Choosing a nursing home can be a difficult, yet necessary decision due to a loved ones sudden health or mental decline or the need for them to be cared for on a full time basis. The responsible party for this decision is usually either a family member or a close friend. The challenge is to find a good nursing home that meets the patients needs.

Many elderly people are actually happier when they are around their peers receiving regular meals and adequate medical care. It allows many of them a degree of independence not to be under obligation to family or friends for their care. For this reason, it is a good idea to involve your loved one in the process of choosing a nursing home.

You will find that a good nursing home will be easy to locate if you follow simple steps and ask the proper questions. The first step will be to make a list of the nursing homes in your area. You can obtain this information by contacting your local or state long-term ombudsman, your local or state office on aging, or any hospital discharge planners or social workers.

The next step will be determining how you will finance the care of your loved one. If you or your loved one cannot pay with their money, then you should consider nursing homes that are certified to accept Medicare and Medicaid. Although Medicare does not pay for long-term stays, it will pay for short periods of skilled care after a patient has been hospitalized for at least three days. Medicaid will pay for long nursing home stays for those who qualify. At least 70 percent of all nursing home residents rely on Medicaid for assistance.

Once you have narrowed your list to a few nursing homes, be sure to find out as much as you can from residents, their families, nursing home employees, doctors, social workers and others who have first hand information regarding the facilities. Some examples of questions may be:
Do people you talk to regard this as a good nursing home?

• Has the state licensing agency found an unusual number of violations here?
• Have residents or their families filed a lot of complaints against it?
• Are residents admitted to the hospital from this nursing home with medical problems caused by poor care?
• Does the home have enough staff, especially nursing assistants, to give residents the care and personal attention they need?
• Is staff friendly, considerate and helpful?
• Are residents treated with dignity and respect?
• Are there a lot of staff changes because workers leave?
• Does staff do their jobs well?
• Does the nursing home provide the special services your loved one needs?
• Are there always enough linen and other supplies?
• Are families concerned about fee increases or extra charges for supplies or services?
• Is the quality of life good, such things as choices of food at meals and which clothes to wear, a homelike environment, and interesting or entertaining activities?
• Does the nursing home have an active resident council? An active family council?
• Are there some really good things about this facility?
• It is also a good idea to review the state surveys of each home that you are interested in. Facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid are required by law to give you access to their survey reports.
  
  You will now schedule a visit with the nursing homes that interest you. While you visit, watch for these signs of GOOD care:
  

Dignity. Staff treating all residents with friendliness, patience, and respect
and answering promptly to calls for assistance.
Activity. Residents participating in a variety of activities, including those
where they are physically active.
Good food. Well-balanced, varied, good-tasting meals served in pleasant
surroundings.
Help with eating. Residents in the dining room and in their own rooms
getting help to eat if they need it.
Homelike surroundings. Special signs that this is a place to live not die. Can
Residents use furniture and decorations from home? Are there pets around?
Changes for residents to plant flowers, grow vegetables, or do other things outdoors? Community activities coming into the nursing home? Organized trips to community events? Other physically and mentally stimulating activities?
Participation. An active resident council and family council.


Also look for these signs of BAD care:
Odors. A strong smell of urine and feces indicates there is not enough staff to
Help residents to the bathroom or to keep residents and the facility clean.
Restraints. Vests and other devices that tie or otherwise hold people down in
Their beds and wheelchairs are dangerous and humiliating. Good nursing homes seek safe and respectful ways to protect residents from falls and wandering.
Lack of privacy. Residents should not be undressed or partly dressed in
Rooms or hallways in view of guests and other residents. Staff should knock before entering rooms.
Lack of dignity. No resident should be spoken to disrespectfully.
Unanswered calls for help. Every call bell or cry for help should be attended to promptly.
Loneliness and inactivity. People watching is fun, but residents shouldn’t spend hours on end sitting at the nurses’ station, front door, or in front of a TV.
Lack of help with eating. Residents who cannot feed themselves should not spend the mealtime with full trays in front of them.

If you have all the facts and use your best judgment, your loved one will be properly cared for in their golden years.