When searching for the right nursing home, there are many features that you want to make sure that a home has. But, it is just as important to learn about features to avoid. There are some nursing home features that can point to mismanagement or other issues with the facility. Avoiding these features can help to keep your loved one safe during their time in a home. Here, I’ve compiled a list of the most important nursing home features to avoid. Keep this list in mind when searching for a home.
Staff Features to Avoid
When trying to make sure that nursing home staff members are qualified, you should look for certain things. Features to avoid in this situation include:
- Unscreened Employees. Talk to the nursing home about their application process. All potential employees should be properly screened and interviewed. This ensures that they are a good fit for the home. It also ensures that they don’t have a history of neglect or abuse. Nursing homes need to take the time to check that potential employees are certified and that they will work well with the elderly. Unscreened employees could present trouble in the home.
- High Staff Turnover. Staff turnover should be low for the home that you choose. It can be very difficult to work in a nursing home. This job is not for everyone. But, for consistency purposes, it is important that staff members stick around. Staff members will stay on at the home if it is well run, if they are treated well, and if the residents are treated well. A high turnover rate doesn’t always point to problems, but there could be a reason why staff members choose to leave.
- Lack Of Continued Training. Staff members in nursing homes need to have the opportunity to keep up with the latest medical information. The nursing home should give staff members the opportunity to continue their training. In fact, they should have a mandatory number of training hours for each staff member per year.
- Low Staff/Resident Ratio. You want your loved one to get as much personalized attention as possible. To ensure that this happens, make sure that the staff to resident ratio is low. Mistakes happen when staff members are juggling too many patients at once. Make sure that your loved one will get personalized and undivided attention.
Home Features to Avoid
When it comes to your loved one’s care, make sure that the home does not have these features:
- No Care Plans. All nursing homes should have an individualized care plan for each resident. To not offer a care plan for every resident is a violation of the law. To make sure that your loved one will get individualized attention and that their needs will be met, a care plan is important.
- Limited Visiting Hours. Obviously many homes have a visiting policy in place. You can’t visit the home at any time. But, it is important that the home has good visiting hours. This will give you the opportunity to spend time with your loved one. Inconvenient visiting hours could mean that the home does not want you to visit. Make sure that you will have the opportunity to visit your loved one before deciding on a home.
- Lack Of Abuse Prevention Plan. An abuse prevention plan is one of the best ways to avoid neglect and abuse in a nursing home. Make sure that a home has this policy in place. Without such a plan, there won’t be outlined consequences for neglect and abuse.
Look out for these negative features when choosing a nursing home. Doing so will help to keep your loved one safe.
