The Nursing home sales pitch is not different than that of the used car lot.  It all bells and whistles, but pop open the hood just to be sure. 

Believe this....the nursing home wants your insurance dollars.  They would first LOVE to recieve that money from 1) you paying directly out of your pocket, 2) you paying via your privately held insurance, and lastly 3)you paying via government-sponsored insurance (Medicare/Medicaid).  And in that order, too.  The least attractive is the Medicare dollar as it pays less and is scrutinized by the government. 

So, in order to get you to gladly pass over those monies to them, they will offer you a song-and-a-dance.  The performance usually begins at the hospital with the social worker/nurse handing you over a nice little brochure that depicts an elderly person or two joyfully smiling whilst they are outdoors tending to the garden.  Or the same person/people sitting at a dining room table being served a meal as if they are ar a 5-star Manhattan restaurant.  Don't believe the hype!!  As you open the tri-folded brouchure it begins to inform you of all the wonderful services they offer, "physical therapy, speech therapy, nursing services, outdoor trips, a patio with a view, 100-bed skilled facitliy, blah, blah, blah". Like I said before ...Don't believe the hype.

Every facility is mandated to offer social and recreational events.  This is the wonderful bingo that is offered or crafts, exercise, or the infamous "pet therapy".  These are simply catch phrases.  Most of these services are indeed provided, but half-heartedly so.  You must realize that the staff that is "trained" to perform these services usually have zero college degrees or training in those capacities.  It would be wise to ask a suiting facility what level of training/education do ALL the department members have, not JUST the nursing department.  You will find that the overwhelming majority of these people have ZERO training in their capacity and ZERO training in Geriatrics.  This would include the following: Recreation Department, Social Services, Medical Records, Administration, Dietary Services, Laundry Services, Maintenance, and Data Entry.  Your nurses and nursing assistance MUST hold and maintain in good standing a license or certification.  Besides that the majority are anyone that simply applies.  I do not want to cast any ill will towars persons without a college education or extended training in a career field, but you must know that the majority of the people providing services/care to our nursing home population have no training with the elderly.

So, you will be provided with a wonderful sales pitch.  Ask questions!! It is a must!!  Every nursing home has to have a copy of its last state survey available for viewing; ask to see it.  If they hesitate or cannot find it or have some other excuse, then I would GREATLY question placing someone there.  Ask how many "tags" were recieved on the last survey, they must devulge this information too you.  If they have in excess of 5, then question placement.    Each department can recieved these tags, not only nursing.  These tags also come with a rated severity and explanation of that deficiency.  You can read about problems in nursing, dietary, laundry, social services, and determine it that is the right place for placement or not.

Be wary of the sales pitch.  Don't buy because you like the paint job, or the fancy flames....lift that hood and kick those tires.  Don't believe the sales pitch hype.




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