SELECTING A NURSING HOME for a loved one can be an overwhelming and highly fraught process. But life happens, and there are several online resources available to the public, all of which can be helpful in narrowing down the decision of which facility may be better than another for your loved one.
Nursing Home Compare (https:// www.medicare.gov/care-compare) is a website of nursing homes nationwide with Medicare and Medicaid certified beds. For each nursing home selected, you can obtain information on staffing levels, quality of care penalties imposed by Medicare, safety inspections by the state surveyor, and ownership. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) overall star rating for each facility (one to five stars) is based on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures.
Another helpful site is the Ohio Department of Health Nursing Homes/Facilities website (https:// odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/ nursing-homes-facilities/welcome). When you reach this site, click “Explore Data & Stats” in blue at the top of the page. On the next page, scroll down to the bottom and click “Licensed Facilities, Services, and Programs.” On the next page, click the first link, “Licensed Provider Real Time Information.” On the following page, once you enter the nursing home of interest, you will have access to Ohio Department of Health Surveyor reports. The reports on this page are the same as in Nursing Home Compare, but they are more up-to-date, as they generally appear within a couple of weeks of the surveyor visit as opposed to two to three months later on Nursing Home Compare.
Another quality search of nursing homes you can do is on the (https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment- and-Certification/CertificationandComplianc/downloads/SFFList. pdf?mod=article_inline), which is updated monthly. The nursing homes on this list are those that generally have consistently more deficiencies on surveys and a checkered compliance history. The list consists of candidates for special focus, current special focus facilities, and graduates from the special focus program.
A research tool that was recently launched by the Ohio Department of Aging is the (https://aging.ohio.gov/ care-and-living/nursing-home-navigator). This site was created as a onestop shop for the information necessary to aid in an informed choice. It provides summary information for Ohio nursing homes from Department of Health Survey reports, Nursing Home Compare, as well as direct links to the nursing home sites you are considering. Also included are results from family surveys, as they may exist, as well as information from the facility on whether they allow smoking, alcohol, pets, etc.
Making an informed choice and understanding the information available for comparison can be overwhelming and confusing. You can always call our ABLE Long-Term-Care-Ombudsman office at 419-259-2891 with any questions. Our services are provided free of charge by staff and volunteers.
Cheryl Zimmerman is a Certified Long-Term-Care-Ombudsman Associate and has been sharing her time and talents with the Long-Term-Care-Ombudsman program as a volunteer for over eight years. ✲
