Information Available to the Public

There are several ways to learn about a nursing home.
1. call numbers in the phone book
2. ask a friend
3. ask your doctor
4. ask your pastor
5. look on the internet

The problem is that there are 2 sides to every story. All of those ways will give you information. The information will probably be accurate. The only thing is that the information is not always complete. The reason I am saying this is mostly due to what you can find on the internet. You can look up several pieces of information about a nursing home including
1. state survey results
2. 5 star rating
3. resident satisfaction surveys

I would like for you to make sure that you get all of the information. First of all if you do not understand how a survey deficiency is rated you can be misled. A facility can have a lot of deficiencies but still be a good facility.What people don't understand is the scope (number of people effected) and severity (if there is actual harm) of the results. What they should look at is if the letter by the deficiency is a G or higher. This means that there was actual harm. A letter A,B or C doesen't even require a follow up visit. A D or E means that more residents coud have been effected but there was no harm. If you look up a survey call the facility and ask them about it. Better yet visit the facility and ask to read the survey. It is public information.

Second the state has set up a 5 star system to rate nursing homes. The areas that are looked at are as follows:
1. survey results
2. staffing
3. quality indicators
The survey results are misleading as stated above. A good facility may have 15 deficiencies while a poor facility could have much less. Staffing is based on the state and federal requirements and the QI's. The quality indicators are determined by an assessment completed by the facility and sent into the state. These scores are being looked at and hopefully will be improved upon.

Third there are the resident satisfaction surveys that are completed annually. These are conducted by people not associated with any facility which is very good. The only problem is that they are scored on by an average. Therfore a small facility with a 2 or 3 unhappy residents can score very low. They also interview all residents regardless of ability to comprehend. A facility that has a lot of behavior and or dementia patients can have a very low resident satisfaction score even though the families are very happy and satisfied.

Please be sure that before you make a decision to choose a facility you look at everything. Talk to the staff, take a tour on the weekend or in the evening to see how things are going. Check for odors and poorly kept residents as indicators of a poor facility not just new carpet and furniture.