Prevent Abuse by Asking Nursing Home Residents these Questions

There are many ways to determine if your loved one will like a nursing home. One way is asking current residents about their experiences. If possible, when you visit a nursing home, try to ask a resident the following questions.

Length of Residency

Before asking questions, find out how long the resident has been living at the nursing home. This can help you understand what their answers are based on. If they’ve only been in the home for a few weeks, they might just be having a rough transition. In other cases, a resident might have prolonged issues. The longer that a resident has been in a home, the more information they can give you about the home.

Frequency of Visitation

This is a good question to ask to learn about the visiting policy at the nursing home. If the resident sees family members and friends often, the home probably has a good policy. But, if the resident’s family cannot visit due to restrictions, reconsider the home.

Do You Like Living Here?

Ask the resident if they like living at the nursing home. Ask them to elaborate so that you can get detail about the home. Just because a resident doesn’t like certain things about the home does not mean that it is a bad place. Get enough details to make an informed decision.

Best Part of Living Here

Ask the resident to explain their favorite part about the nursing home. This will help you understand where the home is strongest.

Worst Part of Living Here

You can get a feel for the home’s weaknesses. Ask what the resident doesn’t like about the home or what they would improve on.

How Does Staff Treat You?

You can learn a lot about the staff members’ true colors by talking to residents. When you visit, staff members will act compassionate and helpful toward the residents. This is because they want you to feel comfortable sending your loved one there. You can learn the truth about the staff by talking to a resident.

Does the Staff Get Along?

Just as staff members might put on airs with residents, they might do the same with other staff members. Ask the residents if the staff members get along together or if it is a hostile work environment. Issues between staff members could lead to poor communication about your loved one’s needs. These issues can lead to a negative environment in the home.

Are You Afraid of Punishments?

Some staff members might become easily frustrated and belittle residents if they make a mistake. Ask a resident if they have ever experienced anything like this.

What is Your Care Plan?

Make sure that the resident you speak with has a care plan and that the plan is followed. If it is not, ask how the staff deviates from the plan. Learn about if this helps or hurts the resident.

Wait Time for Treatment

Some nursing home residents don’t realize that they are getting neglected. They just think that it is normal for them to wait a long time for help. Ask a resident what the response time is like among staff members in the event that the resident has an issue.