What is Long Term Care (LTC)? It is defined by thefreedictionary.com as "the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a
recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental
disorders. The care may be provided in environments ranging from
institutions to private homes. Long-term care services usually include
symptomatic treatment, maintenance, and rehabilitation for patients of
all age groups." As the definition said LTC can be provided in many ways, many times it is done without people even noticing it. This is the case in nursing homes and retirement communities where there are always nurses on standby should something go wrong.
Does this defination really sum up what LTC is? I do not think so. The LTC professional gains a bond with the paitent that would not have fostered otherwise. So there is a personal aspect of the job as well as the medical requirments. Many times it is the personal relations that have the medical professional invited back into the home of the patient. With this much responsibility of the job falling on the attitude of the professional, many of the LTC professionals are well trained in human communication as well.
I recently had a event where the LTC nurses usefulness came to light in my personal life. My grandma was going thought some health issues and they were able to have a nurse come to the house on a daily basis to provide an injection of required medicine that my grandpa would not have been able to do. The nurse had a very positive attitude in the health of my grandma and she had much more patience with my family than I would have, this helped my family feel better along with my grandma. Everything considered, LTC is a critical component to our health care system and we would not be able to be as successful in treatment without it.
