If you’re looking for a nursing home to handle the short or long-term stay of a loved one, a little examination and inquiry goes a long way. But, you have to be thorough while fact checking facilities and look for everything good and bad. Moreover, securing quality services from trustworthy professionals requires a little savvy and strategy. Finding the right long-term care doesn’t just happen. It requires a plan. The more care you put into the decision process, the more care you can expect to see from it.
Personal Needs and Levels of Care
Knowing the fullest extent of a loved one’s long-term needs helps to ensure that you get the most value from the services provided by a nursing home. Good facilities practice complete and comprehensive care in their performance, which caters to the needs of residents every day and night. As a basic rule of thumb, nursing homes provide residents with different levels of care and attention. On one tier of service, there’s custodial care where residents are assisted with things like eating, bathing, and putting on clothes. For people whose lifestyles require a little more attention, skilled care includes things like medical treatment from certified professionals. Skilled care also includes services along the lines of physical or occupational therapy.
Industry Standards and Basics
Even though the quality of service may vary from one nursing home to the other, you can expect certain standards anywhere you visit. Of course, room and board sit at the top of the list. Nearly as important as room and board, medicine monitoring comes with the services provided. Along with eating, bathing, and getting dressed, comprehensive care includes assistance with incontinence or other toilet related issues. Nursing homes are not just about making someone comfortable, and some of the nicer ones offer recreation activities to residents. Without a doubt, these establishments have emergency protocols in place to handle any situation.
Important Factors to the Process
Finding the right long-term care facility takes time. There are a lot of questions that need answering along with a bit of leg work on your end. Nursing homes have waiting lists. Contacting a number of facilities that meet the needs of a loved one, narrowing down the choices to one, and making arrangements for care is a process. You have to consider factors such as vacancy, admission, cost, and insurance while timing the transition. On top of all that, you personally should take thorough walk about the entire grounds of every establishment on your list.
Finding the right Facility
Every nursing home stands apart from others in the field by the services they provide to residents. So, it may seem like they’re all decent enough. And, that’s why you should have an arsenal of questions ready to separate the best from the rest. For example, does an establishment have state license requirements that you can see for yourself? While you’re on the subject, ask about the professionals running the place. Do the staff and administration have current licenses? And, there’s still a lot more to know. For example, how do they assess the level of care and need for residents, and how often do they reassess these needs?
Taking a Closer Look
Asking the right questions and gathering the requisite information is a good way to start your search for the right nursing home to care for a loved one. But to really get on the inside track, you have to think outside the box. For starters, you might want to schedule your visit of a facility during meal time. Do this so you can get a first-hand look at how things operate on a daily basis. Pay attention to detail and notice everything. First of all, do the residents seem at ease and well maintained? Take note of the way staff and guests interact with one another. Does everything seem on the level, or is there tension in the air? While visiting a facility, simply ask a resident about their experiences to really get a better understanding of the level of quality in a nursing home.
Getting an Overall Feel
As many people know, it’s the family that makes turns a house into a home. This is true for nursing homes as well. In the long-term care field, staff members constitute something of a family unit. These are the professionals who people trust to look after loved ones, so their attitude and work record should reflect some kind of excellence. While you walk through the different establishments on your list, look for little yet crucial signs of respect in the relationship between staff and residents. Does staff use first, full, or last names while talking to guests? There are other “tells” to look for while you’re checking things out. Does the staff show residents respect by knocking on the door before entering a room? Are people minding their tone of voice and choice of words? If not, you might want to ask why.
Catching and Fixing Problems
There’s only so much you can know about a nursing home from first-hand observation. To this end, you should feel free to make straightforward inquiries regarding the level of professionalism and prowess of administrators and staff. Do the nursing home offer continuing education opportunities to members of staff? Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions. How well are caregivers screened for records of neglect or mistreatment? Every facility you visit should have at least one licensed nurse on site all day and night. Likewise, there should be a Registered Nurse on board 8 hours a day every day. There’s no room for compromise regarding the credentials and service of caregivers. If anything seems out of place with a facility before, during or after the transition process, you may need the services of a nursing home neglect attorney in Baltimore. For the sake of a loved one, you must maintain a sense of reasonable vigilance while interacting with a nursing home. Advocate for progress at every possible moment.
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-walking-stick-arm-elderly-588982/
To avoid the need for litigation with a substandard nursing home, research for red flags like a lengthy violation history before making a decision. These things matter even if they don’t appear to be severe in their nature. Other warning signs include an administrative team that appears to be absent, uncaring, or underqualified when it comes to managing the needs of residents. Any aspect of a long-term care facility that leaves you feeling hesitant needs to be addressed immediately and resolved as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’re better off finding help somewhere else. And, that’s all you need to know about nursing homes and the professionals who run them.
