| [ Summary ] |
In recent years, the number of dialysis patients in need of nursing care has markedly increased and the number of elderly needing hospitalization for non-medical reasons has also increased. This complex includes a hospital, health care facility for the elderly, and a special nursing home for the elderly, in anticipation of the need to provide care for this population. In such centers, the combination of a dialysis facility and a nursing and personal care facility may save the expense and labor which drive patients to dialysis centers. Inter-facility cooperation can facilitate dietary control and help to alleviate the nursing shortage. With admission to such centers, however, patient's individual payments will increase and medical fees for dialysis will decrease. Placing admitted dialytic patients, needing nursing care, in a special nursing home for the elderly or health care facility for the elderly is preferable because of the shortage of hospital beds. Given current conditions, however many of these patients may be placed in convalescent wards in hospitals. |