How to Evaluate an Elderly Care Agency or Institution

Finding the right agency or institution to provide care for yourself or a loved one can be a maze. There are home-based agencies, assisted living facilities, continuing care facilities, hospice providers and skilled nursing homes. Which type is right for your situation depends on health, medical, social and spiritual needs, the ability of the person needing care to provide some amount of self-care and the anticipated length of life remaining. The good news is that an array of service providers exists to help and information is available online to help you find your way to the right destination.

Things You'll Need

• Information on agencies and institutions in your area
• Checklist of questions to ask care providers

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Instructions

• 1

  Arm yourself with information. The AARP website has some helpful pages to help you navigate finding the right agency or institution. Also on these pages, under the category "Caregiving Checklists," are useful lists of specific questions to ask agencies or institutions you are considering and to ask yourself when you visit them. The Administration on Aging's main page links you to numerous topics and resources that will help you find your way through. The National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information, a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides helpful information on long-term care services that will answer many questions, but not tell you which service provider is the best one for your situation. A long-term care planning kit can be downloaded from their site.

• 2

  Identify providers in your area. Area Agencies on Aging can provide information on what agencies and facilities are available in your area. To find your Area Agency on Aging, visit the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging website. Another way to locate care services is to contact the Administration on Aging's Eldercare Locator by phone or online. The phone number is [phone].

• 3

  Seek palliative care if the end of life is near. Palliative care is designed to increase the quality of remaining life for those with a prognosis of six months or less to live. Palliative care can be provided in-home or in a hospice facility setting. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's website has a program locator page to help you find services in your community. Their "Caring Connections" website, caringinfo.org, provides an assortment of information, not merely on care options, but on advance directives for crisis situations, grief, assisting with spiritual needs at the end of life and many other helpful topics.

• 4

  Talk to your ombudsman. The ombudsman is an advocate for people in care institutions. If a concern or problem develops regarding quality of care, you are not alone in dealing with it. Contact the long-term care ombudsman serving your area. To locate the ombudsman, contact your Area Agency on Aging.