Choosing probably the last home of you or your loved ones’ life can be a difficult prospect. You have to consider all aspects and things about what life will be like in a nursing home and how they will be treated and cared for while balancing the cost of the home and making sure it’s affordable. Here are five things to look for when choosing a nursing home.

Visit the Home

Of course, the best way to get a general feel for the place is to visit and look around. During your visit, focus on looking out for specific things. Look out for things like good and well thought out accessibility around the building such as elevators between floors or wheelchair ramps to make sure that the residents are able to be mobile on their own. Also, look for staff and resident interactions and if they look friendly and warm or a bit standoffish and just try and get a general feel for the layout, cleanliness, and general maintenance of the building and grounds.

Get Some Reviews

Just like anything, try and see if you can find some feedback from other residents or those with family staying in the home. Open and honest feedback and review will be incredibly useful in understanding what you can expect and how things are run. Ask about the staff, about how any medical issues or conditions are handled, and, depending on whether the home is designed for assisted living vs long-term care, what the nursing and care staff are like at dealing with the residents.

Location, Location, Location

It’s not all about what the home itself is like. Drive or walk around the area and look for interesting places or things for the residents to do when they’re not at home. Look how close the shops are and if the shops are accessible for the aged, as well as whether the grounds of the home are well looked after with places for the residents to spend time in the outdoors. If it’s far from where you live and you plan on visiting, look for a good bed and breakfast or hotel nearby you might stay in when you do.

Look at the Facilities

The residents of the home need things to do to pass the time, and this is an important aspect when it comes to happiness and the fulfillment of social needs. Look for the presence of clubs and activity groups, as well as physical facilities like common room lounges or even lawn bowls greens, and other places for activities.

Mealtimes

If you can, try and stick around for a mealtime and look at how the service works. Does the food look good and nutritious and are the residents served if they need to be by friendly and caring staff? What is the dining area like? Is it clean and free of bad smells and mess? These are just a few of the things you’ll need to look out for, but the most important is definitely just a general feeling of the place when you visit – which you should consider doing more than once before making your decision.