Tips When Selecting a Short or Long Term Living Arrangement
Carefully Select Caregiver
Ask caregiver to provide referrals. Don’t just rely on calling the referrals. Make sure they are legitimate. Offer to buy him or her a cup of coffee so you can meet and evaluate them. When you find a caregiver you like, conduct a background check. There are many reputable companies that can do that for a reasonable fee. Keep in mind, there is no current law requiring mandatory background checks for in-home caregivers in California. You should do it yourself.
Carefully Select Assisted Living Home
- Start the process early before there is a crisis.
- Involve the prospective resident as much as possible in the process.
- Pay special attention to how residents are being treated by staff and the quality and responsiveness of the services. Don’t be sold only on the attractiveness of the facility.
- Narrow the options down to two or three facilities.
- Visit each facility several times.
- In making visits, walk through the whole facility and visit at different times of the day. Make sure you visit during a mealtime.
- Drop by unannounced and visit at night and/or on the weekend.
- Obtain a copy of the admission agreement. Read it carefully. Understand the services, costs and conditions for transfer.
- Before you make a final decision, check the latest survey report and any other citations issued by the state licensing agency. Facilities should make these reports available to you upon request. Or you can view the reports at the community care licensing office, California department of social services, or at some ombudsman offices
Stay Updated on Your Assisted Living Home
Carefully Select Nursing Home
Selecting a nursing home for yourself, a loved one, or a friend is an important and often difficult decision. Ideally, you will have the time to gather the many facts you’ll need to make that decision. Unfortunately, that decision is often made in a crisis atmosphere, when a person is about to leave the hospital or after a serious illness or operation.
Finding the right nursing home is all-important to you or your loved one’s well-being. The nursing home selected will be the person’s home for the duration of his or her stay, and sometimes for the remainder of a person’s life. A careful search for a nursing home will prevent future problems. The following tips are intended to give you some guidelines in selecting the most appropriate nursing home for you or your loved one.
- Look at survey results from the state licensing agency that shows the facility’s history with regulatory compliance or noncompliance. (this is public data)
- Check court records to determine if the facility been sued for neglect
- Conduct on line research regarding the Medicare’s nursing home compare website that ranks nursing homes from best to worst.
- Take an on-site tour of facility. You senses of smell, sound and sight are great common sense predictors of quality.
- Meet and interview staff and administrator
- Ask about staffing levels, activities and resident opinion surveys, family member opinion surveys, read resident & family council minutes.
- Make sure the facility is able to clearly communicate in the senior’s first language.
- If it is important that the senior is seen by his or her own personal physician, confirm that he or she can see resident at facility?
- If not, meet facility medical director and research his/her background.
- Take the admission agreement home and read it carefully to see what services are included in the base price, as opposed to extra costs
Nursing Home Checklist
At Elder Protection Center we’re here to help you and the ones you love to navigate the complexities and concerns that often come with aging.
Protect the People You Love is our number one priority. You are not alone. We’d love to hear from you. Elder Protection Center is standing by for you and your loved ones – Today.
