Nursing Home FAQ

• What makes Hillsboro House different from other facilities in New Hampshire?

Hillsboro House is the smallest nursing home in New Hampshire. We are also among the last that’s family owned and independently operated. That gives us the same capabilities as the very large facilities but also the flexibility to recognize and respond to the unique and changing needs of each resident. Hillsboro House is also an alternative nursing home environment – our facility was built as a home and it remains that way. It’s an environment that promotes familiarity and fosters personal relationships between our residents and their caregivers.

• Does Hillsboro House offer physical and occupational therapy?

Yes. Hillsboro House offers a full complement of rehabilitation services including occupational, physical and speech therapies. These services are offered as frequently as necessary including seven days week for residents for whom such frequency is beneficial.

• What is skilled nursing care?

As a skilled nursing facility, this terminology that is often confusing mostly because it seems to imply that there is some sort of unskilled care that residents receive. Most simply, skilled nursing is covered by Medicare. Following a three day hospitalization, Medicare beneficiaries may receive up to 100 days of nursing home care. The goal of this care is to restore the resident to maximum function which is often conceived in relation to his or her pre-hospitalization baseline. This typically involves an individualized combination of physical, occupational and speech therapy services in conjunction with wound care, post-surgical care or cardiac care. In many cases, the care received by our skilled nursing residents is not significantly different from that offered to any of our other residents. From a practical perspective however, skilled nursing is most often associated with short-stay rehab residents staying at Hillsboro House and receiving rehabilitative services covered by Medicare.

• Is there a waiting list?

Usually, but it tends to be difficult for us to predict with any accuracy. Please contact us to discuss availability.

• Does Hillsboro House have its own doctors?

Hillsboro House has established relationships with many of the areas primary care physicians and routinely works with the physician of our residents’ choosing. We work frequently with physicians from Peterborough to Concord. We also do our best to minimize the disruption of myriad and lengthy office visits by scheduling specialist visits at the facility. Dentists, podiatrists, pharmacists and other specialists visit routinely. Additionally, x-rays, laboratory services and other requirement are available at the nursing home. We work closely with Concord Hospital and many of the specialists and sub-specialists in the Concord area.

• What levels of care are available at Hillsboro House? Are these services specialized?

Levels of nursing home, skilled nursing and assisted living care are varied and confusing. To us, it’s never particularly made sense to sort people into acronyms. We’ve been caring for Contoocook Valley seniors for fifty years, and we’ve yet to encounter any individual with the same particular needs as anyone else. Our residents have a wide variety of needs from those who are substantially independent to those receiving extensive nursing services. And although Hillsboro House offers the same kind of memory and Alzheimer’s care as other facilities, we don’t claim to specialize in diagnoses. Instead, we offer to our 33 residents 33 levels of care.

• When is nursing home care necessary?

We often discuss with families of potential residents the kinds of events and conditions that make nursing home care appropriate. Particularly with the advent of assisted living, the distinction is often unclear. The primary distinction is the pronounced difference in staffing patterns and capabilities. At Hillsboro House, residents are in near constant contact with nursing and activities staff. This structure decreases isolation, it improves safety, preserves physical and cognitive function and it tends to support social engagement and well-being.

• Is the staff at Hillsboro House specially trained?

Yes. Our staff receives ongoing training specific to geriatric care. In addition to an uncommon level of experience, our staff has advanced training in geriatric nursing, pain management and wound care. Equally important is the knowledge accumulated by virtue of long experience; the staff at Hillsboro House experiences very little turnover and this stability contributes to a knowledge base uniquely suited to varying needs of our residents.

• Is a nurse available 24 hours a day? What about a doctor?

There is a nurse in the facility 24 hours a day; at the busiest times of day, there are typically three nurses and five licensed aides on duty. For emergent conditions, physicians, typically from Concord Hospital, are available whenever needed.

• Do families have access to nursing staff and administration?

Of course. In addition to frequent care planning conferences, residents and their families are in contact with Hillsboro House staff often several times each week. Though we offer formal and scheduled consultations, we also maintain an open, collaborative environment that facilitates the sharing of information and the development of the most effective clinical approaches.

• How are dietary considerations and preferences handled?

By virtue of our small size, the dietary staff at Hillsboro House develops an often exhaustive familiarity with the preferences and dietary requirements of our residents. This means that rarely are two residents served precisely the same meal.