If you have a serious and long-term illness, you are probably concerned about becoming a burden to the people in your life you love and who love you. This is a common fear among people in a long-term facility. This fear surpasses the fear of death for many. This is also what leads some to go into a short-term rehabilitation care facility after a surgery or sudden medical problem.
If you are looking into a short-term rehabilitation care facility, here are some things to look for and ask when picking one.
Talk to your health insurance carrier about in-network facilities. Talk to them about the different facilities they have. They may have information beyond who is in the network and who is not. Some have different rating systems. Talk to them about their recommendations.
Talk to your friends and family.You may know someone who has been in a short-term rehabilitation care facility and they may have recommendations. It is always good to get a recommendation from someone who has been to the center or has known someone who has. They may also have suggestions about place you should avoid at all costs.
Talk to your doctor. The doctor treating you for the condition for which you want to enter a short-term rehabilitation care center knows best exactly what kind of care you will need and probably knows the best places to provide it. Not all facilities offer the same services, nor do they offer the same level of care. Going to a facility that focuses more on stroke or heart care may not work if you are having your hip replaced.
Go to the short-term rehabilitation care facility. If you can, you should visit the facility. Do this unannounced and ask to take a look at what they have to offer. Take in the whole feel of the place. How do the people who are there are the time look? Are they happy? Do they look well cared for? How are the staff? Are they willing to answer your questions? Do they engage the current residents? All of these things make a difference. If you do not like the way they treat the people there when you visit, go someplace else as you will be one of those people if you do not.
Do they have the equipment you will need in your recovery? Different conditions require different things for recovery. You may need help with balance after a surgery, what do they have to help you with that? Ask them detailed questions about this sort of thing. You need specific answers not a generic, “We have stuff to help with that.”
Do they have a particular emphasis? As already mentioned, some short-term rehabilitation care facilities will specialize in a condition or injury and only pay passing attention to others. You need a place that, even if they do not totally specialize in your issue, can give you and your problem the attention you need and deserve.
Where is it? You want a place that is close enough so that your friends and family can come visit often enough to make the experience as pleasant as possible for everyone. Having this experience can change how successful your rehab is.
Both long and short-term rehabilitation care facilities offer a lot to their residents. When people enter retirement, for instance, they worry about maintaining their independent living arrangements. The irony is that people who enter retirement communities and up being much happier than they ever expected they would be. This could be because they find more opportunities to meet new people and engage in activities they like in a senior living community than their home. Today, the average person retires at 63, which is pretty young. You have a lot of living to do after 63.
Regardless of the reason you are looking for a long or short-term rehabilitation care facility, the things to look for are pretty much the same. You need to know it is a place that can help you with your medical problem and be happy there. Luckily, there are a lot of facilities all over the country that you can choose from. Do your research and you will find one you like.
