Almost everyone knows that when you're looking for a good nursing home you want to take a tour before making a decision about sending someone you love there for care. Most savvy consumers also know that the person giving you the tour is probably responsible for either marketing the facility or for finalizing admissions. While these nursing home employees may be well-intentioned, they do tend to paint the best possible picture of their particular facility.

There is an easy way to get some critical information about the nursing home you're considering that doesn't come from the sales staff. Every nursing facility in the U.S. is required to post this information. Not only are they required to post the information, they are required to post it in a place where you can find it without asking. This means it must be available and accessible in a public area, where family members, residents, and even the public, can find it and examine it.
 
What Nursing Home Information Must Be Easily Accessible To Everyone?

1. Results of the most recent federal or state nursing home inspection survey. Inspection surveys document the areas in which the facility was found to have "deficiencies." Deficiencies may include such easily-corrected problems as a burned out bulb to serious problems which could or have endangered residents. Examples of serious deficiencies might include failure to perform criminal background checks on employees, multiple medication errors, or poor medical care. In general, the shorter the inspection survey the better. The best survey will be only a few sentences stating, in essence, "This facility was found to be free of deficiencies on this date."

2. The "Daily Staffing Ratio". All nursing facilities must publicly post the number of direct care staff they have on duty during each shift. Direct care staff includes registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurses (LPN or LVN) and nurse aids. If you know the number of patients the nursing home can accommodate, you can calculate the number of caregivers relative to the number of patients in this nursing home. Be aware that the number of nurse aids is the most important number to most patients. Nurse aids are the employees who provide the majority of care to nursing home residents. Registered nurses often have primarily supervisory or administrative duties. These nurses often provide little or no direct patient care.

3. The name and contact information for all state oversight agencies. This will include the state licensing and survey agency, the state adult protection agency, the local or regional Medicaid fraud agency, and the state Ombudsman.

It is not easy for a nursing home to get a zero or "few" deficiencies rating. Most nursing homes will happily post these reports in a conspicuous place. On the other hand, I have seen fatter and less flattering survey reports filed in an unlabeled black binder on the darkest shelf in the unused library. If you have to ask for the report, and it is not openly and obviously available, read it thoroughly before you make a nursing home placement decision. You have the right to request time to read it on your own, and to make notes if you wish, without the supervision or company of the person giving you the nursing home tour.