Home Hunting
How to find the right nursing home for your loved one
As older adults' physical and/or mental health decline, they may no longer be able to safely live independently. Consider such factors as these:
- Can they take care of themselves in the areas of bathing, toileting, dressing and making meals?
- Can they respond to an emergency, such as a fall or a fire?
- Do they require supervision because of dementia?
- Do they need skilled nursing care, such as wound care, feeding tubes or injections?
If you are serving as primary caregiver for your loved one, you may not be equipped at a certain point to provide the level of care they need.
"It may be better to have them somewhere safe where professionals provide care, and you can just be there for them," says Angela Bennett, director of social services at Baylor Medical Center at Garland. "You want to keep yourself healthy enough to provide emotional support."
Moving a family member to a nursing facility doesn't mean abandoning them. "You can still spend as much time as you want with them, but you can take time away when you need to," says Ron Austin, a social worker for Baylor Senior Health Center.
Looking for a new home can be a complicated and emotional process. That's especially true when you're looking for a nursing home for someone you love.
Choosing the Right Home
In the continuum of care, there are options besides a nursing home to consider. "If you can afford 24-hour in-home care, that may be a viable alternative," Austin says. An assisted-living facility may be an option if your loved one can handle his or her own personal care but needs support services such as meals and medication monitoring.
When you're evaluating a long-term care facility, there are a number of factors to consider. "It's like choosing a home," Bennett says. "What pleases one person may not please another."
"I encourage families to go visit facilities they're considering, and to make an unannounced visit," says Stefanie Curry, senior social worker at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.
Questions to Consider
Here are questions to consider as you rate the safety and suitability of a possible home for your loved one:
- Is the home certified for Medicare or Medicaid?
- How is the facility rated by the state? (In Texas, check out http://facilityquality.dhs.state.tx.us.*)
- Is the facility clean and inviting? "Don't focus so much on prettiness as whether it's well cared for," Curry says.
- How easily can you and other family and friends go to visit? "Location is key," Bennett says.
- How accessible are staff physicians, and how experienced are they with your loved one's health problems?
- Do you connect well with the staff? Are they courteous and cheerful with the residents?
- Is there a varied program of recreational, cultural and intellectual activities?
- Are balanced and nutritious meals and snacks provided, and does the food taste good?
Just like choosing any other home, your stated priorities and other intangible factors can help you find one that feels right for your loved one. It's also important to make sure your loved one has a say in the process. After all, this is all about them.
By Teresa Caldwell Board
*Web sites referenced are provided solely for the convenience of the reader. Neither Baylor Health Care System nor its subsidiaries, affiliates or community medical centers own this Web site or control its content or privacy, and the reference to this Web site should not be construed as an endorsement of the entities that own the Web site or the information, products or services offered by them.
Speak for Yourself with Advance Directives
"Advance directives, particularly living wills, are a way of preserving your personal autonomy by declaring the scope of treatment you would desire in the event of terminal or irreversible illness," says Jerry Carter, chaplain at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie. Here are a few ways this legal document can help.
Advance directives help you.
Being able to speak for yourself is something you may take for granted until illness or trauma makes it impossible.
Advance directives help your family.
"It's important to have lots of conversations with your loved ones so they understand in advance why you made the decisions you did," says Mark Elder, chaplain at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. "End-of-life matters involve tough decisions. When family members understand your living will, they know they're honoring your decisions, while not having to make the decisions themselves."
Advance directives help your care providers.
You have the best chance of getting the kind of care you want when you've made your wishes clear. "You do not give up good health care when you sign a living will," Carter says. "Although terminal and irreversible conditions are defined by law, in practice, these terms require the application of the art and science of medicine," says Robert Fine, M.D., director of the office of clinical ethics for Baylor Health Care System. "A physician must assess a patient thoroughly and make a judgment about their condition over time."
Find the forms:
The state of Texas provides for several types of advance directives, the best known of which is the living will. (Its official name under Texas law is "The Directive to Physicians, Family and Surrogates.") Obtain advance directive forms from the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.
If you have questions or need help preparing an advance directive, talk to your care provider or contact the chaplain's office at any Baylor facility.
"Advance directives, particularly living wills, are a way of preserving your personal autonomy by declaring the scope of treatment you would desire in the event of terminal or irreversible illness," says Jerry Carter, chaplain at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie. Here are a few ways this legal document can help.
Advance directives help you.
Being able to speak for yourself is something you may take for granted until illness or trauma makes it impossible.
Advance directives help your family.
"It's important to have lots of conversations with your loved ones so they understand in advance why you made the decisions you did," says Mark Elder, chaplain at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. "End-of-life matters involve tough decisions. When family members understand your living will, they know they're honoring your decisions, while not having to make the decisions themselves."
Advance directives help your care providers.
You have the best chance of getting the kind of care you want when you've made your wishes clear. "You do not give up good health care when you sign a living will," Carter says. "Although terminal and irreversible conditions are defined by law, in practice, these terms require the application of the art and science of medicine," says Robert Fine, M.D., director of the office of clinical ethics for Baylor Health Care System. "A physician must assess a patient thoroughly and make a judgment about their condition over time."
Find the forms:
The state of Texas provides for several types of advance directives, the best known of which is the living will. (Its official name under Texas law is "The Directive to Physicians, Family and Surrogates.") Obtain advance directive forms from the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.
If you have questions or need help preparing an advance directive, talk to your care provider or contact the chaplain's office at any Baylor facility.