Many people ask me "What should I be looking for when we are shopping for nursing home placement for our parents?" The following Best Questions have been adapted from AARP’s warning signs for bad nursing homes.
 

1.  Are there strong odors, particularly of urine or heavy disinfectant as a cover- up? 

2. How clean is the facility? (Ask to see an occupied resident’s room to judge janitorial care.) 

3.  Do you see the use of restraints, such as chair, bed, or wheelchair straps or vests, or bruises, welts, or cuts on the residents? 

4. Are residents’ needs for privacy treated with respect, such as undressing them in private? 

5.  Does the staff speak to the residents (or one another) rudely or disrespectfully? Do staffers know residents by name and as individuals? Are the staffers speaking in a language your loved one doesn’t know? 

6. Are calls for help answered promptly? Are there grab bars and other safety features? 

7. Are residents’ food trays full or only half eaten? Are staffers helping residents to eat? 

8. Do residents look lonely, unhappy, inactive, or immobile? Are they clean, dressed, and groomed? 

9. Are you greeted or acknowledged by staff members, or is your presence ignored or even resented? 

10. Is there a wide discrepancy between how well decorated and brightly lit the lobby/common areas are compared to the residents’ hallways and rooms?