The American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) offers 10 helpful tips for choosing the right nursing home for your loved one:
- Appeal the Hospital Discharge: Most nursing-home admissions follow a hospital stay, where you may get as little as 24 hours' notice to find a long-term care facility. If the patient is on Medicare, tell hospital administrators you want to appeal the discharge. This will automatically give you two extra days to check out the nursing homes in your area.
- Get a List of Nursing Homes. Begin your search for a nursing home with the Eldercare Locator (800-677-1116). This agency will put you in touch with your local Area Agency on Aging, which will give you a list of nursing homes in your area.
- Start Close to Home. Once you have a list of facilities, start with the ones nearest your home.
- Pop in Unannounced. If your first visit is during regular business hours, don't make an appointment—you'll get a better idea of how the facility is run. Just walk in and ask for the administrator, who should be on site. If not, ask for the next person in charge to show you around. Be sure to ask about the ratio of caregivers to residents or seek a copy of the staffing schedule.
- Inspect the Restrooms. Any restroom in the public areas will do. Sure, evaluate the overall cleanliness—but what you really want to check out is the hot water, the lack of which is a common complaint in a lot of nursing homes, especially larger ones.
- Look for Residents—in the Right Places. If you see them in activity areas, dining rooms, and outdoor areas, that's good. If you see them being changed, dressed, or toileted, it means the facility doesn't value their patients' privacy—or dignity.
- Stay for Meal Time. Ask to see the kitchen where the residents' meals are prepared. A good nursing home will have no problem with this request.
- Ask for Inspection Reports. All long-term care facilities must provide their most recent state inspection survey (Form 2567). The report lists the most recent violations found by state inspectors.
- Join the Residents. All nursing homes are supposed to support both family and resident councils. There should be a schedule of these meetings posted. Ask to sit in on one and you'll get a sense of what's going on within the facility. Ask questions. You'll get frank answers.
- Visit Often. The most important thing you can do is to visit often, to make sure the patient's care plan is being followed, and to consistently monitor his or her care.
