How to Choose the Right Nursing Home
By Joseph Devine
Not everyone has time to adequately care for their elderly family members and it might become necessary to admit your loved one into a nursing home. If you decide that a nursing home is the right option for your family, then you must also face the difficult decision of which nursing home to choose.
What to Ask on a Visit
There are numerous questions to be answered about a given nursing home before you should choose to admit a loved one in to the care of that facility.
- Ask to see the most recent survey report. Every year a report is filed after the state inspects the facility, including all violations that were found and any efforts by the facility to rectify the violation.
- Ask about the ratio of nurses to residents at any given time. This can tell you a lot about the care that will be provided and how quickly a response to an emergency can be obtained.
- Ask to see how many complaints were filed in the last year and what they were.
- Ask about the turnover at the facility. If the nurses are happy and sticking around, the stress level and care that is provided is likely going to be better.
- Ask if all of the nurses are certified.
- Ask about what steps are taken to keep residents mobile to prevent muscle atrophy.
- Ask how many people have left the facility in the last year.
- Ask about the food that is offered and if there are options.
These questions will give you a good idea of whether or not the facility is right for you. After seeing several homes, you can compare the answers to these questions and narrow it down to the right fit.
Call the Texas Department of Human Services (1-800-458-9858)
You will not be able to get an answer on whether a facility is necessarily good or bad, but you can get a number of questions answered that you can be confident are accurate. Asking a state department might also be more comfortable for you than asking the actual nursing home. You'll be able to find out about:
- Any proposed license terminations in the past two years
- The number of complaints filed in the past year
- The number of those complaints found to be valid
- The number of "quality of care" violations have been found in the past two years
Nursing Homes Can Be Held Liable for Negligence
Be thorough in your search for the right nursing home to avoid poor care. If do you choose a nursing home that ultimately does not treat your loved one with the appropriate care and injury or death results, then you might be able to claim damages as a result. You should seek information and consultation on how to handle such a situation. If you would like to get more information on your rights regarding this negligence and the steps you can take to take action, view the website of personal injury lawyers Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C.
Joseph Devine
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