It is unknown how many of our vulnerable elderly fall victim to neglect or abuse each year since such actions are easily hidden from view and underreported. In fact, according to the National Center for Elder Abuse (NCEA), 84 percent of abusive situations involving older adults go unreported or unrecognized.
What is the Best Way to Pick a Nursing Home? Part 2
In a previous article, we discussed resources available to the public to aid in your decision in picking the best nursing home for your loved one.
But what are some specific things to avoid when choosing a nursing home?
- Prior violations – check on Medicare.gov
- Dirty Environment – visit the facility
- Hard to Reach – call the facility
[Read Part 3 on the five most important categories to look for when choosing a nursing home here!]
What Things Should You Look Out for When Choosing a Nursing Home?
Transcript: Allen Tittle here, Cleveland Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Lawyer. Part two of our three-part series of “How to Choose a Nursing Home for Your Loved One”. The next topic that I want to discuss is red flags. What are things that you should look out for when trying to choose a nursing home for your loved one that you might want to avoid that place. First of all, gut instinct- it’s very important. If you visit a nursing home and you just get that feeling, eh, this isn’t the place for mom or dad, please follow that gut instinct- there’s probably a reason for that. But, some sort of specific things that I would look for is, number one, make sure you look up prior violations for that nursing home. Again, you go to that medicare.gov website and it lists prior violations. So it could be safety code, building code violations, quality of care violations that medicare is citing them for. You need to know if that nursing home has ever been cited in the past. The second thing is, is the place dirty? If you go there and the hallways aren’t properly kept, there’s a strange smell, that’s probably because there’s not enough staff. I would run for the hills if I visited a nursing home and it wasn’t properly kept. The third thing that I would take a look for is, when you call to discuss the nursing home with either the administrator, the director of nursing, can you actually get ahold of somebody? If it’s difficult to get a hold of someone when you’re potentially considering moving your loved one there, imagine if you had a question about their care. Finally, and here’s sort of a tip, if you are considering a nursing home, go visit that nursing home during meal time or during an activity period and take a look at the staff that’s helping out with that meal or activity. If you feel that there isn’t enough staff to help out with the meal or activity, there probably isn’t, and I would not send my loved one to that nursing home. Folks, there is not anything in this world that’s less important than choosing the right place for your loved one to get the best care possible. So, please, if you have any questions, visit our website, take a look at the free resources we have in our eBook and our interactive staffing guide, or just give us a call, 216-285-9991. Allen Tittle, Cleveland Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Lawyer, and I’m here to help. Take care!
Contact Cleveland Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Lawyer
There’s nothing more important than choosing the right facility for your loved one. If you or a family member has experienced any neglect or abuse in a nursing home or assisted living facility, call us today. We can help you fight for the justice your family deserves.