South Carolina Nursing Home Blog : South Carolina Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Poliakoff & Associates Law Firm : Elderly Care, Senior Care

This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of Nursing Degrees . She welcomes your comments at her email Id: kitty.holman20@gmail.com.

The New York Times had an article about the process of choosing a nursing home for your loved one. This can be a long and difficult process for people, and there are certain things to remember as you work to find a home that fits your needs.

1. Collect the data. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services collect data annually on nursing homes across the country, assembling information about everything from health inspection rankings to staffing reports on more than 15,000 institutions. A great way to get started in this is by using the Nursing Home Compare tool at Medicare.gov.  However, it's important to remember that federally issued rankings of nursing homes only reflect the home's performance during a very brief period, so the quality might have changed since the report was issued. Additionally, Medicare's grading system stipulates that only 10 percent of a state's nursing homes can receive the top rating of five stars, so a high-quality home might get four stars for no reason other than that it missed the arbitrary cutoff point.

2. Visit repeatedly. It's impossible to get a sense of what a nursing home is like from just one visit. In order to better understand life at a particular home, it pays to visit several times, over different days and at different times of the day. This way, you can get an overall feel for the place. Medicare.gov also provides a helpful PDF checklist  you can take on visits to record what you see, hear, and smell. For instance, are staff and residents busy interacting, or is the place quiet and reserved? Does it smell like food, or cleaning supplies? Are there noticeable stains or broken fixtures? This is also your chance to talk directly with the nursing home's management, including the head physicians. If they can't make time to speak with you, it might be a good idea to move on and look at another home.

3. Ask the right questions. If you're placing a loved one in a nursing home, make sure to ask the facility's staff about "person-centered care" and "consistent assignment." The former is a term that means residents will be able to set their own schedules, including meal times and when they wake up. The latter means that the same team of physicians and assistants will deal with the same patients in each shift. This provides a feeling of continuity for residents and allows them to develop relationships with their caregivers.

4. Check their reputation. Every state in the country has a federally funded ombudsman overseeing long-term care who works as an advocate for nursing home patients. Your state's ombudsman will be able to help you find out more about nursing homes in your area and whether there is additional survey information on the facility in question. They can also tell you if any complaints have been filed against the nursing home. The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center can help you learn more about your local ombudsman.

 

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We are pleased to have Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of nurse practitioner schools, write the following guest article.

It’s a situation that we hope never comes to our loved ones, but if we are practical, we know that it could happen to even the healthiest of us. When elderly family members become sick and infirm and need constant round-the-clock care, we may not be able to provide what they need because we are too busy with our lives, work, social commitments and families. So we do the next best thing, choose a nursing home that caters to their every need and keeps them in comfort for the rest of their lives. When it comes to choosing a nursing home for your loved ones, here are a few salient points to keep in mind:

• Location matters: You’re going to want to visit frequently and check up on your loved one often. So choose a home that is near you, preferably not more than an hour’s drive away. The further your loved one is, the more you’re going to come up with excuses not visit and this could end up making your relationship deteriorate.

• Check it out: Never choose a home without checking it out at least twice. If possible, take your loved one with you so that they too have a say in where they’re going to live. They may also want to move in with a friend or loved one who is in a nursing home, so take their wishes into consideration too. Loneliness can weigh heavily on their mind, so it’s important that they have a friend in the facility.

• Talk to residents and staff members: Your instinct will tell you how good or bad a nursing home is. When you talk to people at the home, be it staff or residents, take in all their comments and answers without forming an opinion right away. Write down important aspects, then go home and discuss options with your loved one.

• Think of the cost factor: If you expect Medicare or similar programs to pay for the nursing home, you will be restricted to choosing one that is approved by the state under the guidelines of these programs. Visit those close to your location and choose one that is clean and has good service. Also ensure that adequate medical facilities are available to provide care during emergencies and for common conditions that occur with old age.

• Visit frequently: The only way to ensure that you’ve made the right choice of nursing home is to visit often and see that your loved one is well cared for and satisfied. If you’re not able to visit frequently, at least call and check if everything is ok.

