It is a decision filled with stress and emotion: placing a parent, spouse or other loved one in a nursing home after assisted living or home health care is no longer an option.
“Unfortunately, the typical search for a nursing home is made under duress. More than 60 percent of admissions come from hospitals,” writes Walecia Konrad in this week’s Patient Money,New York Times. “In such situations, you have precious little time to do your research….Paying for a nursing home is another huge source of stress.”
We at Aging with Grace recommend whenever possible that a family visit a nursing home more than once and at least one visit during off hours...Sunday morning at 9am is best. Sunday is generally the day that all hell breaks loose...staff doesn't show, people call out sick, etc.
It's important to observe how the facility handles these types of situations. Is the staff running around like chickens without heads, or are they pulling together to make sure that residents receive the care they need.
We also suggest that a family meet with the Administrator and review the facility's most recent state survey.
Great tips... Whenever possible I also encourage clients and their families to tour senior housing options (assisted living, nursing, etc) BEFORE they need to move into one. Put their name down on the waiting list as the "good" communities are usually the ones with the longest waiting list. The worst case scenario is being in the hospital/or having a loved one in the hospital and being forced to move into the facility with the first available bed (probably not your first choice).
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Hi Patty Grace, Thanks for sharing these great tips with us at the latest Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use Blog Carnival at SandwichINK. I remember when my senior dad was on hospice and having issues with his medicine for his Parkinson's Disease and its symptoms, we thought we might have to move him to a care facility, even though we really didn't want to. Just in case, we put his name on the waiting list for a couple of places the social services staff recommended, since we had no clue where to look. Six weeks later, they still didn't have any openings! Checking things out in advance, whenever possible, is DEFINITELY vital! :)
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