|
 |
Guide To Choosing A Nursing Home
A nursing home is a residence that provides a room, meals, skilled nursing
and rehabilitative care, medical services, and protective supervision to
residents. It also provides residents with help with daily living and
recreational activities. Many nursing home residents have physical, emotional or
mental impairments which keep them from living independently. Nursing homes are
certified by State and Federal government agencies to provide levels of care
which range from custodial care to skilled nursing care that can only be
delivered by trained professionals.
Selecting a nursing home is one of the most important decisions that you may
be asked to make. Depending on where you live, there may not be many choices in
selecting a nursing home. This booklet outlines a step-by-step process that will
help you compare nursing homes and make the best possible choice. This booklet
also lists some key resources that will help you find the nursing home or
long-term care facility that fits your needs.
If you must select a nursing home with little notice -- during a family
crisis or right after a serious illness, this publication should still give you
valuable information about nursing homes and about the people who are able to
help you if you have any concerns.
This publication is not a legal document. The official provisions of the
Medicare and Medicaid programs are contained in the relevant laws, regulations,
and rulings.
Talk To People
Checklist
Check lists can help you evaluate the nursing homes that you visit.
Use a new check list for each home you visit. Then, compare the
lists. This will help you select a nursing home that is a good choice
for you or your relative.
Facility Name:
Date:
Address:
I. Basic Information
| |
Yes
|
No
|
|
1. Medicare Certified
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
2. Medicaid Certified
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
3. Accepting New Patients
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
4. Waiting Period for Admission
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
5. Number of Beds in each category available to you:_________
|
|
|
Useful Tips
|
•
|
Generally, skilled nursing care is available only for a short
period of time after a hospitalization. Basic nursing care
is for a much longer period of time. If a facility offers
both types of care learn if residents may transfer between
levels of care within the nursing home without having to move
from their old room or from the nursing home.
|
|
•
|
Nursing homes that only take Medicaid residents might offer
longer term but less intensive levels of care. Homes that
do not accept Medicaid payment may make a resident move when
Medicare or the resident's own money runs out.
|
|
•
|
An occupancy rate is the total number of residents currently
living in a nursing home divided by the home's total number
of beds. Occupancy rates vary by area, depending on the overall
number of available nursing home beds.
|
II. Nursing Home Information
| |
Yes
|
No
|
|
1. The home and the current administrator are licensed
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
2. The home conducts background checks on all staff
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
3. The home has Special Services Units
|
( )
|
( )
|
|
4. The home has Abuse Prevention Training
|
( )
|
( )
|
Useful Tips
|
•
|
Licensure: The nursing home and its administrator should
be licensed by the State to operate.
|
|
•
|
Background Checks: Do the nursing home's procedures to screen
potential employees for a history of abuse meet your State's
requirements? Your State's Ombudsman program might be able
to help you with this information.
|
|
•
|
Special Services: If a nursing home has special service units,
learn if there are separate waiting periods or facility guidelines
for when residents would be moved on or off the special unit.
Some examples are: rehabilitation, Alzheimers, and hospice.
|
|
•
|
Staff Training: Do the nursing home's training programs educate
employees about how to recognize resident abuse and neglect,
how to deal with aggressive or difficult residents, and how
to deal with the stress of caring for so many needs? Are there
clear procedures to identify events or trends that might lead
to abuse and neglect, and on how to investigate, report, and
resolve your complaints?
|
|
•
|
Loss Prevention: Are there policies or procedures to safeguard
resident possessions? For Parts three through six, give the
nursing home a grade from one to five. One is poor, five is
best.
|
III. Quality of Life
| |
Poor Best
|
|
1. Residents can make choices about routine. Examples are
when to go to bed or get up, when to bathe, or when to eat.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
2. The interaction between staff and patient is warm and
respectful.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
3. The home is easy to visit for friends and family.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
4. The nursing home meets your cultural, religious, or language
needs.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
5. The nursing home smells and looks clean and is well-lighted.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
6. The home maintains comfortable temperatures.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
7. The resident rooms have personal articles and furniture.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
8. The public and resident rooms have comfortable furniture.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
9. The nursing home and its dining room are generally quiet.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
10. Residents may choose from a variety of activities that
they like.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
11. The nursing home has outside volunteer groups.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
12. The nursing home has outdoor areas for resident use and
helps residents to get outside.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
IV. Quality of Care
| |
Poor Best
|
|
1. The facility corrected any Quality of Care deficiencies
that were in the State inspection report.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
2. Residents may continue to see their personal physician.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
3. Residents are clean, appropriately dressed, and well groomed.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
4. Nursing home staff respond quickly to calls for help.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
5. The administrator and staff seem comfortable with each
other and with the residents.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
6. Residents have the same care givers on a daily basis.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
7. There are enough staff at night and on weekends or holidays
to care for each resident.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
8. The home has an arrangement for emergency situations with
a nearby hospital.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
9. The family and residents councils are independent from
the nursing home's management.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
10. Care plan meetings are held at times that are easy for
residents and their family members to attend.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
Grade _____________
|
Useful Tips
|
•
|
A good patient/staff ratio is important to good care, but
you should also consider other care factors. Examples are
staff training programs and how long staff stay at the home.
