While the decision to place a loved one into a nursing facility is difficult, it may be in the best interest of your family member. In this case, you must conduct thorough research to find the best nursing home to meet your loved one’s needs.
Research can also help you identify nursing home red flags, which indicate the facility is not equipped to provide quality care to residents. Here are a few signs to look for as you review different establishments.
High turnover rates
A good working environment keeps staff members happy and satisfied for the duration of their employment. However, poor working conditions, lack of support, and other issues can result in continuous turnover of management staff. High turnover rates indicate deficiencies in a nursing home, but it also makes it harder to care for residents, since training new workers will take up lots of time.
Insufficient nutrition
The food served to residents in nursing homes must be nutritious and wholesome to support good health. In the same respect, the facility must be able to meet the special dietary needs of residents with certain health conditions, such as diabetes. Lack of nutrition and unpalatable food prevent residents from getting their daily allotment of nutrients. Along with making mealtimes unpleasant, food issues can also worsen health conditions.
Foul odors
Cleanliness is another crucial concern at nursing facilities. Staff must be efficient in helping patients change clothing and bedding, especially with residents who experience incontinence issues. Accordingly, strong urine odors in a building signal that staff is lax in their duties. While foul odors create a poor living environment, it can also affect the health of residents when they do not receive sufficient care.
When researching homes, start by reading online reviews. From there, you can schedule visits to facilities to see conditions for yourself.