Restorative Nursing

Restorative Nursing is just that. It is not mandatory from a Federal Standpoint that an OT or PT start Restorative Nursing. Please understand the following: If your intentions are to cover the resident on Medicare A, then PT/OT would need to give 3 days at 45 minutes and Rest. Nsg. no less than 6 days per week. However, if the resident simply requires maintenance therapy related to dining, then you can start this on your own with Nursing. It is always nice to have the team, and get the recommendations from the therapy team that has been working with the resident, but not mandatory in New York State.

Therapists routinely screen patients for therapy needs, such as after a fall, or possibly once a year for the annual MDS to determine functional state, or when the pay source changes, etc. It's not official, and if it's decided not to intervene (which can be complex for many reasons, not to mention costly for the SNF depending on pap sources), then the nursing can decide whther or not to put someone in restorative. It's actually a rather strange thing to explain, because, after all- every patient is allegedly assessed at routine intervals, and if a decline was noticed, then maybe they should have already been placed in a restorative program, by nursing? For example, Mrs. S. has slowly begun to stop brushing her teeth- does she need rehabilitated? A restorative program? Or, do the staff simple need to prompt her to brush her own teeth, and provide easu access to her personal care items (a vasic care plan item for anyone) so that she doesn't stop brushing her own teeth?

Restorative belongs to nursing, and is a nursing program, though helpful it is not necessary to go through skilled therapy to initiate programs.

Well said. But in all of the last SNFs I worked at, every therapy company was outsourced, and they had to account, financially (be able to bill), for every minute of their time. So, give them a lot of cookies, and PRAISE! I love therapists. Even more so than nurses, however- they are being squeezed to their very last drop, and treated like the enemy, even as their educational requirements for licenseure escalate.