Silver Lining 2003

Finding a "Good" Nursing Home

There have been a number of incidents publicized lately regarding
specific issues of deficiency in local nursing homes.
How do you find a "good" nursing home? Here are some tips to get you
started:

1) The New York State Department of Health offers a good list of
questions. Since New York is a highly-regulated state,
many of these questions will have the same answers from nursing home to
nursing home. The baseline for acceptable
care is much higher than in other parts of the country.

2) Don't simply take someone's word for it. You wouldn't purchase a
home without seeing it first. Don't go to a nursing
home without touring it first and asking questions. Supplement your
questions with good observations. Pay attention to
how clean the facility is; how well-groomed the residents are. Listen
to how the staff treats the residents. What is your gut
feeling? Would you entrust these people to care for your friend or
relative? Is the atmosphere the right chemistry to offer a
sense of personal security and comfort?

3) Talk to a number of actual residents. This is their home and they
should be able to give you an honest assessment
and most would appreciate the opportunity to do so.

4) Review the recent Department of Health survey results which will
indicate any deficiencies and plans of correction.
The results must be made available to any visitor of any facility and
will provide you a good indicator of the facility's weak
areas.

5) Learn which nursing homes have specialized programs. The "best"
facility may not be the best for you if you have
Alzheimer's Disease and they don't provide such specialized care. Some
nursing homes are strong in Rehabilitation, for
example, or Dementia or Respiratory Care and some are strong in
providing good old-fashioned long term care to those
who don't require specialized services.

6) Finding the right nursing home can be a very emotional process. Try
to have faith that going to a nursing home
doesn't necessarily need to be the "end of the road". There have been
countless people who, as nursing home residents,
have learned skills, made friends and developed talents they never knew
they had. It can be a growth experience for all if
treated as an opportunity rather than as an obstacle.

7) Keep in mind that no matter what the track record is for a
particular nursing home, there is someone who would
never go back and there is someone who would never go anywhere else.

8) Try to plan ahead. Most people don't begin to explore nursing homes
until they are in crisis, when it is impossible to
make a clear decision. You may not be ready to put nursing homes on
your list of things to familiarize yourself with, but
make the most of an opportunity to do so. If you have a relative or
friend in a nursing home, go visit them. It will be good
for them and in the long run will be good for you.