Choosing a Long Term Care Facility

1. Choosing a Long Term Care Facility Click below to PLAY the Introductory Video

2. Our Purpose • This presentation will help you: • Identify things you’ll need to know • Identify things you’ll want to know • Locate Resources available for you

3. Our Purpose • This presentation will help you: • Understand & Compare the Information • Formulate Questions to Ask • Make an Informed Decision

4. Overview • Not all facilities are alike. • Depending on your needs there are three general types of care that may be available: • Skilled level of care • Intermediate level of care • Assisted living care

5. Overview • Skilled Level of Care: • This level of care requires skilled medical care by medical personnel such as a registered nurse (RN), physical therapist (PT), or an occupational therapist (OT).

6. Overview • Intermediate Level of Care: • This level of care is for individuals who have stable conditions that require daily care, and some nursing supervision, and often involves assistance in performing daily routine tasks, such as bathing and eating.

7. Overview • Assisted Living or Community Residential Care: • This level of care is for individuals who require simple assistance with bathing, eating, grooming, dressing, and other routine tasks.

8. Overview • If You’re Helping Another Person: • Helping another person choose a Long Term Care Facility can be difficult. Be sure to include the person you’re helping in decisions as much as possible. Always make decisions with his or her needs and preferences in mind.

9. Overview • Terms and Acronyms You May See: • SNF  Skilled Nursing Facility • LOS  Length of Stay • POC  Plan of Care • ADL’s  Activities of Daily Living • ROM  Rang of Motion

10. Overview • Terms and Acronyms You May See: • OT  Occupational Therapy • PT  Physical Therapy • RN  Registered Nurse • LPN  Licensed Practical Nurse • CNA  Certified Nursing Assistant

11. Overview • Terms and Acronyms You May See: • CVA  Cerebral Vascular Accident • HTN  Hypertension • DM2  Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 • CHF  Congestive Heart Failure • COPD  Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease • RA  Rheumatoid Arthritis

12. Overview • Terms and Acronyms You May See: • QC  Quad Cane • PUW  Pick Up Walker • RW  Rolling Walker • NWB  Non Weight Bearing • PWB  Partial Weight Bearing

13. Resources Abound • State of Ohio Long Term Care Ombudsman (800)282-1206 or Nationally at (202)-332-2275 • An ombudsman: is a state or county government- funded advocate for residents of Long Term Care (LTC) facilities.

14. Resources Abound • An ombudsman: assist residents and others by: • Educating consumers and long-term care providers about residents’ rights and good care practices. • Providing information to the public on long-term care facilities and policy issues.

15. Resources Abound • An ombudsman: assist residents and others by: • Help you find and interpret information from state inspection reports and the other quality measures. • Investigate complaints filed against a particular facility (substantiated or unsubstantiated). • www.theconsumervoice.org/ombudsman/ohio

16. Resources Abound • The Eldercare Locator: Is a public service of the • Administration on Aging, & U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It provides a resource that connects older Americans and their caregivers with information for many senior services. • www.eldercare.govPhone: (800) 667-1116

17. Resources Abound • The Medicare Nursing Home Compare: • A great tool for finding detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-LTC facilities and nursing home in the country.

18. Resources Abound • The Medicare Nursing Home Compare: You can… • Find Nursing Homes in your area. • Compare the quality of the nursing Homes you're considering using the Five-Star Quality Ratings, health inspection results, nursing home staff data, and other quality measures.

19. Resources Abound • The Medicare Nursing Home Compare: You can… • 3. Use the Nursing Home Checklist resources when visiting the Long Term Care facilities you're considering. • www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/asap

20. Resources Abound • MemberoftheFamily.net • Get the nursing home care your loved one deserves. • MemberoftheFamily.net: provides information on about 16,000 U.S. Long Term Care Facilities. They offer easy-to-understand reports based on recent government surveys. 