Nursing homes are meant to be a home away from home for the elderly. So ensure that your loved ones are well taken care of when you put them in such facilities.

Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com
 

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Online Nursing Home Resource Provided by IQ Nursing Homes.  IQ Nursing Homes announces the launch of their new website, a comprehensive online research tool for nursing home residents and concerned family members.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 17, 2008 ) New York - IQ Nursing Homes announces the launch of their new website, a comprehensive online research tool for nursing home residents and concerned family members. A national nursing home directory, up-to-date nursing home news, nursing home deficiency reports, and legal resources for victims of nursing home abuse and elder neglect cases are now just a click away on one easy to navigate site.

With increased life expectancies in today’s society leading to higher numbers of nursing home residents, IQ Nursing Homes recognized the need to create a free, complete online nursing home resource. Careful research is imperative to ensure that the nursing home to which you entrust your loved one’s care is reputable and safe. When you visit IQ Nursing Home’s national directory to locate elder care facilities in your area, you can also check nursing home deficiency reports to make sure the facility you choose provides the best care possible to its residents.

In addition to directories and information, IQ Nursing Homes provides a way for nursing home employees, residents, and their families to combat elder abuse and neglect. These are serious, prevalent problems that can result in physical and emotional suffering. Painful bed sores, broken hips, and even death are among the afflictions the nursing home residents face at the hands of negligent or abusive caregivers. Resources to help individuals recognize and report these problems are available on the IQ Nursing Homes website, including signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect and an anonymous abuse report form.

If abuse is suspected, a free nursing home abuse case evaluation is also available on the site. IQ Nursing Homes has partnered with expert nursing home lawyers and law firms throughout the country with the goal of putting a stop to the victimization of the elderly. By holding negligent and abusive staff members accountable for their actions and making it financially devastating for nursing homes to allow abuse and neglect to occur, this epidemic can be put to an end.

Be IQ Smart. Visit http://www.iqnursinghomes.com/ to learn more.

This press release was issued through GroupWeb EmailWire.Com. For more information on unlimited press release distribution service, go to http://www.emailwire.com

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Heather Johnson was kind enough to write a guest post for the blog.  We thank her for her contribution, and appreciate her expert advice.

How to Pick a Nursing Home for an Alzheimer’s Patient

Any family that’s been afflicted by having a member stricken by Alzheimer’s disease knows how immensely difficult and trying it can be. Many times it’s so hard because the person with Alzheimer’s disease is in perfect physical health. This makes the family so much more hesitant to put the relative in a nursing home because it seems like nothing is wrong and we want to believe that. However, we also know that as the disease progresses they can’t perform the daily activities safely and responsibly. It puts such a strain on the family that eventually the only choice is to look for a nursing home. This brings up the major issue of finding a place that can provide the care we demand. It can be an arduous search and here a few tips to help you as you look for that special place:

1. Staff ratios are of the utmost importance. Alzheimer’s disease patients need more direct care than your standard nursing home. Given the unpredictability of the disease and the actions of the afflicted it’s dire that they receive as much dedicated care as possible. Make sure the facility can guarantee at least a ratio of five patients to one caregiver.

2. Pay attention to the building’s architecture. Many Alzheimer’s disease patients have trouble making sharp corners. They do better with rounded hallways that don’t require sharp turns. All hallways should have hand railings to further assist patients with walking.

3. Group activities are important. Check to see that the facility offers small group activities instead of large ones. Alzheimer’s disease patients react much more favorably to working in groups under four than they do in larger groups.

4. Talk to relatives with family members already in the facility. This is sometimes the best way you can determine if the facility is the right place for your loved one. They will shoot you straight and answer your questions directly and honestly instead of a coordinator who needs to toe the company line and always put a positive spin on the facility’s deficiencies.

5. Discover what kind of experiences the patients can expect. There are many new techniques that some nursing homes offer their patients that help alleviate some of the accompanying discomforts that go hand-in-hand with those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Aromatherapy and experimenting with dimmer lighting are a couple examples of ways nursing home deal with the anxiety that many suffer from on a daily basis.

