Nursing Facilities
Assess Facilities and Services
These steps will help you assess whether a particular facility is solid and reputable as well as a good fit for your needs.
Compile a list of potential nursing facilities, according to the criteria you find most important.
- For nursing homes, this Web site allows you to search by location or provider name, and filter for special services such as rehabilitation, ventilators, hospice, and care for patients with HIV/AIDS or Alzheimer’s disease.
- For Congregate Living Health Facilities, you can search by location or provider name.
Get basic information to limit your list. Phone potential nursing facilities and briefly explain the essentials you seek. The first thing to find out is whether the facility can take on new residents or if there is a waiting list. Next, ask whether the facility will be able to meet the specific needs you have identified.
Ask which types of payment are accepted. If Medicare or Medi-Cal will be used to pay some of the costs of care, make sure the facility you are considering is certified to receive those payments. Those that do not accept Medi-Cal may make a resident move out when Medicare stops paying or the resident can no longer pay with personal funds. You can find out the types of payment a facility accepts by clicking on the name of the facility and looking at the designations under the heading “Payment Accepted.”
Ask about costs. It’s important to know what sort of fees you can expect to be charged so there are few surprises. Some key questions are: What is the base price? What does it include? What services require additional fees? Under what circumstances could rates be increased? What notice is required if the resident decides to move?
Make an appointment to visit. Ask to meet with the administrator and admissions director; request that one of them give you a tour and answer questions. Visit all the places on your list to compare how they look and feel, paying special attention to the quality of care and the residents’ quality of life. The best time to visit for the first time is on a weekday in the late morning or middle of the day. Talk with as many people as possible and carefully observe what goes on.
Evaluate the staff and standards. The facility should have enough staff to provide clients with individual attention. It should also maintain hiring standards that demand a certain amount of training or experience from employees. Detailed information about this crucial step is offered in the next section, Consider Quality Ratings. Ask the facility administrator about the specific data reported on this Web site.
Check references. As a practical check on the provider, try to speak with a number of recent or current residents as well as their family and friends that you see visiting. These people will have the best information about the services they receive there.
Check financial stability. Learn as much as possible about the owners and finances of the facilities. Here, too, this Web site helps you get started by providing specific information about each facility’s income and operating expenses, found in the Costs and Finances section of a facility profile.
Be mindful of the personal fit. Bring the potential resident on a tour of a facility before signing on for care there, both to help determine whether the place is comfortable for him or her and to begin the process of getting familiar with the new surroundings.
Ask for basic documents. If a particular facility seems promising, ask for copies of documents such as descriptive brochures, admissions policies, admission contract, and resident’s rights policy. You may also want to get details about issues that are potential sticking points, including the facility’s policy for holding a bed if a resident requires hospitalization.
Find out about licensing and insurance. Ask whether the provider is licensed by any particular state or government agency and whether it is covered by the appropriate insurance.
Contact the Ombudsman. It might by helpful to discuss any concerns you have with the facility's Ombudsman, an individual familiar with long term care who act as the residents' advocate. If interested, contact the local Ombudsman program or ask the facility for the information. Seeing how the facility responds to your request to speak to the Ombudsman would be a good test of the staff's responsiveness to your concerns.
