More than a million seniors a year enter skilled nursing facilities. These homes may be part of a retirement community that provides housing with services from independent to assisted living and nursing care or stand-alone facilities.

Ask friends, neighbors and family for recommendations. Check online resources such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ search-and-compare tool.

Get Referrals

Getting referrals from trusted sources is important if a family member needs nursing home care. Ask local hospitalists, doctors and elder law attorneys for recommendations. Also, check out your state’s Medicare ratings and read news stories about nursing homes.

When you visit an Albany NY nursing home, consider its atmosphere and whether it feels like a home. Does the facility have a pleasant smell and feel clean and well-maintained? Do staff members interact with the residents warmly and respectfully? Do the residents look happy, or are they excessively groggy and overmedicated?

Consider implementing a Physician Liaison Program to cultivate and maintain relationships with area medical providers. Please give them a reason to refer your nursing home, like branded latte cups or a free stay for a new resident they referred.

Educate Yourself

Before rushing to choose a nursing home:

1. Take time to educate yourself on what’s available.
2. Ask friends, family and clergy for recommendations.
3. Check with a hospital discharge planner or social worker for suggestions, particularly if the older person recently left a hospital for rehab or long-term care.

Use tools on websites like Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare to filter options based on health inspections and staffing. You can also search for specific types of care, such as memory care or short-term rehabilitation.

Make appointments to visit several facilities. Be sure to schedule visits at different times of the day and for mealtimes. During unannounced visits, look around for signs that the environment is safe, welcoming and well-maintained. Also, consider how the facility handles emergencies. Some have evacuation plans, for example, and some have fire-safety equipment.

Visit

Visiting nursing homes is an essential part of selecting one. It is a time to ask questions, observe and take notes.

Experts recommend talking with the admissions staff and food, nursing and social services directors. They are likely to be able to provide you with detailed information about the home’s care and costs.

Mollot and Eyigor suggested that you look beyond the nursing homes’ quality measures rating, which is self-reported by each facility and not audited for integrity. The CDC’s Care Compare website offers more in-depth information on facilities. In addition, it is important to visit the nursing home during mealtime to see how the food is prepared and served. This will help you understand how much effort the nursing home puts into making mealtime pleasant for residents.

Ask Questions

Getting qualitative advice from friends and family members is a good way to assess nursing homes. It would help if you also considered whether the home is accredited by the Joint Commission, a non-profit that inspects and certifies healthcare organizations. This certification is important if your loved one has Medicare, as the program will only pay for facilities that meet its quality control and safety guidelines.

Inquire about the quality of food served, the number of hours a day staff members spend with residents and whether nurses regularly check bed-bound patients for pressure sores. You should also find out if the home uses medications to control behavior and ask about a visitation policy. This is especially important if your loved one has mobility or cognitive issues.

Trust Your Gut

As important as it is to research, visit, ask questions and take time to make a decision, it’s equally as important to trust your gut feelings. But figuring out when to trust your gut instincts and where those intuitions come from isn’t a one-size-fits-all process.

For example, you might feel a sense of deja vu when walking into a nursing home. That’s likely a result of your brain’s ability to identify patterns. So, listen to your gut, but use your rational mind when making decisions affecting a loved one’s life.