5 Ways to Choose a Good Nursing Home

With the prevalence of elderly abuse being reported in nursing homes, you may wonder how you can choose a safe and caring nursing home for an aging parent. Nursing Home Abuse Resource states that nursing home abuse is a common occurrence in at least 30 percent of all registered nursing homes in the country. Furthermore, over 50 percent of all nursing homes are short-staffed, and thus unable to prevent instances of neglect. How can you choose a quality nursing home and avoid elderly abuse?

The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform gives five reasonable criteria on how to choose your aging relative's home.

1. Location
The first consideration is location. Remember that you are not looking for a home to "sentence" your aging relative to. On the contrary, you are choosing a safe and convenient place that you can visit as often as you would like. Try and choose a nursing home that is convenient in location and close to family. Residents who have frequent visitors (particularly family) are healthier and happier for it.

2. Reputation
You can look into nursing home reviews as well as discussion forums online. There are also organizations that publish nursing home guides (such as CANHR) that list important information regarding nursing home reputation. This information includes a home's history of complaints about nursing home abuse, deficiencies and citations. You could also find some helpful "word of mouth" testimony from other family members that have dealt with certain nursing homes first hand.

3. Medicare Approval
If you are counting on Medicare to pay for the nursing home, naturally, you must choose a certified facility. The fact that the average nursing home estimates a $6,000 per month tab, it's unlikely the average person can afford to pay these expenses out of picket. CANHR further suggests that even if you don't use Medicare it's a good idea to try and choose a certified home. Why? Because uncertified facilities could evict the patient if the money or insurance runs out.

4. Survey the Nursing Home on Your Own
AARP Magazine suggests that concerned relatives drop in a nursing home unannounced and carefully observe the facility. Ask yourself if the facility looks clean and if the residents seem generally happy. You could even ask the administrator (or another staff member) for a short tour of the place. Notice how many caregivers are present and what the ratio is for caregivers to residents. While nursing home abuse is often thought of a dark and protected secret, it's usually a fairly obvious problem to even a first time visitor.

5. Positive Social Environment
A nursing home administrator's goal should be to maintain a friendly and sociable environment that encourages happy feelings and prolongs a happy life. Some nursing homes really do their best to try and add games, discussions, group activities, field trips and all sorts of positive functions to the traditional nursing home.

Doesn't your aging relative deserve a good home free from elderly abuse and neglect? If you believe your relative has already been the victim of nursing home abuse then contact the Rasanky Law Firm at 1-877-405-4313 and find out your legal options. Your family deserves the best treatment!