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Can You Have a Feeding Tube in Assisted Living?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
With over a decade of dedicated experience, Andrea Miller boasts an extensive background in healthcare writing and editing. Her expertise spans various facets of the healthcare industry, with a particular focus on nursing, senior care, Alzheimer’s disease, and public health. Andrea has also contributed her editorial talents to reputable publishers in the Philadelphia region, complementing her extensive freelance work.
Reviewed by:
Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
You can’t have a feeding tube in most assisted living facilities. Tube feeding falls into the category of skilled nursing care, which assisted living communities typically don’t offer. However, a few states, such as Washington, allow assisted living facilities to provide feeding tube care when necessary if they have the appropriate staff on site.
Can You Live in a Nursing Home With a Feeding Tube?
You can live in a nursing home with a feeding tube. Some states have laws about tube-feeding residents. For example, New York doesn’t allow nursing homes to use feeding tubes unless it’s unavoidable because of the person’s medical condition. If you or your loved one needs a feeding tube, ask their health care team to recommend the appropriate care setting.
Do Feeding Tubes Provide Life Support?
Feeding tubes do provide life support. Life support measures keep a person alive if their body can’t perform essential functions. In addition to tube feeding, examples of life support include dialysis, CPR and mechanical ventilation.
What Are the Requirements for Getting a Feeding Tube?
The requirements for getting a feeding tube typically include trouble swallowing, issues with digesting food or lack of consciousness. Severe eating disorders, paralysis, stroke, short bowel syndrome and severe celiac or Crohn’s disease are some conditions that often cause swallowing or digestive problems. A feeding tube also provides nutrition to some people who have head, neck or gastrointestinal cancer.