As many of you know, for the last couple of months I have been contracting with different nursing home and memory care facilities in my area. The longer I work with my facilities, the more aware I am of how drastically different they all are. Today I wanted to share some things that I think are important to do before deciding to put your loved on in a facility. Before we begin, I want to stress that there is nothing wrong with need to put your parent or grandparent in a home. You need to make sure that they’re getting the best care and if you can’t provide it, then this is the best option.

Now when you’re looking for a home, make sure that you check out as many as possible. Also don’t just email them and go on a short tour of the facility. I think it’s best to see if you and your loved one can spend a few hours there so that you can see how the day to day flow is. How nice is the staff? What kind of activities are provided for the resident to do during the day? How aesthetically pleasing is the place? I could go on and on with questions, but we’ll do a breakdown of things that you should look for.

1. Facility: What is the appearance inside and outside? Honestly is the grounds aren’t groomed and the outside isn’t cared for, then the inside probably won’t be any different. When looking at the inside, pay attention to the detail the facility put into decorating. I’ve been in facilities that have very nice waiting rooms, but the rest of the facility is very dull and boring. Also one of the top things that I think you should look for is lighting. You want a facility that is well lit, if things are dim then your loved one will probably spend a lot of time sleeping rather than actively doing things.  Most of the facilities that I work in that are dimly lit have residents that don’t respond much to what I’m doing.
2. Staff: How does the staff treat the residents? The reason that I believe that you should spend a few hours at a facility is because the employees will eventually let their guard down and let you see their true colors. I’ve been in locked facilities where somehow a resident got out. I’ve been in facilities where the employees don’t really have any contact with the residents outside of giving medications and getting them from place to place. I’ve also been at facilities where the employees are very attentive to the residents and treat them like their own family. It’s very important to see how the employees treat the residents because this will affect their overall well-being.
3. Activities: How often does the facility provide activities for the residents to do? How much of a variety does the facility provide for your loved ones? This is so important. Something that I have found with the facilities that I have worked at is that the more activities they’re provided, the more cognitively aware they are. When looking at the activities provided, you also want to learn about the activities. One of the facilities I work with has someone that comes in and does hand massages for the residents. While that’s a nice activity, it is passive instead of active. You want activities that are going to keep your loved one active and engaged cognitively. The more you engage the different parts of your brain, the longer you get to keep those parts. This won’t stop the progression of Dementia, but it can help slow the progression some. It’ll be harder for those areas of the brain to decline if they’re constantly being used.

I find these three points should really cover all of your bases when looking for a facility for your loved one. If you have any questions about anything of these things, then I would love to talk with you about them. Leave a comment below and I will respond as soon as I can. -Tabatha