Create a new folder in your favorites tool bar and title it Nursing Home Info. Then open your favorite search engine. Google and Yahoo may produce your best results. To begin your search, type in this symbol ~ which is located on the keyboard just above the tab key. Then type nursing home. This is called a title search and your page results will include a wide variety of nursing home information. For example, it will include nursing home directory listings. Click on the links that interest you and save in your favorites folder.
One of my favorite sources for general information is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia: http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing-home
Your next step will be to return to your search engine tool bar and type in "Nursing homes your city," for example, "Nursing homes Virginia Beach" Remember to include the quotation marks. This search will give you your local city nursing home listings.
A good link to follow and one that will save you considerable time is one that has Yellow Pages in the title, sometimes referred to as superpages.com
To continue with our example, follow the link http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Nursing+Homes/S-VA/T-Virginia+Beach/
On this page you’ll find contact information, web site links and directions.
Click on the nursing home links that interest you and when you identify a facility you would like to see, write down the contact information and schedule a visit.
Nursing Home Compare
A more detailed report of the nursing homes you are interested in can be found at http://www.Medicare.gov/default.ASP
Scroll down to the Search Tools Section where you will find a variety of helpful links for your review.
Click on the Compare Nursing Home link in your area.
In Step 1 select how you would like to search for a nursing home.
Click the City link, type in your city and state and select the distance you are willing to travel.
Example:
Type in for City: Virginia Beach
Type in for State: Virginia
Select from the drop down menu Distance 10 miles
Click Next Step Buttons
A new page will open, identifying 11 nursing homes within 10 miles of Virginia Beach.
This page gives you basic information about the facilities.
Click on the gray box next to the name of the nursing home you are interested in.
Click the next step button in the lower right hand corner.
The nursing homes you selected will appear in a new window with more detail about those nursing homes, including contact information and directions to the facility.
Look at the column number of Health and Fire Safety deficiencies. You want to see zero at the best, but the fewer the better.
Your research can stop here, but if you want greater details click on the link, "View all information about the facility."
This section is rather complicated and difficult for the average person with no medical background to fully evaluate and understand.
However, in the interest of time, click on the Health Inspection link and then the Fire Safety link.
These Health Inspection links will identify the Quality Care deficiencies, if any. The Fire Safety link will identify Fire Safety deficiencies, if any.
In this section you learned how to search for a nursing home in your area and how to perform a simple evaluation of the nursing home at Medicare.gov.
If you are experiencing fear guilt, or frustration at finding the best nursing home to care for your loved one, then Kenneth E. Strong, Jr. can help you eliminate those helpless feeling and gain peace of mind.
Download your E-book "How To Select A Nursing Home And Get The Best Care For You Loved One" today at http://www.selectanursinghome.com
Feel free to use this article, in your publications; in its entirety provided you include the following notice: © Copyright 2007 All Rights reserved. Kenneth E. Strong, Jr. and Front Row Connections, LLC., Virginia Beach, Virginia. http://www.selectanursinghome.com
My new Book and Audio-Book will be published by Tate Publishing in June 2008.
