In my professional capacity as a personal injury attorney, I have looked to find appropriate nursing home care for individuals who have been severely injured and can no longer live on their own. On a more personal level, I searched for a nursing home for my father who, with increasingly serious health issues, could no longer be cared for in my home. I searched for nursing homes by making appointments to inspect them, by talking with hospital personnel for recommendations, and by simply asking friends and acquaintances “what would be the best nursing home?”
In my ongoing research, I recently found a dependable tool that can help you to narrow your search for an appropriate nursing home within the parameters you have deemed most important to you and your family. It is an official United States government website put out by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to assist individuals in finding and comparing appropriate nursing home care in their area. This website rates nursing homes based on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. It also provides an overall rating to each nursing home, provides the address and telephone number for nursing homes, and gives travel directions. The website lists whether the nursing home accepts Medicare and/or Medicaid, the number of certified beds in the facility, the type of ownership, and whether the nursing home is a corporation, individually owned, for profit, or nonprofit.
The website is very easy to use and has detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country. You can find nursing homes within your state, county, or city. You can also locate a home by using their name or you simply use a certain distance within your zip code.
This site allows you to make preliminary decisions by comparing issues that you as an individual are not normally privy to. Once choices have been narrowed using this website, I encourage people to get personally involved in the selection process: Discuss the issue with your doctor or healthcare provider; ask family and friends; inspect the facility; and last, but not least, make impromptu visits to the nursing homes under consideration, perhaps speaking with current residents or family of residents. This website is a great tool that can help you decide what is best for your loved one when they are no longer capable of independent living.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
