Numerous medical and personal care services are offered by nursing homes, often called skilled nursing communities. These services can consist of three meals per day, round-the-clock supervision, nursing care, and support with daily living activities. Additionally offered are rehabilitation treatments like physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The hospital personnel can assist you in locating a nursing community that would offer the finest level of care for you if you need to go there following a hospital stay. Ask your doctor’s office for suggestions if you are looking for a skilled nursing community. Once you are aware of your options, it is wise to complete the following steps.
Consider Your Needs
What matters most to you: hospice care, specialized memory care, nursing care, food, physical therapy, a religious connection? Do you desire a location that is convenient for visiting family and friends?
Communicate with Loved Ones
Find out the locations that friends, family, social workers, and religious organizations recommend by speaking directly with them. Ask medical professionals which nursing communities they believe offer high-quality care through personal experiences with their own patients.
Reach Out to Skilled Nursing Communities
Contact each location on your list. Find out how much it costs and how many people reside there. Learn about the waiting lists and whether there will be a vacant spot available to you at the time when you need to move in.
Tour the Community
Schedule meetings with the community director and the nursing director and look out for the factors below to consider:
- Handicap access
- Medicaid and Medicare certification
- Interaction between residents and workers
- Condition of residents and how well they look
Ask Questions
Never hesitate to ask questions. For instance, ask the personnel to explain any strong smells that you can detect. A problem could be masked by those smells while it might actually be caused by a bad one. You may wish to learn how long the nursing community’s director and the heads of the nursing, food, and social services departments have been employed there. If important team members change frequently, there may be a problem with the management. Regular shuffling of the team also means that residents do not have consistent care.
Tour the Community Again
Pay a second visit without making an advance appointment. Try a different day of the week or hour of the day to get to know other team members and observe residents’ activities. Come by to sample their menu options. Is the dining area neat and appealing? Does the food appear appetizing?
Review Your Contract Carefully
After choosing a skilled nursing community, thoroughly review the agreement. If there is anything you do not understand, ask the director or the senior living professionals. Before you sign the contract, have a trusted friend or family member review it. You may overlook certain things that a second person will get to notice.
Any nursing community that receives funding from the government must be inspected, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Inspection-rejected communities are not certified. Request to examine the care community’s most recent inspection report and certification.