By-line:

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of Cruise Ship Nursing. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

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I saw a great article discussing the process of choosing and entering a nursing home.  The article tells the story of a woman who scouted nursing homes with a home-like setting where the staff-to-resident ratio was low.

More than 5 million people in the United States receive some form of daily care, according to Joseph L. Matthews, a California attorney who specializes in elder law and is the author of "Long-Term Care: How to Plan and Pay for It."

More than 2 million people older than 65 are in some type of nursing facility or other residential care facility at a cost of between $30,000 and $150,000 each per year, according to Matthews.

One out of four of those nursing-home residents stay in a facility for longer than a year, and 10 percent stay for more than three years.

Medicare covers the first 20 days of care at 100 percent. After that, a 20 percent co-pay is required for the next 80 days.  Some supplemental Medicare insurance will pick up the co-pay, but patients without that coverage could find themselves paying $130 or more per night for the remaining 80 days, Honig said.

While Medicaid will cover the cost of nursing home, residents have to spend down their assets to qualify, she said. But the spouse still living at home can keep residential property, a car and a limited number of other assets. 

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How to Choose a Nursing Home

© 2007 ElderLawNet, Inc.

Last Updated: 4/10/2007


Few things are more stressful than finding a nursing home for a loved one. Everyone has heard nursing home horror stories and no one wants that to happen to their loved ones. While there is no way to guarantee that nothing will go wrong, some careful research and planning can help reassure you. Following are some criteria to consider when looking for a nursing home.

Location. No single factor is more important to quality of care and quality of life of a nursing home resident than visits by family members. Care is often better if the facility knows someone's watching and cares. Visits can be the high point of the day or week for the nursing home resident. So, make it as easy as possible for family members and friends to visit.

Special Needs. Make sure the facility can meet any special needs the resident may have, including a ventilator, psychiatric care, or extra supervision. If the resident has dementia, the facility will need to be one that handles dementia patients. Make sure the staff is properly trained for dementia patients; there is enough staff, especially at night; and staff members are assigned to a particular resident.

Personal Needs. Can the facility meet personal needs, such as religious or ethnic needs? Also, if the resident speaks a language other than English, are there staff who speak the same language?

References. Ask the facility to provide the names of family members of residents so you can ask them about the care provided in the facility and the staff's responsiveness when the resident or relatives raise concerns.

Do research. CareScout is an unbiased source for ratings and reviews of eldercare providers nationwide. Detailed, 7-10 page Nursing Home reports are available for a fee, and include more than 100 pieces of information on quality, resident population profiles, and health violations. Medicare.gov allows you to get three years worth of inspection reports on the nursing homes you are considering. Find out who owns the facility and if they own any other nursing homes, and see if you can get reports for those nursing homes as well. In addition, talk to the long-term care ombudsman in your state to find out if there have been complaints against the nursing homes you are considering.

Interview the administration and staff. Talk to the nursing home administrator or nursing staff about how care plans are developed for residents and how they respond to concerns expressed by family members. Make sure you are comfortable with the response. It is better that you meet with and ask questions of the people responsible for care and not just the person marketing the facility.

Tour the nursing home. Try not to be impressed by a fancy lobby or depressed by an older, more rundown facility. What matters most is the quality of care and the interactions between staff and residents. See what you pick up about how the staff interacts with the patients, how well residents are attended to and whether they are treated with respect. Also, investigate the quality of the food service. Eating is both a necessity and a pleasure that continues even when we're unable to enjoy much else.

© 2007 ElderLawNet, Inc.

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The below website is very helpful in researching South Carolina nursing home facilities. Family members should gather as much evidence as possible before determining which nursing home to place a loved one.

www.memberofthefamily.net/sc.htm

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Before choosing a nursing home to place a loved one in, family members should investigate the facility as much as possible. The below website is helpful in assisiting families choose the right nursing home.

Click here: MemberoftheFamily.net U.S. Nursing Home Information Registry Ratings Complaints Surveys Quality & Staffing

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