Before placing a loved one into an assisted living or nursing home facility, you’ll want to be well informed about the capabilities, comfort, safety, and overall quality of care offered by the facilities available in your area.
To ensure that you are as knowledgeable as possible, it is crucial to ask nursing home questions for which you need thoughtful (and complete) answers.
The first step in getting the information you need is to be sure you are asking the right people. It isn’t enough to simply take a tour of nursing homes around town and ask the staff members about the care they provide. Since those staffers often have a vested interest in having you sign up with their particular facility, it behooves you and your loved one to dig a little deeper.
In addition to the information nursing home staff members offer, consider a few alternative sources:
-Doctors in the area: ask your own doctor or a friend’s doctor any questions you may have. These can actually provide for great resources.
-Be social: social networks are a great way to hear about good and bad experiences with the local facilities. Chances are if your immediate network doesn’t recommend any someone they know might have some good answers.
-Better Business Bureau: always an excellent resource for uncovering complaints about organizations such as nursing homes.
-Watchdog organizations: many assisted living watchdog organizations and web blogs have sprung to life in recent years. Examples include the Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www.tahsa.org) or www.nursinghomesabuseblog.com.
-Local police: a great place to get answers about incidents involving residents or staff at prospective senior care firms in your area.
As you can see, the list could go on and on. These five sources are a great start – but you should do more due diligence to ensure you’ve done everything possible to get the right answers for your nursing home questions. Before you know it you’ll have a much better grip on your concerns and hopefully be able to choose the place that is right for you or your family member!
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