List Nursing Homes

When someone that is close to you can no longer look after themselves and requires the need for round the clock care, taking the decision to place them in a nursing home can be a tough one. Choosing the right home can be even harder there are certain steps you should take and things to look out for to help in making the right choice. The first thing to do would be to list nursing homes in the local area and arrange appointments to visit those homes.

Code Table

Choosing a nursing home

By first making a list, nursing homes on it should be narrowed done to four or five that you should visit. All nursing homes should provide these features as standard:

24 hour care
Personal care
Social and recreational services
Meals and dietary requirements
Housekeeping
Laundry
Utility costs
Therapeutic services
Medical services

List nursing homes that have these services, this can be found out before you visit the home by taking a look on the company’s website. Most nursing homes now have dedicated websites that fully details the services provided.

Appointment

When it comes to visiting each home there are things that you can look out for and list. Nursing home managers will be happy to answer all questions that you may have so feel free to query anything that you may be unsure about. A good time to visit may be at meal times; this can give you a sense not just of the quality and variety of the food but a sense of the atmosphere when all residents are together with staff.

First thing to assess is the cleanliness of the facility. Make sure there is no permeating odour or unwanted smells also look at the décor, bright and cheerful décor will be more appealing to residents than dark colours.

Look around to see if residents are up and out of bed, also if they are correctly dressed and groomed accordingly. Friendly staff rates high on peoples ‘lists, nursing homes with friendly staff appeal more to people than any of the facilities. Look at how staffs are with residents to see if they are caring and patient, especially with residents that suffer from dementia. Look and ask if there is adequate staff to care for the residents and if they are present in the day rooms. Check that patients who need help with eating are being properly assisted and those who are confined to beds or chair are comfortable.

Checking security is also important, both in the home and garden, this is important for patients that have a tendency to wonder; no trip hazards should be present throughout the home either.

Things to ask

On your appointment you should make a list of questions that you can put to the management, here are a few examples:

Have staff received specialist training? This will also apply to volunteers handling dementia residents.
What security is in place?
Are there specialist units for dementia patients?
What activities are there?