nursing home

nursing home

Facility for care (usually long-term) of patients who are not sick enough to need hospital care but are not able to remain at home. Historically, most residents were elderly or ill or had chronic irreversible and disabling disorders, and medical and nursing care was minimal. Today nursing homes have a more active role in health care, helping patients prepare to live at home or with a family member when possible. They help conserve expensive hospital facilities for the acutely ill and improve the prospects of the chronically disabled. However, quality of care varies widely, and the potential for abuse exists.

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nursing home

1. a private hospital or residence staffed and equipped to care for aged or infirm persons

2. Brit a private maternity home

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nursing home

A building or part thereof used for the lodging, boarding, and nursing care, on a 24-hr basis, of four or more persons who, because of mental or physical incapacity, may be unable to provide for their own needs and safety without the assistance of another person; provides facilities and services primarily for in-patients who require nursing care and related medical services less intense than those given in a general hospital or an extended-care facility.