 | Jeanne Gowdy-Freeman, MA, BSA, BOML, is the coordinator of Admissions at Westview of Derby, a skilled nursing facility. She has been a health care professional for more than 10 years. Gowdy-Freeman has a Master of Arts in Human Resources Development from Webster University, a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from Friends University. Jeanne is married to Scotty Freeman and has 4 children. If you are interested in volunteering for our residents please contact Jeanne or Beth at 788-3739. |
Hospice
2009-06-01 10:29:00
Finding a good facility for family
Question: My elderly father’s health has reached a point where he needs 24 hour skilled nursing care. How do I find a facility that will give him good care?
Answer: The best information is usually found by looking at facilities yourself. You do not need to know a lot about nursing. You can look, smell and see how the residents are. Are they happy?
When you take a tour of the facility, ask the residents some questions. How you think your father would like living with these people? Is the location convenient for those who will visit most? Do you get answers to the questions you ask? Does the person you are working with, know where to go to get an answer they don’t know? Is the facility certified for Medicare and Medicaid?
Other information of use would be available from the state agency that licenses nursing homes in your state, the health department, family services or as in Kansas the State Department of Aging. There is also an Area Agency on Aging that can provide information about nursing homes and centers. Larger counties or cities may have Department of Aging which can be of help. The Area Agency on Aging is authorized by various Federal laws and they are in every area.
There are traditional measures of quality that can be obtained from the retirement community or on the internet. There is a nursing home compare link on the www.medicare.gov web site that gives much information considered useful by the government.
All health care facilities in Kansas are regularly inspected by the Kansas Department of Aging. The Registered Nurses that conduct the inspection have experience in providing skilled nursing care, before they were hired as inspectors. Ask to see a copy of the most recent inspection results. See what the reaction is when you ask and also feel free to ask facility staff about how they worked to fix those results. You may wish to talk to the Director of Nursing about nursing issues and other department heads about issues in their department. You can judge how you feel about the looks of the other residents, and the appearance of the facility.
General Internet web sites are of questionable help. They may regurgitate old information previously published by the government. It is not uncommon to read dates that are 3 – 8 years old. Some companies have even sold outdated information to newspapers for stories about nursing facilities.
When you tour several nursing facilities please use this short check list, in addition to the above information, to help you determine which facility may be best for your situation.
Did the staff of the facility appear caring and concerned about their residents?
Do you feel comfortable discussing and obtaining answers from key facility staff?
Did the facility appear to be clean and homelike?
Did the residents seem happy and were you able to talk to them?
Is the location convenient for those family and friends that will be frequent visitors?
Is the facility certified for Medicaid and Medicare?
Did the menu and meal service look appealing?
Were the Activity Calendar and Personal Care (Beauty Shop) interesting and available?
Are there other considerations?
