Glossary:

Skilled Nursing Care

A level of care that can only be performed safely and correctly by a licensed nurse.

Social Worker

In the context of home care, social workers specialize in helping individuals cope with the medical, functional, emotional, psychological, personal relationship, environmental and financial challenges of living in their own homes. They are trained in counseling and accessing community services, whether those services are provided directly by the government or by community organizations.

Speech Therapist (ST)

Speech Therapists or Speech Language Pathologists help patients regain their ability to produce and understand speech as well as facilitate communication skills.

Skilled Nursing Facility

A skilled nursing facility (SNF) is an institution that provides skilled nursing care and related services for patients who require medical or nursing care, or rehabilitation services for injured, disabled, or sick persons, and is not mainly for the care and treatment of mental diseases.

Medicare may pay for a skilled nursing facility care if: 1) the patient was hospitalized for at least three days and was admitted to the SNF within 30 days of hospital discharge; 2) a physician confirms that the patient needs SNF care; 3) the patient requires skilled nursing or skilled rehabilitation serives, or both, on a daily basis and 4) the SNF is a Medicare-certified facility.