate Administrative Staff which includes:
The Executive Director or Administrator must be licensed by the state and takes full responsibility for all departments in the facility.
The Assistant Administrator who may have experience in Nursing, Social Services, Business, Medical Records or some area of the nursing home.
The Admissions Director takes care of all nursing home admissions.
The Medical Records Staff helps to keep track of all legally required medical record keeping.
The Business Office Staff includes the Accounting Department, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and a medical secretary.
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