How to Find a High Quality Nursing Home

Nursing home abuse seems to pop up in the newspapers on almost a daily basis. Yet there are plenty of good nursing homes in the United States. However, it will take some legwork on your part to find them.

If you are trying to find a good nursing home for one of your loved ones there are a number of things that you can do to help to ensure that the residence you and they choose will take good care of them.

Initially you will want to make a list of all of the nursing homes in the vicinity. The ones that you put on your list should be easily accessible by the friends and family of the elderly person who will be living in the residence. And it should be very close to where the person who will visit the most lives.

Initially you should schedule appointments to visit the residences in order to get an overall feel for how the residents are treated. However, once you've narrowed your list down to a number of different nursing homes you should show up at them unannounced - without scheduling an appointment.

This will give you the opportunity to talk with the residents and the staff without having any supervisors around. Your goal should be to find out if it is a pleasant place to be and if the residents are properly cared for.

One of the things that you should plan on doing is to visit when one of the day's meals is being served. This will not only give you a chance to sample the food, it will let you observe how much assistance the staff is providing to the residents. This is often a good reflection of how the staff interacts with the patients throughout the day.

You should also see if the menu accommodates the specific ethnic and dietary needs of the residents. Also, consider the number of choices available on the menu and whether the food that is being served is hot or cold.

While there you should ask for a list of the week's activities. Most good long-term care facilities will have plenty of options available for their residents - both in the home and in nearby areas. This is important because it will help the residents to maintain their physical and mental health.

One very good indicator of the quality of care is the ratio of staff members to patients. Find out how it compares to the state minimum staffing levels. Obviously you will give priority to homes where there are a substantial number of caregivers available.

If you approach this process logically you can help to avoid having anyone you love live in a residence where there is elderly abuse.


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If one of your loved ones is already experiencing Nursing Home Abuse and you would like to speak to an attorney, go to http://www.sokolovelaw.com/legal-help/nursing-home-abuse/

Wendy Moyer on behalf of Sokolove Law.