Your loved one deserves the best of care. Use this list to assist in the evaluation of a long-term care facility to your personal standards and satisfaction. The first step in the selection process of a facility is deciding the level of care that is necessary for the person's needs. The individual's personal physician would be an excellent resource to assist in making this decision. Other resources that may be helpful are hospital discharge planners, hospital social workers and visiting nurses.
Most facilities describe their care as skilled vs. non-skilled care.
A non-skilled facility may be supervised by a licensed nurse who is available for emergencies and the care be provided by certified health care workers such as nursing assistants. For someone needing moderate assistance with meals and dressing but not intensive nursing care, this can be quite appropriate as well as cost effective. Before selecting any facility, be sure the individual's physician agrees that the facility will be able to meet their care needs. Our suggestions are geared toward skilled facilities but many of these guidelines will also apply and be very appropriate for facilities of a lesser level of licensing. Our first suggestion is that the facility have valid and current licenses from all state and local licensing agencies regardless of the level of skilled care.