Nursing homes are medical facilities dedicated to caring for patients with severe or debilitating physical or mental illness who are unable to be cared for at home. Nursing homes may be a skilled nursing facility or a long-term care facility. Skilled nursing facilities are a type of nursing home designed to meet the short-term needs of patients, generally those discharged from a hospital, who have the potential to function independently after a limited period of care. Long-term care comprises a range of services and supports and often includes assistance with the basic personal tasks of everyday life or activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, using the toilet, transferring (to or from bed to chair), caring for incontinence, and eating. Nursing homes are one ...