Skilled Nursing Facilities for Long Term Care Health, Medicine Essay (Essay Sample)

Skilled Nursing Facilities for Long Term Care
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
A skilled nursing facility is described as an in-patient healthcare establishment that takes in patients in need of long-term care, whereby professional services are provided by healthcare practitioners with a specialization in specific therapeutic services. As such, the care provided in a skilled nursing facility is provided to patients who require treatment, management, observation, and evaluation. In this regard, these healthcare services are provided by practitioners such as registered nurses, therapists, vocational nurses, or speech and audio therapists. In some instances, comparisons are usually made between skilled nursing facilities and hospitals. However, it is worth noting that a hospital focuses on the provision of specialized care by nurses and other specialized physicians. However, a skilled nursing facility focuses on providing acute care after one is discharged from a healthcare facility. For instance, in a situation where the patient has suffered some life-threatening injuries or has recently undergone surgery, post-acute care is provided either in a hospital setting or at home. Some of the post-acute care services provided include trauma, pediatric, emergency, and rehabilitative care (Grabowski et al., 2011). The following essay will focus on skilled nursing facilities by analyzing some of its pros and cons, certification requirements, regulations that cover its operations, and a reflection on core values that mirror the functionality of skilled nursing facilities.