Elder Voice members provide guidance on choosing a long-term care facility
After a stay in the hospital, most of us would prefer to go home to recuperate, but that may not be possible. If you or your loved one needs more medical care, rehabilitation or supervision, you’ll have to find a nursing home or skilled nursing facility before your loved one is discharged.
Families are often given little time and guidance to make an informed choice. The hospital’s discharge planner will provide a long list of facilities but no recommendations.
Choose the wrong facility, and stress, confusion and regret will be the result, with profound
implications for everyone. Your search should begin as soon as realistically possible. Even better, before a health crisis, create a list of places you would be willing to consider. “The saying goes, ‘Discharge starts at admission,’” says Eilon Caspi, a gerontologist at the
University of Connecticut, Storrs. Read more