Selecting a nursing home for a loved one can be challenging. You want a place that will be comfortable, but also one that will provide the appropriate level of care.
Unfortunately, some nursing homes have major issues that leave residents exposed to emotional and physical neglect or subject to abuse. Here are two tips that can help you avoid problems when it comes time to make a selection:
1. Consider your loved one’s unique needs
If you see your mom twice a week and accompany her to medical appointments, you might already have the information about her you need. But if you have lived in another part of the country for years, or are being called on to sort things for a great aunt you hardly know, it can make it more difficult to select the right facility.
As far as possible, make sure that you understand whether your loved one needs just a minimum level of care or more intensive monitoring and services. Find out, too, what kind of social or entertainment activities they enjoy. Use that information to ask detailed questions when you approach nursing facilities about their care.
2. Look for reviews from others
Other people’s opinions of care facilities can be incredibly useful, providing you view them with appropriate caution. A one-star review on the internet might be valid, or it might be written by someone who had wildly unrealistic expectations. It might also have been appropriate when it was written, but the facility may have improved massively since then.
When possible, talk directly to a facility’s residents or their family members to see what they think about the place. Use the internet to look for complaints, news articles and other “red flags” that might be worth considering. The unfiltered takes you find may be far more informative than the promotional materials the facility puts out.
Once you have picked a place and your family member is settled in, be sure to monitor their progress. While it can be tough to visit as much as you’d like, regular calls or video calls can help you notice early if something is off, before it becomes a bigger problem. That said, it’s still possible an issue could occur, and learning about your legal options becomes necessary.