Finding Quality Care

Here are some Tips that you should keep in mind while you are looking for a home to provide care for a loved one

Administration

1. Do staff members show Residents genuine interest and affection?
2. Do Residents look well cared for and generally content?
3. Are Residents allowed to wear their own clothes, decorate their rooms, and keep a few prized possessions on hand?
4. Is there a written statement of Residents' rights? Is this statement displayed where it can be seen?

General Physical Considerations

Comfort

1. Is the nursing home clean and orderly?
2. Are toilet and bathing facilities easy for handicapped Residents to use?
3. .Is the home well lighted?
4. .Is the home reasonably free of unpleasant odours?
5. Are rooms well ventilated and kept at a comfortable temperature?

Safety

1. Are there wheelchair ramps where necessary?
2. Are there grab bars in toilet and bathing facilities?
3. Are there handrails on both sides of the hallways?
4. Are there regular fire drills, fire extinguishers, automatic emergency lighting?
5. Are exit doors unobstructed and unlocked from inside and easily accessible?
6. Are emergency evacuation plans posted in prominent locations?
7. Are there smoke detectors and fire alarms on every floor?
8. Is there a fire station near the home?

Nursing, Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Services

1. In case of medical emergencies, is a physician available at all times, either on staff or on call?
2. Does the home have an arrangement with dental service, optician, podiatrist to provide Residents with care?
3. Is at least one registered nurse (RN) on duty 24 hours a day?
4. Are nurse call buttons located at each Resident's bed and in toilet and bathing facilities?

Food Services

1. Is the kitchen and dining area clean and reasonably tidy?
2. Are at least three meals served each day plus snacks?
3. Are residents' diets monitored by a Registered Dietitian?
4. Are special meals prepared for Residents on therapeutic or other diets?
5. Do Residents who need help receive it, whether in the dining room or in their own rooms?

Rehabilitation Therapy, Social Service, and Resident Activities

1. Is there a full-time program of physical therapy for Residents who need it?
2. Are there special services available to aid Residents and their families?
3. Does the nursing home have a varied program of recreational, cultural, and intellectual activities for Residents?
4. Are activities offered for Residents who are relatively inactive or confined to their rooms?

Resident's Rooms

1. Is a married couple allowed to share a room if they wish?
2. Do all rooms have a window to the outside?
3. Is there a curtain or screen available to provide privacy for each bed whenever necessary?
4. Does each Resident have a reading light, a comfortable chair, and a closet and chest of drawers for personal belongings?

   Resident Rights

Every Long Term Care Facility shall ensure that the following rights of Residents are fully respected and promoted:

1. Every Resident has the right to be treated with courtesy and respect and in a way that fully recognizes the Resident's dignity and individuality and to be free from mental and physical abuse.
2. Every Resident has the right to be properly sheltered, fed, clothed, groomed and cared for in a manner consistent with his or her needs.
3. Every Resident has the right to be told who is responsible for and who is providing the Resident's direct care.
4. Every Resident has the right to be afforded privacy in treatment and in caring for his or her personal needs.
5. Every Resident has the right to keep and display in his or her room and display personal possessions, pictures and furnishings in keeping with safety requirements and other residents' rights.
6. Every resident has the right:

- to be informed of his or her medical condition, treatment and proposed course of treatment.
- to give or refuse consent to treatment, including medication, in accordance with the law and to be informed of the consequence of giving or refusing consent.
-to have the opportunity to participate fully in making any decisions and obtaining an independent medical opinion concerning an aspect of his or her care including any decision concerning his or her admission, discharge or transfer to or from a nursing home, and to have his or her medical records kept confidential in accordance with law.

7. Every Resident has the right to receive reactivaction assistance towards independence consistent with is or her requirements.
8. Every Resident who is being considered for restraints has the right to be fully informed about the procedures and the consequences of receiving or refusing them.
9. Every Resident has the right to communicate in confidence to receive visitors of his or her choice and to consult in private with any person without interference
10. Every Resident whose death is likely to be imminent has the right to have members of the Resident's family present twenty-four hours per day.
11. Every resident has the right to designate a person to receive information concerning any transfer or emergency hospitalization of the Resident and where a person is so designated to have the person so informed
12. Every Resident has the right to exercise the rights of a citizen and to raise concerns or recommend changes in policies and services on behalf of himself or herself or others to Resident's council, nursing home staff, government officials or any other persons without discrimination or reprisal.
13. Every Resident has the right to form friendships, to enjoy relationships and to participate in the Resident's council.
14. Every Resident has the right to meet privately with his or her spouse in a room that assures privacy and where both spouses are residents in the same nursing home they have a right to share a room according to their wishes, if an appropriate room is available.
15. Every resident has a right to pursue social., Cultural, religious and other interests to develop his or her potential and to be given reasonable provisions by the nursing home to accommodate these pursuits.
16. Every Resident has the right to be informed in writing of any law, rule, or policy affecting the operation of the nursing home and of the procedures for initiating complaint.
17. Every Resident has the right to manage his or her own financial affairs where the Resident is able to do so, and where the Resident's financial affairs are managed by the Nursing Home, to receive a quarterly accounting of any transactions undertaken on his or her behalf and to be assured that the Resident's property is managed solely on the Resident's behalf.
18. Every resident has the right to live in a safe and clean environment.
19. Every Resident has the right to be given access to protected areas outside the nursing Home in order to enjoy outdoor activity, unless the physical setting makes this impossible.