A new model for long-term care: Balancing palliative and restorative care delivery

Sarah Thompson, Debra Parker Oliver

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nursing homes have been mandated to maintain or promote the physical and psychological functioning of residents since the enactment of the 1987 Omnibus Reconciliation Act. Although this restorative approach to care has improved outcomes for some residents (Institute of Medicine, 2001), it ignores the reality that all permanently placed residents will die. A new model for long-term care, one that includes a simultaneous restorative and palliative approach to care delivery, is proposed. Palliative care principles provide a guiding framework for changing care delivery. Basic tenets, such as resident and family viewed as a unit of care, interdisciplinary teamwork, and interdisciplinary plans of care, provide a basis for specific operational suggestions. Operational strategies, such as psychosocial and spiritual support for family, resident decision making and participation in goal setting, expertise in aggressive pain and symptom control, and bereavement services following resident death, are described.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)169-194
Number of pages26
JournalJournal of Housing for the Elderly
Volume22
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • End of life in nursing homes
  • Palliative care
  • Restorative care

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