July 12, 2016
How to Find Nursing Home Ratings
By Anthony Fischer, Elder Care Coordinator
If you are in the process of looking for a nursing home you know how many choices there are. According to the CDC, there are about 15,600 nursing homes providing care for about 1.4 million residents. In southeast Michigan there are over 250 nursing homes to choose from.
In case you are feeling a little overwhelmed, there is hope. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have developed a section on their website dedicated to helping elders and their families find quality nursing home care in their area. It’s called nursing home compare and it is part of Medicare.gov.
Medicare.gov allows people to search for nursing homes by city, zip code or geographic area. A quick search of your local area will provide you with a list of nursing homes, their addresses and contact numbers.
To find nursing home compare got to www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare
But Nursing Home Compare doesn’t stop there.
The website also gives ratings from 1 to 5 stars for each nursing home based on:
- State Inspections Results
- Staffing
- Quality Improvement Measures
Someone searching Nursing Home Compare can also see the last date the nursing home was inspected the results. It’s a powerful tool for those looking to narrow the search.
Nursing Homes are inspected (or surveyed) once a year, so sometimes the data on Nursing Home Compare can be outdated. Because of this the rankings on the website should only be used as a way to narrow the search. It is always recommended that you tour the facility before making any final decisions.
For more information on finding and touring a nursing home read “Nursing Homes: A Guide for Families.” It includes articles on how to tour a nursing home, the admission process, nursing home staff and much more. This online resource is available for FREE at http://hubpages.com/health/Nursing-Homes-A-Guide-for-Families