Choosing a nursing home for a loved one can seem like a daunting task. After all, you are entrusting the facility with the care of someone very important to you, so you want to make sure that you choose the best possible place for them. One primary concern on the minds of most when choosing a nursing home is finding one with a good record that is clear of incidents of nursing home abuse.

Below are a few investigatory steps you can take when evaluating nursing homes that will help you choose the best place for your loved one.

Check for a History of Abuse and Safety Violations

All skilled nursing facilities that receive Medicare funding are required to make certain disclosures, which are available to the public via a tool known as Nursing Home Compare. The information contained therein can help you find out more about:

• How the home has performed on health and fire safety inspections
• How the home is staffed
• How well the home cares for its residents
• Whether the home has had issues with abuse
• Whether the home is part of the Special Focus Facility Program for homes that have had significant issues maintaining compliance with regulations

The site also contains information to alert users about abuse and neglect by displaying a red icon next to the facility name. The flag appears on nursing homes that have been cited for any form of abuse, which in this context includes willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm, and pain or mental anguish.

Ask about the Facility’s Background Check Procedures

Federal law prohibits nursing homes that receive Medicare funding from employing individuals who have been found guilty of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents by a court of law, which requires them to conduct background checks of all potential employees. 

However, a recent government survey found that almost all nursing facilities employed one or more individuals with at least one criminal conviction. While a criminal conviction itself does not necessarily indicate that the employee is at a high risk of abusing patients, you should ask the nursing home about its background check procedures. Generally, a high-quality background check will check both state and federal databases for crimes involving:

• Homicide
• Assault and battery
• Sexual offenses
• Domestic violence
• Conspiracy and weapons
• Drugs
• Adulteration of food

Check the Facility’s License

Each state requires nursing homes to obtain a license to operate and makes renewal of their licenses contingent upon passing periodic inspections. Most states maintain this information in a publicly-accessible database that allows users to inquire about a particular facility’s license. For example, California’s license database displays:

• The licensee
• The number of active beds the facility is allowed to maintain
• The license’s effective date
• The license’s expiration date
• The license’s status
• The facility’s inspection history and compliance

Lapses in a facility’s licensure or a history of compliance violations may indicate that the nursing home presents a greater risk for abuse.