Questions & Answers
Photo by Edgewood Staff
What is the difference between a nursing home and an assisted living facility?
A nursing home or nursing facility such as The Edgewood Centre provides 24 hour nursing care, rehabilitation services and assistance with activities of daily living to those who are chronically ill or who have been hospitalized and require short term rehabilitation or transitional care before returning home.
This type of nursing facility is typically referred to as a skilled nursing facility and participates in the Medicare program.
A residential care or assisted living facility provides a less intense level of care. These facilities provide supervision for people who need some assistance with activities of daily living but do not require continual nursing or medical care.
Typically, there are fewer services available than at the nursing home or skilled nursing level of care. The Pines at Edgewood, an assisted living facility on Edgewood's campus, offers this level of care.
Is The Edgewood Centre privately owned or a corporate nursing home?
The Edgewood Centre is a family owned facility and has been for over 30 years.
Patricia Ramsey, the owner, is on-site every day and embodies a hands-on approach to nursing home care. She works directly with families and prides herself on a personal relationship with each and every resident in her care.
Edgewood is, for many people, a refreshing change from the world of large corporate health facilities. It is a place where people know your name and with caring and friendliness welcome you home when you walk through the door.
Is The Edgewood Centre Medicare and Medicaid certified?
The Edgewood Centre is a licensed long term care facility and is dually certified for skilled nursing care.
Edgewood is Medicare certified and provides skilled rehabilitation and sub-acute care for individuals who are recuperating from an illness or recovering from orthopedic or cardiac surgery.
Long term care insurance, private funds, and Medicaid are accepted as sources of payment at The Edgewood Centre. Medicaid is available for individuals who need nursing home care and have exhausted their financial resources.
Edgewood is a Medicaid approved facility and has social workers on staff who are available to help residents and families complete the Medicaid application process, ensuring an easy transition from one payment source to another.
What type of results do you get with your skilled rehabilitation program?
The Edgewood Centre provides an intensive program for residents requiring skilled rehab, staffed with an on-site team of physical, occupational, speech, and nutritional therapists.
We are proud of the results we get with our skilled care program. Residents come to us confined to a wheelchair and reach their goal of walking again, residents requiring therapy after orthopedic surgery are back on their feet (and back in their homes) promptly and safely, and residents recuperating from cardiac surgery regain their confidence and feel like themselves again.
You can rest assured that in Edgewood's skilled rehab program, an interdisciplinary team of nursing, rehab, and discharge planning professionals are focused on supporting your goals to regain your health and return home safely.
For further information about Edgewood’s skilled rehabilitation program, please contact our Rehab Director by phone at 603-766-2385 or e-mail.
Are residents at The Edgewood Centre able to receive specialized services on-site?
In addition to on-site physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and nutritional therapy, The Edgewood Centre offers on-site podiatry with Dr. Brian Nagy who comes to the facility once each month.
Dental services are provided by Dr. Richard Kana and his dental hygienist, BJ Brown. They are in the facility four times each month.
The medical directors of The Edgewood Centre, Dr. Richard Attenborough and Dr. Peter Dicks, are in the facility seeing residents twice each week. They remain on-call daily for questions and concerns that arise.
A beauty salon and barber shop are in the building and open twice each week, providing residents with haircut, color, and style services. The fees in the salon are nominal and Edgewood staff take care of assisting residents to and from the salon safely.
Edgewood’s wellness team provides Reiki, paraffin hand treatments, massage, and other holistic services to residents, families, and staff. The difference these caring treatments make in the overall health and well-being of everyone is nothing short of remarkable.
Is Edgewood able to handle special dietary requirements and food preferences?
Once a new resident arrives at Edgewood, a member of the nutrition team meets with him or her to discuss special dietary requirements, allergies, and specific food preferences.
The food service staff at Edgewood pride themselves not only on delicious daily meals but the ability to cater to any resident’s specific needs. A nutritionist is on staff to ensure that residents on specialized diets and residents requiring tube feeding receive the care and attention they need.
One of the things that sets Edgewood apart is the facility’s open door policy regarding family meals. Residents are welcome to have family join them for any meal any time and there is never any charge for guests. We believe that food tastes better when shared with those we love.
At The Edgewood Centre, we recognize that sharing holiday meals and celebrations with family is important for people. Six times each year (at a September lobster bake, on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Easter, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day) residents invite their loved ones to join them for a special family feast. Edgewood provides a delicious array of seasonal favorites and 5-star service all at no cost whatsoever.
It’s one of the ways that Edgewood differentiates itself and is one of the many reasons Edgewood feels like home.
Are services available at The Edgewood Centre for Alzheimer’s care?
At The Edgewood Centre, we offer specialized services for residents with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.
We have a large staff of Alzheimer’s care specialists in our recreation department who provide meaningful, dignified, and enjoyable programming every day of the week. In addition, Edgewood provides highly trained nursing staff, environmental adaptions, and family support.
For further information about Edgewood’s memory care program, feel free to contact our admission office by phone 603-766-2301 or e-mail.
What types of activities do you offer at The Edgewood Centre?
One of the things that sets Edgewood apart from other long term care facilities is the size of our activities department. We employ 10 staff people who run activity programs in our long term care, Alzheimer’s care, skilled nursing, and pediatric programs.
Activities are offered seven days a week and include everything from intergenerational programs to wine and cheese parties, painting lessons to broadway sing-a-longs.
Live entertainers are booked four times each week providing residents with the cultural offerings of music, dance, and drama. Edgewood residents are even part of the “Senior Moments” theater group and perform original works both at the facility and in the community.
Edgewood’s residents host monthly community events, inviting area schoolchildren in for seasonal activities and family fun. In the fall, the residents and kids roast marshmallows over the campfire and take a hayride around the pond. In the spring, they hunt for Easter eggs and plant flowers for Earth Day.
People also enjoy Edgewood’s large wheelchair accessible bus which is out at least three times each week transporting groups of residents and activities staff to restaurants, shopping areas, cultural events, and scenic rides to the beaches.
In addition, recreation staff work one on one with residents to help with correspondence, obtain favorite books and movies from the library, or check e-mail on our laptop computer.
For more information about Edgewood’s activities programs, please see our monthly calendar or e-mail or call our Recreation Director at 603-766-2325.
The Edgewood Centre | 928 South Street | Portsmouth, New Hampshire (NH) | Tel: (603) 436-0099
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