State Nursing Home Inspection Checklist

Nursing homes can be used for long- or short-term care. No matter the length of stay in the nursing home, knowing the level of care and the abilities or specialties of the nursing home are necessary for determining the proper nursing home to use, be it for yourself or one of your loved ones. Using a state nursing home inspection checklist can make it easier to compare the different nursing homes.

Financial Checklist

• Before reviewing a nursing home, it is important to determine if the nursing home is affordable and what the payment plans include. On this checklist, review if the private insurance, if held, covers payment for the home. If not, see if Medicare coverage is available. If neither is available, the estate must handle the cost, meaning the possible liquidation of the estate. A Medicare- and Medicaid-certified place is often best and most affordable.

Medical Checklist

• When evaluating the nursing home, be sure that it has the medical experts necessary for the conditions of the individual staying in the state nursing home. Does the home require the staff be skilled, and does it conduct background checks on the staff, including calling previous employers? Evaluating if the home has specialists is necessary, as well, and the home should have abuse prevention classes for all of the staff.

Comfort Checklist

• A state nursing home should be a comfortable place to stay. Evaluate the happiness and quality of life of the other residents. The residents should have some choices in the activities during the day, and visitors should have easy access to the home. The staff should be pleasant and warm to the residents, and they should keep the home clean. The staff should ensure that the residents are properly dressed, and they should meet requests for assistance quickly. The place should feel like home and allow the residents to keep and maintain personal effects in their rooms. The home should allow residents to keep their primary care physicians.