Google the h*ll of of them and visit in person if you can. And do it unannounced too. The rehab/NH shills will paint the place like it's Xanadu, you have to see for yourself though. Bombard them with questions (write a bunch down so you don't forget them while you're there).
Go to your states AHCA website you can go to background screenings there will be a drop down screen for SN, ALF etc... and highlight rehabilitation....you can look up the facility and see if they have had any warnings,fines, write ups from the state and for what. Of course go and check the facility in person unannounced, take a tour, talk or observe the therapists and nursing staff and buildings, meals etc...-make sure they have the correct equipment she will need for rehab....many are glorified ALF's with a treadmill, weights and bike.....I am just going through this now and found only 2 facilities out of approx 25 in my area that had the proper equipment to get my mom to try to stand and balance her weight again. Good luck to you!! Try this site... just substitute your state, hopefully it will help!. http://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/facilitylocator/FacilitySearch.aspx
I forgot to mention that if you discover any reviews about the facility, take them seriously, especially if they happen to be negative ones. People go in and out of these facilities all the time, and you never know when someone may have had a real bad experience. Never, ever ever ever ignore a bad experience, even if it's just one. Take it very seriously and listen to what those who had a bad experience had to say.
The Department of Public Health in your state should be able to provide information on how good a facility is. They all have to be licensed and state inspected periodically.
What you can do is arrange a meeting with an admin of that facility. Write down all the questions that you have about the facility and patient care. Request a tour of the facility. If possible, greet a few staff and even a few of the patients if they happen to be mingling. Find out as much as you can about what life is like inside the facility. Another good idea is to take your loved one with you and give them the chance to see the facility. That way, there are no surprises later. They can also get the chance to meet some of the people they will be staying with if you find out which area of the potential intake will be staying. That's the area you want the patient to start getting used to so that by the time it's time for admittance into the facility of your choice, the patient will already be familiar with not only the surroundings, but also some of the people.
Great question. Agree that Google and Medicaid are two places to find reviews of specific places. When you visit, at least in our state, there should be a binder available in the lobby with a list of state inspection results. That's another place to see what the state inspections found.
We found the online reviews that came up via Google to be pretty accurate of the place where our LOs landed.
It sounds like your sister is rather medically needy and will need excellent PT as well as hour by hour help just managing the day as other have already stated. Look at the aid to patient ratio. That's key. The higher the better.
Finally, no matter where your sister goes, your personal and in-person involvement is likely critical to your sister receiving the best care the facility can offer. We have seen that patients carry little weight even with all their mental faculties, but an involved family member advocate has much more impact. The outsider with the most impact is whomever has the medical proxy/POA and can make medical decisions for your sister. Sometimes a facility will blow off a family member who doesn't have POA.
FYI- working with the therapists will be critical but there is equipment available for safe/independent bed transfers for amputees (even double amputees). Also can help many people that have little/no leg strength such as paraplegia, advanced MS, leg neuropathy, etc.
As a therapist, I have to agree, visit the place in the middle of the day and observe their rehab. Stay for a while. Ask to talk to the head of therapy and observe their response to your discussion of your sisters special needs. One thing to ask about is nursing staff. Your sister will be a two person transfer for a while and this will require CNA staff to transfer her to a bed side commode, to wheelchair etc. More than likely the therapy staff will attempt sliding board transfers but they are not usually successful with toileting. There will also need to be therapy staff that can work around her dialysis appointments. Medicare will require that she have 5 days of therapy/week and this sometimes is very hard for those who are exhausted from dialysis. However, Medicare requires this therapy time no matter what. So you sister needs to know she will have to participate at some level each day. This is also important to meet her goals and get stronger to return home. Good luck.
Another thought - research to see if there are any ombudsperson agencies in the area of the facility; contact them and ask if there are any good or bad reports about the facility.
Spend some time wading through the Medicare site of reviews for various kinds of facilities. It might have been reviewed by Medicare, depending on its specific classification.
Are you wanting to find out what kind of place it is? If it's a decent place? If that's the case you can take a tour. Call ahead and they'll arrange a tour for you.
You can also try to find information online. There may be reviews but take them with a grain of salt.
15 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
http://www.floridahealthfinder.gov/facilitylocator/FacilitySearch.aspx
ADVERTISEMENT
We found the online reviews that came up via Google to be pretty accurate of the place where our LOs landed.
It sounds like your sister is rather medically needy and will need excellent PT as well as hour by hour help just managing the day as other have already stated. Look at the aid to patient ratio. That's key. The higher the better.
Finally, no matter where your sister goes, your personal and in-person involvement is likely critical to your sister receiving the best care the facility can offer. We have seen that patients carry little weight even with all their mental faculties, but an involved family member advocate has much more impact. The outsider with the most impact is whomever has the medical proxy/POA and can make medical decisions for your sister. Sometimes a facility will blow off a family member who doesn't have POA.
You can also try to find information online. There may be reviews but take them with a grain of salt.