At BrightStar Care®, our mission is to provide A Higher Standard® of care for our clients and their families. Through our nurse-led model of home care, which combines skilled nursing services with compassionate caregiving, we deliver comprehensive support that sets us apart from other in-home care providers.
What Is Nurse-Led Care?
Nurse-led care is a patient-centered model of in-home care where BrightStar Care nurses develop and oversee individual care plans, coordinating directly with caregivers and the client’s healthcare providers for personalized support.
Let’s take a closer look at what nurse-led care coordination involves.
- Registered Nurse Oversight: RNs design custom care plans tailored to the individual and coordinate in-home medical care services, such as wound care, home infusions, and medication management. This oversight provides caregivers with expert guidance and leads to better outcomes for clients and their families.
- Integrated Nursing and Caregiving: By integrating medical and non-medical services in home care, a nurse-led approach makes receiving care more convenient and accessible for clients and their families, while also improving coordination between in-home nurses and caregivers.
- Seamless Collaboration: Certified nursing assistants (CNAs), home health aides (HHAs), respite caregivers, companion caregivers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists can all work together as a team under the management of one RN through the nurse-led care model.
- Proactive Health Management: In-home care nurses continuously monitor a client’s health and wellness status, tracking new developments and proactively revising care plans to accommodate changing needs, chronic health conditions, new medications, and more.
What Do Nurse-Led Services Include?
One of the benefits of the nurse-led model of care is its flexibility, which allows for a high degree of personalization in client care plans. In fact, individually tailored care planning is one of the core features that defines BrightStar Care’s nurse-led care.
Let’s review some of the value nurse-led care offers.
- Health Assessments and Care Planning: The RN will conduct an in-depth health assessment to create a personalized plan based on the client’s personal medical history, current medications, current health, and future health goals.
- Skilled Nursing Care: Skilled nursing covers a wide range of medical services, including wound care, medication management, chronic disease management, monitoring vital signs, routine testing, and administering infusions.
- Client and Family Support: Nurses and caregivers can provide emotional support, educate clients and families about what to expect, guide families toward resources like respite care, and help families navigate complex medical decisions with greater confidence and clarity.
Benefits of the Nurse-Led Model of Care
Research shows that there are powerful benefits to following a nurse-led model of care, including:
- improved safety
- better outcomes
- greater client satisfaction
Experts note that nurse-led intervention models improve outcomes, especially when it comes to coordinating care in preventing and managing chronic diseases, reducing emergency room visits, and improving nutrition and quality of life.
Common Misconceptions About Nurse-Led Care
You might assume that hiring a home care provider means your loved one will automatically receive skilled nursing oversight. However, that’s a common misconception families need to be aware of when researching home care options.
In reality, there are numerous home care providers that separate caregiving and skilled nursing services, creating a disconnect where information can easily fall through the gaps. That type of approach leaves caregivers without direct RN oversight and leaves clients without the benefit of an RN’s expertise.
At BrightStar Care®, all of our services use a nurse-led model that’s built around hands-on RN leadership. Registered nurses personally coordinate each client’s care plan and supervise all of our caregivers, ensuring the care your loved one receives is compassionate, safe, and aligned with best practices.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nurse-Led Care
In nurse-led care, licensed medical professionals called registered nurses (RNs) are in charge of designing, overseeing, and modifying client care plans. Their extensive knowledge helps drive improved outcomes for the people they care for by reducing medical errors, enabling early detection of health changes, and improving communication and coordination between care providers.
Additionally, research shows that nurse-led care is linked to positive outcomes like fewer hospital admissions, less frequent ER visits, better physical health and nutrition, and lower mortality rates.
While there are many different types of nurses, only registered nurses (RNs) are qualified to lead and direct care services. To become certified as an RN, nurses must earn an associate or bachelor’s degree from a credentialed nursing program, pass professional exams like the NCLEX-RN, and meet state-specific licensure requirements that vary by location.
RNs may supervise a staff made up of various types of nurses, including licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs), as well as caregivers such as home health aides (HHAs) and certified home health aides (CHHAs).
People who have long-term or progressive health conditions, such as dementia, have changing care needs that evolve over time. Nurse-led care ensures that care plans are continuously monitored by experienced RNs, who have the autonomy and expertise to make proactive adjustments.
By providing in-home medical support, long-term nurse-led care also helps clients effectively manage their symptoms, increasing their comfort, emotional and physical wellness, and quality of life.
Nurse-Led Care at BrightStar Care®
At BrightStar Care®, we follow a nurse-led care model that merges skilled nursing with a suite of caregiving services, including personal care, companion care, and respite care.
While some in-home care providers separate nursing and caregiving services, we integrate them together to deliver superior care that meets A Higher Standard®. Each client’s personalized care plan is overseen and monitored by an RN, who partners with our award-winning caregivers to deliver coordinated, compassionate support.