Choosing a nursing home for your parents is not a decision that should be taken lightly. We are talking about selecting a facility or care home that will be looking after your parents into their golden years.
Nursing homes should never be viewed as a place where your parents go to die, rather you should see them as facilities that will help them to live better – by having someone else take care of their needs, you will free up their schedules for far more enjoyable activities.
If you need a little help and guidance on how to choose the best nursing home for your parents, then you have come to the right place. Read on for helpful tips on how to find the perfect match for your folks…
Research Facilities
Finding the best nursing home for your elderly parents will take time and research. You have to be sure that the place you choose is the best possible fit for them, and that they can be trusted to take the best care of your parents – physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Join local Facebook support groups because more opinions will help make your decision that much easier. Ask around at your local community centre for options in your neighbourhood and surrounding areas.
Embrace Holistic Care
There are so many aspects of care that need consideration before making this monumental decision. If your parents require monitoring and closer levels of care due to illness or diseases that affect the elderly, then choose a nursing facility that embraces holistic care.
It is not enough for your parents to just be physically taken care of – the best facilities will offer spiritual and mental stimulation as well. This is the time for you to be strict with your requirements because your parents deserve the best care possible.
Choose Local
You will want to keep your parents nearby so that you and your children can visit regularly. If there is one thing that has been proven over the years about nursing home care, it is that elderly people thrive when surrounded by the love of their families.
Having them in a local nursing facility will also mean that you can keep a close eye on the level of care that they receive, if anything seems off you can easily contact nursing home abuse lawyers to take care of it.
Pay special attention to any extra bumps or bruising that you see during your visits, we do bruise easily when we are older, but you will soon be able to pick up on any suspicious patterns.
Read more: https://gatherbaltimore.org/tips-to-living-a-more-sustainable-life/
Pick Your Top Three
Once you have narrowed down your local options to your top five or six favorites, you can now move onto making a pros and cons list for each of them.
These lists will help you to narrow down those options to your top three and you can then schedule tours and visits with each of those facilities to see them in person and meet their staff and current residents.
Schedule Tours
Most nursing home establishments understand the need to offer tours to prospective residents and their families. These days you should never blindly trust what you see or read online; you should inspect the facility in broad daylight as well as at night-time.
You must check how clean the establishment is and how often it gets cleaned, and you need to see how the staff treat each other and their residents. Make sure you go on a random day during the week; this way you can be sure that what you see is what you get.
Interview Staff
When visiting your top three nursing home facilities, make sure to spend time chatting to the staff there. Ask them questions (as many as you like) and judge them based on their responses as well as their willingness to respond. Most staff, particularly those with experience in caring for the elderly, will understand that you have questions and concerns before allowing your parents to move in.
Ask about the activities they have on offer as well as their safety policies surrounding that activity. Your parents deserve to have the most fun during their retirement years, so be sure to pick a place that offers the best care, coupled with the best activities.
Chat To Residents
When visiting or touring the facility you are most interested in, take some time to chat with the current residents if they are willing to speak to you.
Ask them about how they are treated regularly, how long they have been there, and specifically about if they have ever been hurt by one of the staff members. You may need to judge by their reaction rather than just their response, many nursing homes staff have intimidated their residents so they will not want to snitch in fear of being hurt more.
Visit Regularly
Once you have chosen the facility that best fits your parent’s needs, you need to make sure that you schedule regular visits with them.
Phone them daily or weekly to check up on them and ensure that they are happy. There will be an adjustment period where your parents will need to get used to the fact that they need extra help as they age, but once they have adjusted, they should move on to having the time of their lives.
Luckily for us, the modern age has brought with it a host of tech-savvy ways for us to keep in touch with our loved ones – even for the least tech-savvy members of our families.
Report Suspicious Activity
Lastly, if you ever see anything remotely suspicious during your calls or visits, then you need to report them immediately.
By staying on top of your game, you can ensure that your parents remain safe and happy during their stay. It is so important that you listen to your gut.
If there is ever something that does not feel right to you, you should take them home immediately – it is always better to be safe rather than sorry.