It is common for rural hospitals and nursing homes to operate as a single unit in order to take advantage of savings related to cost-sharing of some services and staff.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Traditional nursing facilities are sterile institutions rather than homes - which is why many Americans do not want to live in one or want this as their only option for themselves or their family members.
The Medicaid system currently steers people toward nursing home care. Far more people can be covered in community-based care programs for significantly less.
In Turkey, you're not allowed to be left alone in the hospital. The nurse teaches the family how to do things, and somebody is always there with the patient.
Studies have indicated there is a strong correlation between the shortages of nurses and morbidity and mortality rates in our hospitals.
Most Americans have some experience with nursing homes or other long term care settings, and nearly half have had a family member or close friend in a home in the past three years.
Community health centers do a great deal with limited resources. They provide critical medical care services to many who would otherwise have no other place to go or would end up in an emergency room.
The advantage that hospitals have over other institutions is that hospitals are community-based. You can't outsource your work; you can't move your emergency department to Pakistan.
In Illinois, community, migrant, homeless and public housing health centers operate 268 primary care sites and serve close to 1 million patients every year.
Sick people, particularly those with serious conditions, greatly prefer the company of their friends and family to residence in a hospital or nursing home.
When healthcare is at its best, hospitals are four-star hotels, and nurses, personal butlers at the ready - at least, that's how many hospitals seem to interpret a government mandate.