Decisions for long term placement vary and are determined based on individual needs.  Many families choose to investigate nursing homes because their loved ones need care and supervision that are too difficult to manage at home as the disease progresses. Many nursing homes provide an aesthetically pleasing environment, have a multitude of care options to meet the needs of residents, and provide stimulating activities. In addition, some long term care residences have special Alzheimer's or Dementia Care units within the facility, where the staff may have more dementia-specific training. 
 
Like anything else, facilities range in quality of care for a number of reasons.  The best way to evaluate a facility is to do as much research as possible.  When looking for a facility, it is important to visit both by appointment and unannounced, at different times throughout the day and evening.  During the visit, use your senses to evaluate the facility, i.e., smell (Do you smell anything offensive?); touch (Are the tables sticky or wet); sight (How do residents appear to be cared for?).  Ask for a recreation calendar to see what types of activities are offered and how often they are available.  Once the individual is placed in the facility, it is just as important to remain involved in the daily routine to ensure the best quality of care.  In addition to visiting, you can find out more about the facility’s reputation by reviewing their ratings.  Nursing homes are licensed health care providers, and so they are regulated, inspected, and there is a public listing of complaints and inspection results.  Once a person had a facility in mind, they could view the inspection results by visiting the web site www.Memberofthefamily.net.  This site provides information about 16,000 Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing homes in the United States.  The ratings can also be reviewed at http://www.medicare.gov/Nursing/Overview.asp.
 
The decision for nursing home placement is a very personal choice.  Some facilities are good for one person and not good for someone else.  Most importantly, the individual needs to be happy, comfortable, safe and well taken care of on a daily basis.

NC

11/ 6/09 12:36pm

Thank you so much for the websites. They are very very helpful.

 

Regards,

Nina

Hi, N.C,

I'd suggest that many factors play into the decision. My mom never wanted to be placed in a nursing home. However, that was really the only option open to me because of her medical condition (she had both Alzheimer's and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and my own life situation which prevented me from having the time/energy to keep her at my home. I think her quality of life was much better there than I would have been able to provide for her since her lungs were really, really bad. And there were some good people on staff and some residents that she enjoyed being with.

And I agree with the previous answers - quality of nursing homes vary greatly. It's up to states to ensure that nursing homes reach a good level of service.

Finally, I think that we as a society don't like to think about  person's final years, which often is the case when placement in a nursing home is being considered. So that, too, contributes to the reluctance.

Take care!

Dorian