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Roscommon Healthcare has organized this important information about choosing a nursing home into two an easy-to-read question and answer format.

We hope you will find this an effective way of presenting a wealth of complicated information in a clear, understandable manner.

A nursing home is usually a skilled nursing facility that provides around-the-clock supervision by nurses for persons either recovering from illness or with chronic medical needs. When a person needs 24-hour nursing care and supervision, a nursing home is usually the best choice.

Once you have decided that your loved one's health care needs will be best served in a nursing home, start the selection process at once. Making a well-informed decision takes a great deal of time and effort.

The wise consumer should follow these four guidelines for choosing a nursing home:

Determine what criteria are most important
Research potential choices
Visit each facility at least once
Weigh your decision carefully with the help of others

First, think through the prospective patient's situation thoroughly, and form a list of criteria in choosing a facility, from highest priority to lowest. Some common factors people consider when choosing a nursing home are:

Financing options
Quality and number of staff
Location and visiting hours
Physical condition of the facility
Facility's reputation
Style of the facility - elegant, home-like, or institutional
Special services offered
Accreditation
Shared background with other residents

Now is the time to become an amateur sleuth, seeking out all available information on the nursing homes you have targeted after using your list of criteria. A few tips:

Contact the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program at the Mass. Agency on Aging. Ombudsmen visit nursing homes regularly and investigate complaints, and can provide information on the latest survey report, any complaints against your targeted facilities, and ways to recognize high-quality facilities.
Read everything you can, such as brochures from local senior centers and from the facilities themselves; articles from recent newspapers and magazines; and a locally-produced nursing home guide.
Talk to people who may know about a facility you are considering: friends, relatives, neighbors, the family physician. Ask the facilities for references from their residents and families. Visit someone you know currently in a nursing home to familiarize yourself with this environment.

Ideally, you should make at least two visits to a prospective facility - one tour arranged by the administrator, and the second, unscheduled, at a different time of day. The first visit will give you the basic information about the facility's physical layout, services, and philosophy, and will provide valuable access to staff. On the second visit, spend time with the residents, observing their physical appearance and demeanor. Find out how they feel about the facility. Observe areas not highlighted during your first visit. Also, take a friend or relative along; he/she may see things you have missed and later provide a valuable second opinion in some areas of uncertainty.

Because you will take in a near overload of information at each visit, it is wise to bring a written list of areas to investigate and questions to ask, so there is no confusion among facilities later on. Try to take notes during the visit, too, for future reference.
In addition to researching the areas that matter most to you, the following should not be overlooked during your visit:

Obtaining clear information about Medicare/Medicaid eligibility and financing
Making sure there are fire and other safety plans
Inquiring about the working relationship between the facility staff and the potential resident's physician

Once you are satisfied that you have the information you need to make a decision, take the time to review your notes. Confer with the person who accompanied you on the site visits as well as other persons whose opinion you value. Remember, your decision is not final until the contract is signed.

It is wise to obtain a copy before signing. Take the time to review it with your decision-making team and, possibly, a lawyer. Record any questions about the contract and present them to the nursing home's administrator or the ombudsman. Generally, a contract should:

State the resident's rights as well as grievance procedures
Clearly state the daily or monthly rate, as well as items separately billed
State the facility's bed hold policy
Indicate Medicare and Medicaid affiliation

For personal assistance in choosing a nursing home, please contact Admissions at 617.325.1688.

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