If staff changes frequently, ask why.
|
|
•
|
Good care plans are essential to good care. They should be
put together by a team of providers and family and updated
as often as necessary.
|
V. Nutrition and Hydration
| |
Poor Best
|
|
1. The home corrected any deficiencies in these areas that
were on the recent survey
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
2. There are enough staff to assist each resident who requires
help with eating.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
3. The food smells and looks good and is served at proper
temperatures.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
4. Residents are offered choices of food at meal times.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
5. Residents' weight is routinely monitored
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
6. There are water pitchers and glasses on tables in the
rooms.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
7. Staff encourage residents to drink if they are not able
to do so on their own.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
8. Nutritious snacks are available during the day and evening.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
9. The dining room environment encourages residents to relax,
socialize, and enjoy their food.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
Total _____________
|
Useful Tips
|
•
|
Ask the professional staff how the medicine a resident takes
can effect what they eat and how often they may want something
to drink.
|
|
•
|
Visit at meal time. Are residents rushed through meals or
do they have time to finish eating and to use the meal as
an opportunity to socialize with each other?
|
|
•
|
Sometimes the food a home serves is fine, but a resident
still will not eat. Like everyone, nursing home residents
like some control over their diet. Can they select their meals
from a menu or select their mealtime?
|
|
•
|
If residents need help eating, do care plans specify what
type of assistance they will receive?
|
VI. Safety
| |
Poor Best
|
|
1. There are handrails in the hallways and grab bars in the
bathrooms.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
2. Exits are clearly marked.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
3. Spills and other accidents are cleaned up quickly.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
4. Hallways are free of clutter and well lighted.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
5. There are enough staff to help move residents quickly
in an emergency.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
6. The nursing home has smoke detectors and sprinklers.
|
1 2 3 4 5
|
|
Total _____________
|
Facility Total _____________
|
Senior Care Review
|
•
|
We think selecting the highest quality and most appropriate
facility is a pretty important decision...
|
|
•
|
We think it takes more then just a listing of names and addresses...
|
|
•
|
We think that any agency referring you to a facility should
not be paid by the facility...
|
|
•
|
We think this decision should be based more than only on
how nice the facility looks.
|
We know that making the decision to place someone you care about
in an assisted living, nursing home or other residential facility
can be a difficult and emotional task. For less than the cost of
one to three days in most facilities, Senior Care Review's services
will assist you in evaluating and selecting the best and most appropriate
facilities for your situation a reasonable investment in reassurance.
Our Facility Review, Evaluation and Reporting Solutions Include:
SeniorCare LocatorSM
Many families who contact us initially request assistance in locating
the facilities which offer the types of services and accommodations
they need for their loved one. SeniorCare LocatorSM
is the starting point for these families. With this service,
Senior Care Review conducts the research to locate the appropriate
facilities in your requested geographical area, and conducts telephone
screenings to ensure a match to your basic requirements (such as
rates, clinical services or type of accommodations). This process
will help you create a short list of those senior care facilities
best matched to your specific situation. Families who take advantage
of SeniorCare LocatorSM
save a tremendous amount of time and reduce some of the initial
burden of the searching process.
SeniorCare
LocatorSM
$79 for up to 7 facilities
$59 for up to 7 facilities
(if purchased with either SeniorCare Briefs,
SeniorCare Essentials or SeniorCare Premier)
|
SeniorCare BriefsSM
Our most popular service, SeniorCare BriefsSM
is an affordable and simplified way to obtain the objective information
necessary to make comparisons and narrow down the choices to the
best and most appropriate senior care facilities. Understanding
your needs, our Reviewers interview key contacts at the facilities
with your particular issues and needs in mind. The personalized
and objective information we obtain on each facility is then reported
to you in a SeniorCare Briefs Report Booklet. This report
describes each facility reviewed, and allows you to compare the
facilities on the issues of greatest importance to you and the prospective
resident.
The SeniorCare Briefs Report Booklet provides a simple and
convenient way to compare current information and features such
as accommodations, all rates and fees, the facilities' environments,
food service, activities, staffing levels, and specialty and clinical
services. By asking the right questions and obtaining current information
specific to their unique circumstances, SeniorCare BriefsSM
has assisted many families with these difficult senior care placement
decisions.
SeniorCare
BriefsSM
$199 for reviews on three facilities
$ 49 for reviews on each additional facility
|
SeniorCare EssentialsSM
While SeniorCare BriefsSM
is an inexpensive way to gather important information about the
facilities and compare their services, operational details and capabilities,
there is nothing like an onsite evaluation. Senior Care Review
offers two onsite evaluation services for you to choose from. With
SeniorCare EssentialsSM,
our Senior Care Review Evaluator goes to the facility and conducts
a site survey designed to gather the essential details about the
facility's operation; fees and other financial information; health,
comfort and environmental features; staffing and hiring procedures,
food service elements activities; and clinical and specialty services.
Following the facility evaluation, each of seven categories of
care are rated and graded based upon the information obtained. We
then provide you with narrative reports on each facility along with
a summary of our findings. You may then review this essential information,
compare facilities along with the findings and grades, and make
careful and informed selection decisions.
SeniorCare
EssentialsSM
$189 per facility
|
SeniorCare PremierSM
The most extensive onsite evaluation service available, SeniorCare
PremierSM builds on SeniorCare
EssentialsSM, covering such
additional elements as clinical policies and procedures; quality
management policies and procedures; reviews of staff charts for
documentation of hiring policies and additional staffing issues;
kitchen walk-throughs for reviews of safety and cleanliness features;
and important physical safety elements.
Following the SeniorCare PremierSM
site survey, each of eight categories of care are rated and graded
based upon the information obtained. The comprehensive narrative
reports and summary provided to you contain a wealth of current
and customized information about the facilities, their services
and capabilities. The extensive information contained in the reports
will allow you to make crucial facility comparisons and should provide
you with reassurance about this important selection decision.
SeniorCare
PremierSM
$480 for one facility
$399/each for two facilities
$325/each for three or more facilities
|
Back to top
|
