08.24.10
Two Simple Rules for Choosing a Nursing Home
Placing a loved one in a skilled nursing facility can never be an easy decision. Many middle aged sons and daughters swear off nursing homes altogether, promising that they will never make that choice for their parents. But then something happens: a diagnosis. A fall. A stroke. And suddenly the unthinkable becomes the most loving option.
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So what do you do if you are that family member? How do you make the best decision for your loved one? First, follow these two rules:
1) Research as much as you can
2) Experience it yourself and trust your gut!
Researching Nursing Homes
More than one and a half million Americans are nursing home patients. Nine out of ten of those are over sixty-five. Typically, residents need around the clock supervision, especially medical care. Unfortunately, many facilities have treated these senior citizens as if they are already dead! Rather than engaging and caring for their patients, these workers have babysat them.
There have been many high profile cases and undercover investigations of senior abuse and neglect in some nursing homes. And as ugly as those things are, there has been a silver lining: facilities have more public awareness and government oversight to answer to. The family of a patient now holds more power than ever before.
That power begins with doing research. Thanks to the power of the internet, and the freedom of information act, a family member can now look into past complaints, accusations, and lawsuits that have taken place at a given nursing home. They can follow a trail of smoke in order to avoid the fire. After all, who wants to put their loved one in a situation with a terrible history.
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It’s easy to get started with research. Medicare’s website allows you to view inspection reports and overall nursing home ratings so you can compare homes in your area. And you won’t have dig for information, either. These reports are detailed and specific.
Another great resource is FreeNursingHomeReports.com. On this site, you can search for nursing homes by city or county, read pertinent, and best of all, read the reviews and experiences from other individuals who have been involved with them in the past. There is nothing quite like a human testimonial to paint a picture of reality, either positive or negative.
Experiencing A Nursing Home Yourself
Once you have done pertinent research on the internet about the facilities in your area, you should be able to narrow down your choices significantly. When you factor in a facility’s reputation, cost, amenities and location, you will probably have a short list of possibilities. Now is the time to go and visit.
Do you schedule an event? I wouldn’t. Not at first anyway. Eventually you are going to need details, but for now, you need to have a gut check. Go ahead and drop in on the facility and take a stroll. What do you see? What do you hear? What does it smell like? Are patients being cared for? Do they appear happy? Why not strike up a conversation with a few patients and ask them how they like it? And after you’re there for a while, how do you feel? Is this a place you feel comfortable leaving your loved one?
If not, then cross it off your list. Chalk it up to Family Intuition. You remember mother’s intuition, right? Well, this is the same thing. If you are feeling uneasy and untrusting for some inexplicable reason, don’t ignore that. You have other homes on your list. Go check them out. This one will likely not work. Trust your gut.
Once you have made some unscheduled visits to some nursing homes that did not scare you, it’s good to go visit them again, this time with an appointment. This time, come armed with a list of questions and fire away. Nothing is off the table, so ask away. Financial concerns, medical issues, care concerns, everything. This is your family you are talking about. Don’t let them forget it!
The nursing home transition is probably never going to be pleasant, but it can, at least, be the right decision. it can be the kind experience you look back on with confidence, knowing you did the right thing in a tough situation. And you really can choose the right nursing home, if you do your research and trust your gut.
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