This is true. After another surgery my mother went to a different place that was quite nice looking on the outside/inside (it was owned by a major hotel brand) but after checking in I had a bad feeling as did she regarding the care she might receive just based on the interaction with the people working there. After stewing a bit (30 minutes or so) I stated my feelings and she confirmed she agreed. We ended up leaving that same evening and figuring out a way for her to be at home and get her care there (which is what I wanted her to do all along). </p>
<p>It’s the people performing the care, not the fanciness of the facility, that’s the most important.</p>
<p>The other care facility I referred to earlier though was quite different. She actually enjoyed her stay there as have the others she’s known who have used it. It was actually more posh than the other one but it was still covered by Medicare but this stay was only about a week - the max Medicare would cover for this type of recovery.</p>
<p>Assisted living facilities are for elderly who can manage a bit on their own. Then they can work great. Once a person has more needs, there is not enough staff to go around. And don’t count on your parents dying peacefully in their beds. Start planning now if you haven’t. I just brought my 97 year old Mom to live with me. I have one caregiver who lives with me and am looking for a part timer to work in the mornings. My Mom is alert but very, very needy. To be honest, why anyone would want to live an extended life is beyond me. Real old age is only for the very strong of body and heart.</p>
<p><a href=“Medicare.gov”>www.medicare.gov/nhcompare</a> & <a href=“http://www.cahhs.org/profile[/url]”>www.cahhs.org/profile</a> has some info you can check into. Sometimes so much is happening that family doesn’t get a chance to check into the facilities or no one has an open bed.
My rule of thumb is trying to find out the turn over rate of nursing staff. It is usually very high in these facilities. If low it may be because the staff is happy. Good survey and low turn over is one indication of a good administrator.</p>