The Right Care In The Right Place

As an agency that advocates for elders, MVES strives to ensure that seniors receive the best possible care in the setting of their choice. Most often, this setting is their home where they feel most comfortable. However, because of injury or illness, some elders may need the 24-hour care offered by nursing homes at some point in their lives.

Starting on June 1, MVES, at the request of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, began working more closely with nursing homes to make certain that some patients who have the potential for discharge from a nursing home facility can return to the community as soon as possible.

Working with nursing home staff or hospital discharge planners in its eight-community service area, MVES arranges an in-person assessment. One of nine Registered Nurses from MVES visits with the elder to determine if an extended nursing home stay is in the person’s best interest. The MVES nurse assesses the elder’s health, ability to perform activities of daily living, and future health concerns. The on-site assessment also allows the nurse to meet with the person’s family and discuss individual needs and wishes.

Why are these nursing home assessments good? They’re good because instead of a stack of reports dictating a nursing home resident’s future care, a trained professional helps the person, and his or her family, determine what is best for all involved. Elders should be aware of their ability to return to their homes with the help of personal care services and community support. In addition to performing a holistic assessment, the nurses help elders understand the availability of community resources.

MVES looks forward to working with the quality nursing homes in our area to ensure that elders receive the right care in the right place.