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Things to Look for When Shopping for a Nursing Home
Use all your senses.
Over the years, we’ve had to put my mother in more than one nursing home. When it came to choosing a facility, my wife and I have felt pretty good about the facility in each case. Whatever facility a family chooses, it’s important to visit your family member who is in the facility on a regular basis. Just by virtue of being a regular visitor, you can improve the quality of care your loved one is receiving.
Before we put my mother in a facility a few months ago, we were actually going to place her in a facility about three minutes from our house but decided against it. We just didn’t think the facility was up to par. More about that in a minute.
Actually, I can see myself in an assisted living facility somewhere over the horizon. I don’t want to be a burden to family members. So, here are some things I’d want my family to keep in mind when I’m being placed in a facility.
1: Follow your nose.
Some nursing homes have an overpowering smell of urine when you walk in. If that is a chronic situation, run, or at least shuffle the other way. It’s a symptom of people who don’t care or have somehow done damage to their nose. And that can also be problematic.
