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By Phyllis Staff
Myths associated with selecting quality nursing
home care suggest quick and easy ways to identify quality care. In
fact, relying on these myths can lead to disastrous results. I
have identified a few of the most common myths in hopes of helping
you avoid some of the problems commonly found in many nursing
homes.
1. The Smell Test
You've heard it repeatedly: "The best way to determine the quality
of care a nursing home provides is to be alert to bad odors when
you visit the home."
It seldom, if ever, works. Why? Nursing home administrators have
heard the very same advice. As a result, they are particularly
sensitive to unpleasant odors in any area that might receive
visitors. Almost all will do their best to remove offensive odors
as quickly as possible, even when it means avoiding their primary
responsibility to their residents.
2. The Personal Recommendation
Recently, I heard a guest on a radio talk show state that the very
best way to find great nursing home care is to get recommendations
from a friend. Like other myths, there is a grain of truth here,
but you must check whether your friend has had extensive
interactions with the nursing home recommended. Often that is not
the case.
Last weekend I dealt with an emergency call from Jim, a friend who
had placed his mother in a nursing home recommended by a friend.
Although she was recuperating from a stroke, no nurse or aide
checked on her condition for more than 14 hours. Jim discovered
her in the morning with many cuts and bruises, her bedsheets
soaked in blood. He was astonished that anyone would recommend
such a poor care facility.
"My friend said her grandmother was in this particular nursing
home," he reported. "So, I thought it would be good care."
"How often does your friend visit her grandmother?" I asked him.
"I didn't think to ask," he responded.
"And did you check the latest survey for that nursing home?"
"No," he answered. "I thought a personal recommendation was all I
needed."
Jim's mother is now back in an area hospital. No one knows yet how
much damage this experience caused to her recovery.
3. You Get What You Pay For
Nowhere is this statement less applicable than in nursing home
care. In fact, I'd replace it with another shibboleth -- "Buyer
Beware." Our own research, encompassing more than 6000 nursing
homes and more than 100 assisted living facilities shows no
relationship between cost and quality of care. You may find
quality care in an expensive facility, or you may not! Similarly,
the fact that a facility is low-cost does not indicate whether
you'll get poor, average, or quality care. You have to do your
homework. Relying on price as the sole indicator of quality care
can lead to disastrous results.
4. Adequate Staffing Equals Quality Care
A recent report by the Senate's Special Committee on Aging
indicated that quality care for a single nursing home resident
requires more than three hours each day of nursing and nursing
aide time. However, statistical analysis of the latest federal
database on nursing home deficiencies indicates no relationship
between quality of care and staffing levels. This finding is
consistent with a number of university studies.
What should you look for, then, in nursing home staffing levels?
There is a level below which nursing homes are so understaffed
that quality care can not be provided. I'd suggest that you not
consider any home providing a level less than two hours per day
per resident. For levels greater than this, I'd focus not on the
number of hours available for care but on the motivation of staff
available to provide care. Those who are motivated to care for the
elderly will do so. Those who are motivated only by a paycheck
will probably provide shoddy care regardless of their numbers.
5. A Well-Known Chain Will Provide the Best Care
This is another myth that can lead to tragedy. Sometimes, well-
known companies do provide top-quality care. In other instances,
however, a quick review of newspapers and magazines will show you
other companies with long records of legal troubles stemming from
accusations of neglect and abuse. One such company has been sued
simultaneously by several states' attorneys general.
How will you know? The company is not likely to tell you, so you
won't know unless you take the time to look into the company's
historical performance.
There you have it -- 5 myths exploded!
What does work? There is no substitute for your own personal
investigation. With a little research, with personal visits to
nursing homes before you sign anything, you can avoid many of the
difficulties that have come to those who relied on such myths.
Phyllis Staff is an experimental psychologist and the CEO of The
Best Is Yet.Net, and the author of How to Find Great Senior
Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them
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