It’s hard enough to bear the emotional freight of putting an elderly loved in a care facility without the overwhelming burden of not knowing what’s available in your area, or how to assess a nursing home’s quality.
A new digital service can help. Caregiverlist.com compiles data from more than 18,000 nursing homes across the country to help site visitors find suitable candidates. Ratings range from one to five stars and are weighted by:
- Medicare (government) inspection reports (20%)
- bedsores (more accurately known as pressure wounds) (20%)
- certified nursing staff-to-senior ratio (40%)
- percentage of long-term resident requiring help with activities of daily living (20%)
To match the need with the person, a questionnaire inquires about:
- type of facility sought (assisted living, nursing home, etc.)
- monthly budget
- senior’s profile
There’s also a calculator for the daily cost of care, depending on your location and type of facility, and a page explaining caregiver background checks.
Of the 18,000 nursing homes surveyed, only 234 received more than four stars. In Maryland, the cities with the most nursing homes with at least four stars are Bethesda, Cockeysville, Glen Arm and Towson.