You probably wouldn’t buy a house sight unseen if you knew you would spend the majority of your golden years there. Similarly, don’t commit to a senior living facility until you’ve researched and toured several options and found the right fit for you or your loved one.
To help you narrow down your choices, here are 10 questions to ask when touring senior living facilities.
1. How Do You Feel When You Enter a Facility?
The first question you should ask yourself when touring a senior living facility is: What’s it like when you first walk in the door?
— Does friendly staff greet you?
— Is the building full of natural light and inviting furniture?
— Does the facility feel homey or institutional?
— Can you picture your loved one thriving in this community?
If you have a gut feeling that something doesn’t feel right, that’s your first red flag.
Ensure your loved one will be placed in a positive environment with staff and residents who look engaged and content.
[READ: What Is Assisted Living: Services, Levels of Care and Costs]
2. Are Common Areas Inviting?
Residents of senior living facilities spend almost as much time in common areas as in their individual rooms. When these spaces are lively and welcoming, seniors feel more at home. Common areas in senior living facilities may feature:
— Outdoor patios and walkways
— Living room areas with inviting fireplaces and comfortable seating
— Areas to watch television
— Spaces to play music, games and participate in activities
Observe the residents in the common areas. Although residents may enjoy watching some of their favorite television programs, the staff should still try to engage them in mentally stimulating activities.
Ask to speak with the activities director or view the activities calendar to determine if there are pastimes your loved one would enjoy.
[READ: Best At-Home Chair Exercises and Balance Exercises for Older Adults]
3. How Do the Resident Rooms Feel?
Rooms should feel like a bedroom, not a hospital room.
However, there should still be some safeguards that might not be common in your typical household bedroom. Resident rooms need certain safety accommodations, such as:
— Non-slip flooring
— Grab bars in the bathrooms
— Raised toilet seats
You’ll also need to ask if the facility requires you to bring furniture or if the rooms are fully furnished.
[READ: Home Safety Checklist for Seniors]
4. Are There Signs the Facility Is Short-Staffed?
If the staff appear overworked, or uninterested in the care of the residents, that’s a sign that your loved one will not receive the care they deserve.
Ask about staffing in the facility, including:
— How often do the physicians make their rounds?
— How many residents are assigned to each nurse? Nurses are responsible for administering medications, monitoring your loved one’s care plan and performing nursing care, such as catheter changes, infusions and wound dressings.
— How many residents are assigned to each nursing assistant? Nursing assistants help with the majority of your loved one’s day-to-day activities, such as getting dressed, walking, eating and bathing.
— How often do therapy services meet with residents? This may include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language therapy.
You may also consider asking if the facility has a “no lift” policy, which is a recent trend in senior living spaces. The policy prohibits staff from moving fallen residents and instead requires calling 911 for emergency services to do the lifting.
“These policies limit the facility’s liability but may show a tendency toward risk management over resident care,” explains Sean Marchese, a registered nurse at The Mesothelioma Center in Orlando, Florida. “This might be symptomatic of a larger problem within senior living, where revenue often takes priority over caring for residents.”
5. What Does the Dining Hall Feel Like?
A cozy, restaurant feel, rather than a cafeteria-like atmosphere, is important to make a senior living facility feel like home. A restaurant-feel includes:
— Natural or soft lighting
— Proper dishes rather than plastic silverware and plates
— A menu for residents to choose from, though options may be limited depending on their dietary restrictions or health conditions. Residents with chewing or swallowing difficulty or kidney failure, for example, may not have full menu access.
— A pleasant aroma that smells like appetizing food
Older adults often struggle to maintain a healthy weight. When the dining hall is inviting and appetizing, it encourages the residents to eat and enjoy their meals. This is especially important, as proper nutrition is essential for older adult health.
6. Is There Outdoor Space?
Outdoor spaces might include:
— Outdoor seating for mealtimes or for visiting and relaxing
— Pavilions
— Walking paths
— Gardens
Outdoor space is important to give the senior living facility more of a welcoming, community feel.
7. Have You Visited at Different Times of the Day or Made a Surprise Visit?
One question to ask when touring a senior living facility is if you can have scheduled tours at different times of day, suggests Kate Granigan, a Boston-based licensed medical social worker, the board president of the Aging Life Care Association and CEO of LifeCare Advocates.
She adds that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more restrictions on visiting hours, but this shouldn’t be the case at this time.
She also recommends an unscheduled visit, if you can. When pursuing this, Granigan suggests checking the general visiting hours, which are usually late morning until evening. This is to respect resident privacy during bedtime and morning routines.
“In an unscheduled scenario, be prepared you may need to wait for someone to be available to give you a tour,” she adds.
8. Do You Notice Signs of Elder Abuse or Mistreatment?
According to the World Health Organization, more than 15% of older adults have experienced some type of abuse in community care settings, such as senior living facilities, in the past year.
Even if the staff responds to you with respect, spending time observing their behavior may reveal occasional abusive interactions.
You may also observe slow responses to resident requests, another common complaint, says Dr. Gary Small, the chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Some red flags may include:
— Understaffing
— Residents who are socially isolated
— Poor food quality
— Unsanitary conditions
— Bedsores
Small explains that many nursing home residents suffer from dementia, a cognitive impairment that makes them dependent on others for care and can cause agitation and aggression. However, he says, “these individuals deserve humane, respectful treatment, which leads to more effective and greater quality of care.”
9. What Sounds Do You Hear Throughout the Facility?
When touring a senior living facility, it’s normal to hear noises like call lights or staff and resident chatter.
Paying attention to these sounds can reveal a lot about the facility. Listen for:
— Resident activity. Do you hear residents talking and laughing? Or are there sounds of yelling and distress from residents or staff?
— Staff communication. Staff need to communicate with residents and visitors in a welcoming and respectful tone.
— Announcements and alarms. Frequent alarms can be disruptive and stressful.
— Music and entertainment. Soft background music and sounds of entertaining activities create an enjoyable and lively atmosphere.
Ask when the facility has quiet hours and what actions they take to avoid disrupting resident sleep.
10. What Smells Do You Notice Throughout the Facility?
Senior living facilities have a reputation for uninviting smells. Although this is common, it shouldn’t be the norm. Many nursing homes take pride in having a clean-smelling and pleasant aroma.
Take note of smells throughout:
— Common areas. Ideally, the common area should smell like fresh food or clean laundry. If you are bombarded with the smell of bleach or cleaning chemicals, that may be a sign they are trying to mask unpleasant smells that the facility hasn’t properly addressed.
— Dining areas. Do meals smell fresh and appetizing? Do you smell garbage?
— Laundry areas. Does the facility do laundry on a consistent basis?
— Pet areas. Is there a space for pets, such as a dog park? If the community allows pets, check that these areas are well-maintained and odor-free.
The Bottom Line
Be sure to tour a senior living facility to ensure it’s the right environment for your loved one. Ask questions when touring a senior living facility to get perspectives on everyone who could come in contact with your loved one. Check online reviews and ratings for additional insights, and take your tour with those positives or potential negatives in mind.
To find the best senior living communities near you, check out the U.S. News and World Report rating of senior living communities. In 2024, U.S. News analyzed nearly 400,000 survey responses from residents and their family members at more than 3,500 senior living communities nationwide.
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10 Things to Look for When Touring a Senior Living Facility originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/18/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
