How to Find a Good Nursing Home for Your Loved One

Most of the seniors wish to live alone for as long as they can. But, your loved one's abilities may diminish over time and it may be better to get professional help. There may come a time when family and friends are no longer able to help their loved one. It may be necessary to find a nursing home to provide quality care that your loved one needs. Here are 5 things you should consider when planning to find a nursing home for your loved one.

1. Fragile & Weak Physical Condition

There are many physical signs which indicate that your loved one may need expert help in daily life. Here are the following signs that mean your loved one may need the care a nursing home or a caregiver can provide:

• Trouble while walking. Standing and walking in an improper way.
• Having difficulty in eating food with utensils.
• Getting tired of doing light activities.
• Excessive weight gain or loss which may lead to a bad physical state
• Drinking water in an irregular way
• Urine odor on your loved one or in the home which may indicate incontinence.

2. Behavioral Changes

Your loved one may face depression or a mental condition like stroke or dementia. Following are the few signs your loved one may state that needs the care of a nursing home:

• Not taking care of personal hygiene. Your loved one may wear stained or smelly clothes
• Not paying attention to household tasks like unpaid bills or piles of dirty laundry
• Your loved one may develop memory problems. He or she may miss the doctor's appointments or forget to take medications
• Seems withdrawn or don't like to maintain contact with his or her family and friends

3. Examine Options to keep the senior at Home

If your loved one face problems in cooking and cleaning then few community programs may help him or her. You should make the house as comfortable as possible for your loved one. You can make the home safer for your loved one by putting grab bars in the bathtub or install an extra light at night. You can ask other family members to care for your loved one when you are not around. If hiring a caregiver is taking a toll on your finances then put your loved one in a nursing home.

4. Research Available Nursing Homes Online

Medical insurance and government funds cover many nursing homes. Find all the available and affordable nursing homes for your loved one. Medicaid funding starts after placing Seniors in a nursing home. Search online for nursing homes that offer 24-hour care services. There are many government websites with several reviews on it for you to make a better decision. You can contact nursing homes through their website or call them for an in-home session.

5. Visit Different Nursing Homes

Check out many different nursing homes for appearance and cleanliness before selecting one. Observe the staff both on weekdays and weekends. In this way, you can get a sense of the attitude of the people who work there and how often the residents gets visited. Look at the senior's residents and see if they appear clean, well-fed, and happy staying in a nursing home. If seniors are inactive, messy, malnourished, sullen and bored then it is a sign of a poor nursing home.