Making The Nursing Home Choice

While putting a loved one in a nursing home is a hard decision, there may come a moment when it is the right one. It will help if you do your homework and trust your instincts.

In accordance to the Department of Health and Human Services, the nation’s nursing homes provide care to over 1. 5 million people. Over 90% of these residents are over age group 65. Most of the residents are frail and require round-the-clock supervision credited to dementia.

Things A person Need to Know

A new nursing home is a residence that provides room, meals, nursing and rehabilitative care, medical services and protective supervision to the residents. While someone approaching from the hospital may require the services of many long-term care specialists such as nurses, counselors and social workers, a nursing home is not a hospital (acute care) setting. The goal at a nursing home is to help people maintain as much of their independent functioning as you can in a supporting environment.

Choosing a Center

One of the first things to consider when making a nursing home choice is the needs of the individual for whom you’re providing care. Make a directory of the special care they need, such as dementia care or various types of therapy.
If the person is hospitalized, the release planner and/or social staff will help you in assessing the needs individuals and finding the appropriate facility.
When you are choosing a nursing facility for someone who is presently at home, ask for testimonials from your physician, Region Agency on Aging, friends, and family.
Other factors such as location, cost, the quality of care, services, size, religious and cultural preferences, and accommodations for special care have to be considered.
When you’ve located a few facilities that you’d like to consider more resources thoroughly, plan on visiting each one of these, both with scheduled and unscheduled trips, and at different times and on different days of the week.
As you are walking around, take note of what you hear and don’t hear. Is usually it silent? Is there activity? How clean does it look? Are the residents dressed appropriately for the season? Most importantly, find out the ratio of nurses to residents is and what is employees turnover rate?