How to Pick the Right Nursing Home for Your Loved One

How to Pick the Right Nursing Home for Your Loved One Image

Choosing the right nursing home for your loved one can be a difficult decision.  Seeking to find a “home away from home”, will require some attention to detail and interrogation.  Here are some tips on how to pick the right nursing home for your loved one.

Choose a home that is convenient to visit

If you have decided to put your loved one into a nursing home, you need to make sure that is comfortable enough for you to visit it often.  At least less than an hour’s drive away.  Frequent visits to the home will help you keep a check on the manner in which your loved one is being taken care of.   It will also help to prevent any nursing home negligence, and abuse of the staff will know that your loved one will not hesitate to complain about any such issues to you and you are likely to spot them yourself as a frequent visitor.  Remember, the staff consists of caretakers. You have to play your role as the family member who has entrusted your loved senior to their care.  And they must perform their duty as promised when you signed up your loved one for placement.  Depending on the visiting hours and regulations of the nursing home that you choose, the location may also have a positive – or negative – impact on your loved one’s ability to see other friends and family members or leave the facility for special events or holidays.

Observe activity in the Home

The best way to decide if the nursing home would be the right place for your loved one to be is to visit the place with the purposeful intention of observing behavior at home.  Keep an eye on how the staff is treating other residents.  Are they being attended to? Is the food being served hot? Is the place clean?  Do the residents interact with each other? Is the staff friendly with the residents, and how do they address them?  Staff should address residents by their names, instead of “Mama” or “Grandpa” or they can ask them how they want to be treated.  Residents need to feel respected by the staff.

Do not hesitate to ask the right questions

Ask all the questions for which you need answers. For example, you may want to inquire as to how medications are given to the residents and if they are any delays.  What about meal choices available or would your loved one have to compromise with respect to food?  Speak to family members of loved ones to get a feel of the home’s management, before you make a choice.

Scar of Abuse or Malpractice?

Never select a nursing home for your loved one that has a history of abuse or misconduct, or has had numerous complaints filed against it.  Nursing home abuse is a serious problem, and hundreds of nursing home residents suffer every year.

Does your loved one have Special Needs?

If your loved one has any special health care needs, it is important that your loved one resides in a nursing home with staff and nurses that are trained in, and knowledgeable about, your loved one’s specific condition.  Examples of conditions that may warrant specialty care include Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, or any other cognitive or physical disabilities.

If problems appear, do not hesitate to enlist the help of a nursing home abuse attorney.  Seniors who are placed in a nursing home or assisted living facility sometimes experience mistreatment, poor quality of care, or even verbal or physical abuse.  These injustices are vehemently pursued by our Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers.

As America ages, and the number of senior citizens rises, so does the volume of negligence cases. Your loved one has a right to receive proper care and to be protected from any mistreatment or abuse. It can be a challenge to prove what goes on behind closed doors but our Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers have handled hundreds of these cases and we are experienced at determining the neglect or harm. Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in Tulsa is here to help our senior citizens.