Nursing home planning is an important part of getting the right care as you age. Many people end up needing either home care or nursing home care, either on a temporary basis or a permanent basis, as a result of health ailments or injuries. The older you get, the greater your chances of ending up in a nursing home, at least for some time. In fact, the Wall Street Journal indicates a senior over 65 has a 40 percent chance of needing to move to a nursing home and a 20 percent chance of having to stay there for a time exceeding five years. 
Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates helps seniors to understand their care options. Just recently, for example, CT Post reported on a visiting nursing service of Connecticut. The nursing service was experiencing an exciting milestone. It had made its 10 millionth visit.
Nursing services can often be an ideal answer for seniors who want to try to stay in their homes or live independently, and you should consider exploring the option of visiting nurses or home care with your Connecticut nursing home planning lawyer.
Visiting Nursing Service Makes its 10 Millionth Visit
The visiting nursing service in Connecticut which was the subject of the recent CT Post report was actually started in 1909 and it initially consisted of one nurse who had a traveling bicycle and who visited the homes of patients during an outbreak of Tuberculosis. The service has now grown to become one of the largest non-profit home health organizations in the entirety of Connecticut. Once called the Visiting Nurse Association of Bridgeport, it provides service today throughout Fairfield, New Haven, and Litchfield Counties.
The Association is now called Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut, and it employs 450 healthcare professionals who make approximately 250,000 visits each year to around 9,000 patients throughout Connecticut. The nurses visit the elderly, people who are sick, people who are injured, and those who are at the end of their lives. When it passed the 10 million visit milestone recently, it was a testament to all of the patients which the nursing care service has helped.
Visiting nursing services have increasingly expanded the responsibilities that they take on in recent years, becoming an “effective frontline provider of healthcare services.” In many cases, services which previously required a doctor’s office visit can now be done in the home. Advances in technology have helped to expand the scope of services provided. This has made it much easier for people to recover in their own home and it has made it possible for seniors to remain in their own homes longer. As the boomer generation ages and demand increases for healthcare services, visiting nurses will likely step in to take on an even bigger role in providing care.
Exploring Options for Nursing Care and Nursing Home Planning
If you or a family member is sick or aging and you are concerned that nursing care may soon be required, it is important to look into options. Working with a visiting nurses association could perhaps make it possible to stay independent for longer, with the patient continuing to live in his or her own home or with the patient living in a family member’s home but receiving professional caregiving services.
It is important to consider what living environment is best, as well as the costs of different care options. There is limited coverage available through Medicare for either nursing home or home care services, but Medicaid can provide broader coverage for different kinds of services that patients may need. Working with a Connecticut nursing home planning lawyer in advance of the time when care is needed is important so you can make a plan for how care will be provided when it becomes necessary and so you can make a plan for how the costs of care should be paid for.
Getting Help from a Connecticut Nursing Home Planning Lawyer
A Connecticut nursing home planning lawyer at Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates can assist you in exploring all options for care, including nursing home care or having a nurse come to your home. We help you to make the best choices for getting care for yourself or your family, and we will also assist you in addressing issues of how this care can be paid for.
To learn more about making advanced plans in case you need nursing home or home care, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 860-548-1000 or contact us online to talk with an experienced attorney who cares about helping you get the care required. Contact us now to find out more.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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