Selecting a Nursing Home

Selecting the best nursing home for a family member in the Phoenix, Arizona area is a difficult, yet extremely important process. There are many different criteria that you can use as a guide to help ensure your loved one will be well cared for and happy. Here are a few of the most important things to consider:

• Location
• Special Needs
• Overall Facility and Staff Quality
• Word of Mouth Reputation

Location

You'll want to select a location close to the family members who will be visiting the most often. This will increase the frequency of visits and ensure that you can respond quickly in case of emergency. Studies have shown that family visits often have a very positive effect on recovery time and a positive effect on the happiness of nursing home residents. Frequent and unannounced visits also:

• Make it easy for you to monitor your loved one’s condition
• Increase the likelihood that the staff will do a good job taking care of your loved one (because they don’t know when you’ll show up to check on your loved one)
• Allow you to participate in care planning

Special Needs

If your loved one has special needs (e.g. needs a ventilator, psychiatric care, etc.), you should choose a facility that can meet those needs. There are many specialized nursing home facilities in the Phoenix area, so it will take some research to find one that is affordable, close by and offers all the services your loved one needs.

Overall Facility and Staff Quality

Once you’ve located a few facilities that meet the needs of your loved one, you should take a full tour of each and ask yourself the following questions:

• Which one has a nicer atmosphere? Are the facilities clean and decorated nicely? Do residents appear happy? Do the rooms look comfortable?
• Which one has the best quality food and menu selection? Are the same meals repeated frequently? Do the residents appear to enjoy them?
• Which one has the best activities calendar for the residents? Are there a variety of fun events planned on a regular basis?
• What do the records of care for each reveal? Do they have past violations on record or lawsuits against them? You can check this information by contacting the government agency that regulates nursing homes.
• How does the staff make you feel? ? Do the administrators and staff members make you feel welcome during your tour? Are they friendly and professional? Do they seem caring?
• Which facility has more staff members? Many times resident neglect becomes a problem when there is high turnover and a facility is understaffed. Find out what the staff to resident ratio is and whether that complies with state law.

Word of Mouth Reputation

One of the most important things you should do before selecting a facility is to talk to current residents and their families about the facility. Ask them what they like and dislike about the facility or if they have ever been suspicious of nursing home abuse or neglect. If the facility has a good reputation, then chances are its staff will do a good job taking care of your loved one.

If you would like to learn more, please contact us today. The nursing home abuse lawyers of Snyder & Wenner, P.C. are dedicated to protecting the rights of nursing home residents and their families, wherever they are located. From our Phoenix, Arizona offices, we can phone, email, and travel, to build a case and fight for your compensation.