Three-Step Process Can Help In Quick Long-Term Care Cases

An old saying goes, “Act in haste, repent at leisure.”

Haste, though, can be obligatory when it comes to making decisions about long-term care for an elderly relative.

“Sometimes unexpected circumstances, distance or a lack of resources can escalate a situation to one of immediate need or crisis proportions,” according to a recent article on the website Careconversations.com. “A hospital may catch you off guard with plans of a discharge. Regardless of cause, you’ve got to find a care solution fast. Personal obligations or out-of-town coordination further complicate the situation.

“Fortunately, there are always care options available, even when time isn’t.”

The article offers a three-step process for arriving at a solution, one that should permit haste without regret.

These steps include:

Research

“Ask family and friends to recommend caregivers or centers. Find and compare skilled nursing care centers online with Medicare’s ‘Nursing Care Compare,’ a rating site for Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes, professionally called skilled nursing care centers. Medicare has developed a five-star quality rating system based on health inspection results, care center staff data, quality measures, and fire safety inspection results. Though there is plentiful information you can find, relying on ratings alone is not sufficient enough to make a decision.”

Consider

“Based on your research, choose about three centers to visit. Call each to schedule a tour. Communicate the immediacy of your situation and ask to speak with an admissions director. The admissions director will tell you more about the center and availability. Only visit centers that you know have available accommodations.”

Select

“After visiting nursing homes, professionally known as skilled nursing care centers, select the center that best meets your care needs.”