Nursing Homes: Consumer Information

Before focusing on nursing homes specifically, a good starting point is to understand the array of options called long-term care.

The federal Administration on Aging (AoA) has one of the most comprehensive Web sites for issues relating to older people, their families, and the general public. Covering everything from Alzheimer's disease to federal aging policy and government programs, the AoA Web site (www.aoa.gov) provides numerous links for consumers seeking information about older adults, long-term care in general, and nursing homes in particular.

Since nearly half of all the people who turned sixty-five in 1990 will spend some time in a nursing home (Kemper and Murtaugh, 1991), choosing a nursing home before one is actually needed is a valuable activity. Available advice includes how to discuss nursing home choices with family members, financial planning, how to purchase long-term care insurance, and guides for visiting nursing homes, with questions to ask and things to observe. Organizational and governmental sites such as AARP (www.aarp.org), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (www.medicare.gov), the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www.aahsa.org), and the American Health Care Association (www.ahca.org) have publications that can be downloaded. Similar information is also available on commercial sites such as www.agenet.com, www.seniorsite.com, and www.elderweb.com. Many state and local departments on aging have similar materials with a special focus on local or state long-term care services. Because of the wide availability of these kinds of guides, no one should begin the nursing home search without one. Checklists can be printed from Web sites and completed for each facility one visits. After four or five facilities have been visited, the completed checklists provide important comparative information with which to make the choice that best meets the needs of the prospective resident.