21. Resources Abound • MemberoftheFamily.net • Get the nursing home care your loved one deserves. • MemberoftheFamily.net: Has a National Watch List of homes cited for violations or substantiated complaints. They also maintain an Honor Roll of places found to be deficiency-free. • www.memberofthefamily.net

22. Resources Abound • The Long-Term Care Consumer Guide: provides information about Long Term Care facilities and assisted living facilities to help consumers, family members and professionals search for the appropriate facility to meet an individual’s needs.

23. Resources Abound • The Long-Term Care Consumer Guide: Is a great place start to comparing facilities by using their • Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide. • http://www.ltcohio.org/ Phone: (614)466-5500

24. Resources Abound • Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging: Is a resource for older adults and their families. COAAA provides information, resources and education to the community, and provides services to promote independent living in the home. • http://www.coaaa.org Phone: (800) 589-7277

25. Resources Abound • The Administration on Aging: • Is a Federal agency resource that can give you a list of the long-term care choices in your state. • They can help you find a Long Term Care facility. • www.aoa.gov Phone: (202)-619-0724

26. Resources Abound • The Joint Commission (TJC): • is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting high performance standards. • www.jointcommission.org Phone: (800) 589-7277

27. Considerations:What is important to you? • Quality of care: • Can the primary caregiver meet the person’s needs? • Can the facility offer the rehab services that I need? • Staffing levels are an important factor to consider in evaluating the quality of care given at a facility.

28. Considerations:What is important to you? • Quality of care: • What activities are residents involved in? • What kind of skilled therapy services are available? • How does the facility ensure family and patient participation creating the plan of care?

29. Considerations:What is important to you? • Quality of care: • Does the facility respect the patient’s wishes with their schedule (bedtime, baths, meals)? • Are staff responsive to resident requests (Call lights answered promptly)?

30. Considerations:What is important to you? • Quality of care: • Will insurance or government funding (Medicare, Medicaid, state health plans) cover the cost? • Is transportation provided to Dr. appointments or community activities? • What level of privacy can I expect at this facility?

31. Questions to Ask: • Facility Questions: • What type of ownership does the facility have (for-profit, non-profit, church-related, etc.)? • What type of payments are accepted (Medicare, Medicaid, or both)?

32. Questions to Ask: • Facility Questions: • Is the facility Certified and Accredited by the Joint Commission? • Does the facility have beds available? • How long has the facility been in operation?

33. Questions to Ask: • Facility Questions: • Does the facility have full-time therapy staff including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy? • Does the facility conduct home visits before discharging patients back to their homes?

34. Planning a Visit: • Planning a Visit: • Narrowed down your list of facilities and make a plan to visit each one. • Make sure to bring a visit checklist from as a resource to guide your observations and questions.

35. Planning a Visit: • Planning a Visit: • You can learn a great deal about a LTC facility by taking time to sit and observe how staff interacts with residents. • Talk with residents and their family members to get a full understanding of life at the Facility.

36. Planning a Visit: • Planning a Visit: • Does the facility appear and smell clean? • What kinds of meals are normally served? • Do they look nutritious and appetizing? • How are special diets handled? • What kind of help is available to patients for meals?

37. Planning a Visit: • Planning a Visit: • What quality of life activities are available for residents? • Are outdoor activities available, health permitting? • Is the staff experienced in treating your type of health concerns?

38. Planning a Visit: • Visit Again: • It’s a good idea to visit the facility a second time. • Try to visit the facility on a different day of the week and at a different time of day than your first visit. • Staffing can vary at different times of the day and night and also on weekends.

39. Making anInformed Decision: • Making an Informed Decision: • Choose the facility that meets your personal needs. • Talk with people who understand your personal and health care needs (family, friends, doctor, clergy). • Use all the information you gather to compare. • Trust yourself… Trust your senses!!

40. References: • www.aoa.gov • www.coaaa.org • www.eldercare.gov • www.jointcommission.org • www.ltcohio.org/ • www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/asap • www.memberofthefamily.net • www.theconsumervoice.org/ombudsman/ohio