How to Select a Proper Nursing Home for Your Loved One
Written by Jeff Meyer on June 23, 2015
If you speak with experts and advocates for seniors and disabled persons, one of the first things they tell you to do when considering a proper nursing home for a loved one is to take the time to be sure that it is the right moment to make the move. As one organizations says, “It can be difficult to determine when it is time for an elderly individual to move into a nursing home…Often, nursing homes are considered the last resort when a patient can no longer care for themselves.”
This idea is actually a good place to begin the search as it allows you to take steps that ensure that optimal decisions are made. For example, to be sure your loved one should be relocating to a nursing home has to begin with a visit to a medical professional. Allowing the physician to do an exam and give some input on the decision is a wise choice.
The doctor may notice mental or physical issues that make it clear that nursing home care is a good idea. On the other hand, they may say it is not the right time too. Their opinions are valid and useful.
With the professional advice in hand, it is time to sit down as a family and discuss the option too. How does your loved one feel about it? How does everyone else involved in the decision feel about it? This dialogue also enables the process by opening up discussions about where, when, and how it would all be managed.
For example, one person may not want the loved one to be more than a specific distance from the family, and so on. This is a chance to air such concerns and begin building good choices around them.
This sort of conversation also lets everyone make suggestions about alternative answers. There are options other than nursing care, and before uprooting someone to a nursing home, it is a very wise idea to consider each option. Consulting with the organizations and agencies that handle “in home” care or family support is a good idea at such a time too, as this provides actual answers rather than hypotheticals.
If this discussion results in the decision to make the move to a nursing home, everyone should participate in ensuring that the process is as comfortable and happy as possible. With the feedback from the discussion, the search for a suitable nursing home can begin.
Making the Choice
Most people live within reach of more than a single nursing home, and so it is likely that any family will have options. The wisest approach is to visit those that seem the best, but also allowing those that do not quite meet the criteria to appear on the list too. After all, a nursing home may be a bit farther away than everyone wanted, but if it is a superior option to the local choices, it may end up with everyone being much happier.
Pay a visit, talk to other residents, ask around. Knowledge is power at this time, and you want to be sure you have really scrutinized the entire field before you make a final decision. Always bring your loved one on visits if possible and get their initial feelings too.
Making the move to a nursing home is always best when that decision has been made openly, fairly, and with the input of your loved one and the family. If you realize that your choice has resulted in nursing home abuse or neglect, do not hesitate to take action and get in touch with an attorney experienced in such matters. You do not have to “go it alone” and an attorney can make things happen quickly.
Source
NursingHomeAbuseGuide.org. Finding the right nursing…https://www.nursinghomeabuseguide.org/resources/finding-the-right-nursing-home/
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