Assisted Living Ratings - Helping You Make the Right Choice in a Hard Decision

When making the decision to relocate your parentsThis site allows you to find all the nursing homes
to an assisted living home, there are various factorswithin your state or zip code and then compare and
to consider, how far away is it from where you live,view information about each of them.
what are the costs, what are the services offered,These ratings evaluate assisted living facilities based
what is the environment like, do you and youron whether they are Medicare or Medicaid certified,
parents like it or feel comfortable there and manythe appearance of the residents, the living spaces
more. There is also the challenge of convincing youroffered, the staff behavior and background, the
parents that this is the best option for them andcondition of the living space of the residents, public
helping them cope with the stress and misgivings thatarea hygiene, menu and quality of food offered,
accompany such a huge life change. This is whyactivities offered, and facilities for safety and care. It
assisted living ratings play an important part in helpingalso takes into account any violations filed against the
you choose the right facility for your loved ones tofacility and feedback from residents and their family
move into.members.
It is wise to keep in mind that this is not aA good checklist to follow when selecting an assisted
short-term option; you cannot keep relocating yourliving nursing home is:o Use a checklist like the one
parents if they do not like the place, or if theabove to evaluate the facilityo Keep in mind that
services are poor. It is best to do the maximumstate and government funded facilities may actually
amount of research before you actually decide on abe bettero Do a Google search to see if the facility
facility rather than making a hasty decision and havinghas any serious violations against ito See if
to undo it later.information about the facility is listed on any
Assisted Living Ratings can help you make the rightgovernment websites which will provide you with a
decision. For example, the Gannett News Servicereliable and accurate ratingo Talk to people in the
found that the worst assisted living nursing homesarea and see if anyone has family members living in
were concentrated in 12 states, and 83% of thethe centre, what they say about the facilities can
violations occurred not in state or governmentalso be important.
funded homes but in for-profit homes across theWhile it is true that assisted living ratings may not
country. So it is wise when making a choice to factorgive you the entire picture about a facility and the
in this information as well.services it offers, they will however provide you with
One of the best ways to compare homes in youra more clear and unbiased picture on which to base
area is to look at their ratings on the Federalyour decision.
Governments Nursing Home Comparison website.