Don’t just sign up for an official tour. Walk around and see the place for yourself.
If you’re on the official tour ask to see other floors, otherwise you may only be shown the cleanest floor with the low maintenance patients.
Ask what the resident mix is.
Ask who your loved one may have for a roommate. Find out if it is possible that they could be placed with a resident with aggressive behaviour?
Hang out in the lobby and see what kind of people surface. A lot of the time the physically fit, younger people will hang out there because they don’t have anywhere else to go.
Visit the homes at meal time. This will allow you to see what the staffing ratio is and the resident mix for yourself.
Also see what it’s like after meal time. How are the residents returned back to their rooms? Is there enough staff to care for them?
If possible, go early in the morning to see if the residents are dressed for breakfast. If not, there likely isn’t enough staff to care for them all.
Talk to the staff and get a sense of whether they feel overworked. Ask them how they like working there. Are they really busy? Do they like their coworkers?
Amy’s Helping Hands frequently works with seniors in many long term care facilities and nursing homes to improve their quality of life. We strive to have a positive working relationship with the staff and administration and help to ensure the best care for seniors and their families.
