# Things to look for when nursing home shopping...



## MarciKS (Feb 24, 2020)

Just because the décor may be impressive, doesn't mean the care will be. Always take another person with you and visit multiple times before deciding. Look around and see if you see loved ones visiting or if it's just all staff. Watch the staff interact with the residents in line of sight. Listen to the interaction if you are close enough to do so. Pay attention to the little things. As they will often give away what is really going on.

I used to be appalled because our nursing staff would give the residents shots and dab the blood with their clothes instead of a tissue or cotton ball. One poor woman wasn't finished with her meal and they hauled her out of the dining room backwards in her wheelchair screaming all the way. Yet other residents would sit there for an hr before someone remembered to come get them.

Sometimes you'll overhear them making fun of certain residents or you may hear them being rude to a resident. However, I don't feel like any nursing home will ever be entirely free of such behaviors because the staff is overwhelmed and overworked. 12 hr shifts sometimes turn into doubles if someone doesn't show so then you have exhausted staff who may be caring for more residents at one time than the law says they are supposed to because most homes work short staffed all the time to cut costs. 

Part of the blame lies with not being able to collect the medicare payments on time in order to make ends meet. My advice, look the places over thoroughly and try to pick the least of all the evils.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 15, 2020)

There are also sites that rate the nursing homes using several criteria. Here's the Medicare nursing home rating site.
https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search.html
Once the home(s) one is interested are loaded from the search, click on the name of the facility, then the tabs across the top to get comprehensive information, including full reports of the health and fire inspections.


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## hollydolly (Mar 15, 2020)

Have a look to see if there are  lists on walls anywhere with activities... for example, music night, games night, etc..

Look outside and check how the grounds are maintained, if  what you see isn't in good condition then what you can't see will be much worse..

Check that visitors can come and go at any time during the day  without too many restrictions , be alarmed if only certain time restrictions are given for visitors.. 

Watch to see that staff are interacting pleasantly and politely  with the clients instead of interacting only with each other 

Make several visits on different days and different times of the day.. ... especially when it's busy like meal times, just to ensure that staff do not get rattled and irritated  by their clients when things are a little hectic..

Most of all  if you place your loved one in a care home, install a cctv camera in their room....


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## treeguy64 (Mar 15, 2020)

I would sooner be dead than to see myself in one of those hell holes! If I ever need a facility like you described, I will bow out of this existence, plain and simple.


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## MarciKS (Mar 15, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> There are also sites that rate the nursing homes using several criteria. Here's the Medicare nursing home rating site.
> https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search.html
> Once the home(s) one is interested are loaded from the search, click on the name of the facility, then the tabs across the top to get comprehensive information, including full reports of the health and fire inspections.


You'd be surprised at what goes on in between those health inspections. If a person doesn't know what to look for they may only see part of the picture.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 15, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> You'd be surprised at what goes on in between those health inspections. If a person doesn't know what to look for they may only see part of the picture.


I wouldn't be surprised at all. In fact, perhaps some "clean up their acts" when they are expecting inspections, then go back to doing things that are not in the best interest of residents. Visiting the home in person is an absolute necessity.


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## MarciKS (Mar 15, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I wouldn't be surprised at all. In fact, perhaps some "clean up their acts" when they are expecting inspections, then go back to doing things that are not in the best interest of residents. Visiting the home in person is an absolute necessity.


That is exactly what happens.


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## Liberty (Mar 16, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> Just because the décor may be impressive, doesn't mean the care will be. Always take another person with you and visit multiple times before deciding. Look around and see if you see loved ones visiting or if it's just all staff. Watch the staff interact with the residents in line of sight. Listen to the interaction if you are close enough to do so. Pay attention to the little things. As they will often give away what is really going on.
> 
> I used to be appalled because our nursing staff would give the residents shots and dab the blood with their clothes instead of a tissue or cotton ball. One poor woman wasn't finished with her meal and they hauled her out of the dining room backwards in her wheelchair screaming all the way. Yet other residents would sit there for an hr before someone remembered to come get them.
> 
> ...


So true, when my MIL needed to go in a nursing home, thankfully we got the skinny from the nurses at the hospital and the Skilled Nursing Center we put her in wasn't fancy, but they had the necessary bulk of employees to do the job.  We'd visit  regularly and bring them cookies sometimes...never hurts to sweeten things up a bit!


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