FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE OF TEMPE

On East Southern Avenue in Tempe, Friendship Village of Tempe is a licensed skilled nursing facility certified for 128 beds. It provides 24-hour nursing care for two groups of people: patients who need a short stay for recovery and therapy after a hospitalization, and residents who need ongoing nursing over the long term. The facility is privately owned and is affiliated with Life Care Services, a network of about 43 facilities in federal records.

It has been certified to serve Medicare patients since 1980. Federal records list it as a Medicare provider rather than a Medicare and Medicaid provider, so families planning on Medicaid or the Arizona Long Term Care System should ask the admissions office directly about payment options. On a typical day the facility cares for about 57 residents. Recent federal staffing figures were not reported for this facility, so families should ask the administrator how many nurses and nursing assistants are scheduled per shift and how weekend staffing compares.

Families focused on rehabilitation should ask how physical, occupational, and speech therapy are staffed and scheduled during a typical week. The facility has a resident and family council, which gives residents a regular forum to raise concerns and suggest changes. Skilled nursing is meant for people who need care from licensed nurses or therapists every day, such as recovery after a joint replacement, a stroke, or a serious infection, or long-term support for complex medical conditions.

Medicare Part A can cover up to 100 days of skilled nursing care after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three days, with no daily coinsurance for the first 20 days when the stay meets Medicare's requirements. Location matters for both medical follow-up and family visits, and the Tempe address keeps the facility within reach of the area's hospitals and clinics. When touring Friendship Village of Tempe, it helps to ask how therapy is scheduled each week, how the care team plans for discharge home or to another setting, how often families receive updates, and how the facility handles a move from a short-term stay to long-term care if needs change.

Seeing a meal service and meeting the nurse who would oversee care can also give a clearer picture of daily life. Decisions about skilled nursing often have to be made within days of a hospital discharge. Local Senior Advisor is a free service to families, and a local advisor can help you compare Friendship Village of Tempe with other facilities around Tempe and plan the questions to ask.