As your loved one begins showing signs that lead you to believe an assisted living facility or nursing home will serve his or her needs, you should consider doing as much research on the facility as possible. Doing so will ensure you and your loved one avoid the potential stress of having to spend precious time and money relocating to another facility. Worse yet, by not doing thorough research on the right type of environment for you loved one, you could inadvertently cause much heartache and unforeseen emotional stress. Given the stakes surrounding these potentially disastrous scenarios, wouldn’t you want to ensure you’ve done everything within your power to secure the right environment and care for your loved one? After all, time and quality of life—while always important—are paramount when it comes to your loved one, so you’ll want to do everything you can to avoid squandering even one iota.
When it comes to good research, no substitute exists, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve gotten “up close and personal,” so to speak with all facilities in question. To successfully do this, you’ll want to make sure you’ve covered as much ground as possible and that you’re in a position to objectively evaluate the information in front of you. That said, you’ll need as many resources for identifying assisted living facilities handy as possible, and when it comes to objectively evaluating a facility, you should know that perhaps the best time to begin researching, comparing and evaluating assisted living facilities is before you find yourself pressured by a timetable or a overbearing financial concern. After all, as with most matters in life, good preparation will serve you best as you make these important decisions.
As you begin your research, you should keep a couple of questions in mind—some of which pertain to the facilities’ residents and some of which pertain to the facility itself. For instance, you’ll want to take plenty of time to observe the interactions among the residents as well as the interactions between residents and members of the staff. By paying attention to these interactions, and by asking your loved one to pay attention to these interactions, you can both get a pretty good sense of whether or not the facility will be the appropriate environment. You may also want to take the time to obtain the contact information of two to three residents and their families, so you can speak with them personally about their experiences with the facility. With regard to the facility itself, take plenty of time to look around at different rooms including the communal areas and begin asking yourself some basic questions such as, “Does the facility appear clean and well-maintained?” “With regard to safety and security, would I feel comfortable with my loved one staying here?” “Would my loved one feel safe and secure here?”
While these considerations may factor into you final decision about which assisted living facility to choose, one more consideration you may have may be as simple as a concern about location. Always keep in mind that even though your loved one will spend the bulk of his or her time at this new home, you will continue to play a significant role as a caregiver and loving family member or friend. As such, you may want to consider finding nursing home somewhat near you existing home, so you won’t need to worry about concerns of proximity become an issue.
