Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™

Nursing Home "Bad" Alert

For those searching for a nursing home - for long term care of a loved one or for short term rehabilitation - before you head out to visit we always suggest a quick trip to the Medicare Nursing Home Compare website. There you'll find the most recent inspection results for all nursing homes in the nation that accept Medicare (most nursing homes do).

Just recently the site has added some new information that can be very useful. From this point forward the Nursing Home Compare site will identify what they call "Special Focus Facilities." These are the nursing homes that have repeatedly violated state and federal health and safety regulations. These are also the nursing homes that rank in the worst 10% in their state.

These facilities are now identified by a small "2" next to the facility name on the site (ex: Facility Name2)

Although Special Focus Facilities should probably be avoided at all costs, the facilities that are not identified by a "2" should never be regarded as exemplary nursing homes. Remember that achieving a "100%" or "no deficiencies" rating simply means that the facility met all the state and federal MINIMUM guidelines. There are no extra points awarded for exceeding standards, so there is no way to identify exemplary facilities from the Nursing Home Compare site.

It is still extremely important that someone visit any facility being considered. Just because a particular nursing home has been suggested by a social worker, a hospital discharge planner, or a "placement specialist" does not mean it will meet your standards. Social workers and discharge planners have often not been able to visit individual facilities themselves. "Placement advisors/specialists" often receive referral fees from the facilities they recommend.

Assisted Living or Care at Home: Which is More Cost Effective?

For the fifth year in a row Genworth Financial surveyors have concluded that the cost of home care, assisted living and nursing home care have risen. Since just about everything else is rising, too, this comes as no particular surprise. The national average cost for assisted living now stands at $36,090, or $3007 per month.

Now, this is the national average. In some places costs will be higher, and in some they will be lower.

When seniors and their families hear numbers like these, their initial reaction is often a flat refusal to even consider moving to an assisted living residence. "$36,000!!! We can't afford that!!"

They're right that quality assisted living isn't cheap. But it might not be quite as expensive as it initially seems if you take all the costs of staying at home into account.

If you're looking seriously at the assisted living vs. staying at home decision, here is a cost comparison worksheet that you will find useful. Plug in your numbers for a fairly good "apples to apples" cost comparison between "at home" and assisted living.

Remember to include the costs of any outside services you might have to use to keep your senior at home safely, and keep in mind that your elder's care needs will probably escalate in assisted living, too. Both these numbers will probably grow larger over time. But then again, chances are that just about everything else will escalate, too.

Stay at Home vs. Assisted Living:
Cost Comparison Worksheet