Our Services
Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is a 180 bed Skilled Nursing Facility in Reno, Nevada. We offer 24/7/365 care to our residents, focusing on health, rehabilitation, diet, and safety. Alta has an amazing staff of over 190 employees. Our team is comprised of Certified Nursing Aids, Dietary Aids, Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Housekeepers, Cooks, Social Workers, Physicians, a Dietitian, Chef, Business Office Manager, HR Director, Admissions Director, Activities Director, and a Licensed Administrator.
Nursing Services
The most important part of any Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is the nursing staff. However, the average turnover rate for a Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in the United States is 100%! Such a high turnover rate indicates a lack of institutional memory and continuity of care. Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center believes in employee education, development, and growth. We strive to support our employees so they can be the best at their jobs. We offer a variety of benefits to our employees, including educational opportunities and wellness programs. Alta strongly believes that in order to provide the care necessary to enrich the lives of our patients, we must provide enough nursing staff on the floor so they are not overwhelmed. This has been a big focus for 2019, and the improvements in nursing care over the past few months have been astounding.
Exercise & Rehabilitation
Exercise and rehabilitation is the cornerstone of health and recuperation at Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Before we elaborate, it’s important to discuss the difference between a healthy exercise program and the exercise that a Physical Therapist (PT), Occupational Therapist (OT), or Speech Therapist (ST) provides. In all SNFs, PT, OT, and ST will be provided as these 3 disciplines are a mainstay in all facilities, as they are necessary to address post-acute and post-hospitalization issues, but these Therapists are grossly underutilized in most SNF and Rehabilitation Centers. The average length of stay in a SNF is 21 days, across the United States (this is for all diagnoses). How is this possible? The answer is simple and frightening. Insurance only covers the recuperation/rehab on an inpatient setting until they are able to function independently on their own, not until they are 100% healed. In reality, it can take the average 70 year old up to 6 months just for his/her bones to be fully recovered. The problem, in our opinion, with the current post-acute care model is that it doesn’t address the long-term issue of lack of appropriate exercise. As individuals age, they lose bone density and muscle mass. There is no permanent fix to the issue, but there are universally proven approaches to improve the quality of life, reduce occurrence of injury, and prevent future injuries with an exercise plan. Our goal at Alta is to provide a personalized exercise program for each resident so they can achieve the highest level of independence and autonomy.
Dietary Services
Curiously, the quality of food in most health care institutions has largely been neglected. Whether it be hospitals or Skilled Nursing Facilities, the resident diet is an afterthought. At Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a healthy diet is paramount in our clinical pathway. There are many divergent and contradictory diet plans available, but we recommend that all of our residents and staff read, “The End of Diabetes.” We encourage a diet of meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. The key is no sugar. We do recognize this diet plan is not for everyone, particularly for a long-term habit (yes, we love ice cream!). However, there are tremendous benefits to keeping this diet in the short-term, especially for the first 30 days of your stay at Alta, and we strive to work with each resident on this diet plan, or any modifications.
Activities & Life Enrichment
It has been proven that socialization improves the quality of life and happiness. It also delays the progression of dementia. Despite the continued clinical evidence of the importance of socialization and engagement, most Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and post-acute care facilities treat their Life Enrichment/Activities Departments as just a necessary and mandated part of the staff composition. At Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in recognition of the demonstrable impact these team members and their programming has on the quality of life of our residents, their roles are prioritized. When possible, we maintain a robust number of staff for this department and a generous budget. Our goal is for each resident to have at least 2 things every day that they enjoy on their calendar; private studies, like naps and reading a book, don’t count!
Behavioral Health
Mental Health issues are a serious epidemic in today's society, especially in the Senior Care population. Often, factors that impact seniors such as the death of a friend, or the failure of a family member to visit, can have a profound impact on mental health. Sometimes, unfortunately, these types of influences can also induce behaviors in the elderly, which can be problematic from a care perspective. There is a wide variation in the types of behaviors that can be exhibited and some, such as refusing to shower, self-isolation, behaving inappropriately, are more difficult to treat or manage than others. Although not all of these behaviors can be managed or cared for in a Skilled Nursing Facility, many can. We have a team of clinicians that have experience with both mental health and behavioral health issues.
Post Discharge Plan
At Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, we believe that our job - the provision of post acute care - does not stop at the time of discharge. In fact, neither does the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or the Federal Oversight Agency for all Nursing Homes and Skilled Nursing Facilities. When a resident is admitted to Alta, the discharge plan begins at the time of admission. Our team will work with the resident and their family to develop a comprehensive plan, including answering questions like where the meals are coming from, who is going to help in the shower, what types of appointments someone has post discharge, or how to get to those appointments. Additionally, we will follow-up with residents post discharge to ensure that the plan that was developed during the resident's stay remains in place.
