Nursing Homes in Tennessee

Overview of Tennessee Nursing Homes

Tennessee is a state located in the Southeastern region of United States. Tennessee is bordered by Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi to the north, North Carolina to the east, Virginia to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. Tennessee boasts a population of approximately 6,400,000 people. The state is comprised of a humid subtropical climate where most summers are generally hot and humid with an average of 32 degrees Centigrade. Winters on the other hand are mild to cool. The University of Tennessee Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are both nationally ranked hospitals, making Tennessee nursing homes well equipped to assist aging seniors.

Nursing Homes in Tennessee Defined

There are various Tennessee senior healthcare facilities existing, and these include assisted living, homes for the aged, home health agency, hospice and nursing homes.
Tennessee nursing homes are professionally designed medical facilities ideal for 65+ year olds. Such facilities may also provide long term care to chronically ill individuals. In Tennessee there are nursing facilities that provide rehabilitative services to individuals who want quick recovery from recent hospitalization. There are also dedicated medical units customized for individuals suffering from specialized complications like Alzheimer’s disease.

Other services provided by Tennessee nursing homes for the aged include;

• 24-hour supervised nursing care
• Personalized attention
• Therapy services
• Social Services
• Nutrition management
• Laundry services

Regulation of Tennessee Nursing Homes

The Tennessee Department of Health is the oversight authority in Tennessee that mandates medical facilities licensing. This particular division is substantially invested in healthcare provision, and as a result, various medical facilities such as ambulatory surgical treatment centers, nursing homes, and hospitals have been established. In addition, the Tennessee Department of Health also conducts various federal certification surveys in order to investigate different facility complaints, and at the same time conducts issuance and collection of federal civil monetary penalties.

In order to ensure quality service, Tennessee Department of Health has incorporated stringent rules towards medical stakeholders. Part of these rules requires that no medical facility shall operate within Tennessee without proper documentation. These licenses are not transferable or assignable, and they must be posted openly inside the facility.
It is also a requirement that the owner or operator of the facility must have the financial muscle to sustain various operations, and at the same time they should also allow the residential home for the aged to be inspected by a department surveyor. Whenever there is any proposed change of ownership, the Department of Health should be notified thirty days prior to the transfer. Admitting patients in excess of the licensed bed capacity is also prohibited.

In addition, personnel working at these facilities are required to have completed a minimum of 24 classroom hours of continuing education courses that include; healthy lifestyles, financial management, nutrition and food service, health care management, and state rules and regulations for homes for the aged. These homes must also have some responsible attendants with sufficient number of employees to meet the needs of residents. In case any of the rules touching on senior healthcare facilities are breached, the health board has the right to revoke the license immediately.

Paying for Nursing Homes in Tennessee

The fee associated with different nursing homes depends largely on the level of services provided. However, over the last few years, these costs have been steadily rising while Tennessee’s growth rate matched the national average.