Most of us recognize that the time may come when our closest loved ones — or we ourselves — might have to move into a Fayetteville NC nursing home for much-needed round-the-clock care.

But who knew that so many people have to make decisions about nursing homes while under severe time constraints? This can actually be one of the most stressful and anxiety-inducing situations families ever face.

If you’re confronted with this unpleasant scenario, these tips can help you buy yourself a little bit of time and make the best possible decisions.

1. Know your rights. If a hospital informs you that your loved one must be discharged within 24 hours, remember that you have appeal rights under Medicare. This could allow you to extend your relative’s stay by two additional days and give you more time to research nursing homes. For details about appeal rights, ask the hospital for a copy of “An Important Message from Medicare,” or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

2. Turn to the Eldercare Locator for help. This resource will connect you with your local agency on aging, which can give you the names and locations of all nursing homes in a given area. Call the Eldercare Locator at (800) 677-1116.

3. Prepare to do lots of clicking. Consumer Reports recently completed an investigation of nursing homes across the country and made its findings available free of charge online. Go to this site and click on the map. This will ultimately lead you to Fayetteville NC nursing homes to consider and to avoid.

4. Tap into other resources. You also can check less complete surveys of nursing homes through the Nursing Home Compare database on the Web site of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Many state health agencies also track nursing homes in a similar way. To find such a resource, do a quick Internet search using the name of your state along with the words “health department.” Then visit that state Web site and find a phone number you can call. Ask the person who answers whether there’s a way for you to see nursing home surveys or ratings for your state.

5. Check state survey reports. When you visit a Fayetteville NC nursing home, ask for a copy of a report known as Form 2567, or the state inspection survey. This report will reveal the results of unannounced visits by state surveyors who spoke with residents and checked on sanitary conditions and care issues. Click here for detailed instructions about how to read and understand this document.

6. Contact your state’s long-term care ombudsman program. Another important resource for you can be the ombudsman who monitors nursing homes in your state or local area. You can do another quick Internet search using the name of your state and the word “ombudsman” to find the contact information you’ll need. You also can ask for this contact information when you call your state’s health department.

7. Make unannounced visits more than once. As you zero in on two or three Fayetteville NC nursing homes, visit them at different times of day. Are many residents still in bed at 10 a.m. or so? Do many eat dinner in their rooms rather than in the dining room? Both of these can be signs of an under-staffed facility that isn’t giving residents enough stimulation.

8. Stay alert for other telling details. Are toileting needs being met right away? Are safety precautions in place to prevent accidents? Are exercise and rehabilitation sessions scheduled regularly? How does the staff interact with residents? How does the food taste to you?

9. Sit down with the administrator. Ask about his or her views on long-term care, and find out if the Fayetteville NC nursing home has seen a lot of high-level turnover in recent years. If it has, that could be a sign of instability.

10. Inquire about Medicaid. If your relative lives in a nursing home for a long time, his or her financial resources most likely will be exhausted or “spent down,” and he or she will then be eligible for Medicaid. Get in writing the nursing home’s payment policy once private funds or Medicare reimbursements run out. Does the nursing home accept Medicaid payment eventually? If so, at what point?

Fayetteville NC Nursing Homes - Paying For Care

Medicare

Under certain limited conditions, Medicare will pay some nursing home costs for Medicare beneficiaries who require skilled nursing or rehabilitation services. To be covered, you must receive the services from a Medicare certified skilled Fayetteville NC nursing home after a qualifying hospital stay. A qualifying hospital stay is the amount of time spent in a hospital just prior to entering a nursing home. This is at least three days. To learn more about Medicare payment for skilled nursing home costs, contact your Medicare Fiscal Intermediary or the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in your State.

Medicaid

Medicaid is a State and Federal program that will pay most nursing home costs for people with limited income and assets. Eligibility varies by State. Check your State's requirements to learn if you are eligible. Medicaid will pay only for nursing home care provided in a facility certified by the government to provide service to Medicaid recipients. For more information about Medicaid payments, call the SHIP for your State or call your State's Medicaid office. The telephone number is in the blue pages of the phone book.

Personal Resources

About half of all nursing home residents pay nursing home costs out of their own savings. After these savings and other resources are spent, many people who stay in nursing homes for long periods eventually become eligible for Medicaid.

Managed Care Plans

A managed care plan will not help pay for care unless the nursing home has a contract with the plan. If the home is approved by your plan, learn if the plan also monitors the home for quality of nursing care.

Medicare Supplemental Insurance

This is private insurance. It's often called Medigap because it helps pay for gaps in Medicare coverage such as deductibles and co-insurances. Most Medigap plans will help pay for skilled nursing care, but only when that care is covered by Medicare. Some people use employer group health plans or long-term care insurance to help cover nursing home costs.

Long-Term Care Insurance

This is a private policy. The benefits and costs of these plans vary widely. For more information on these plans, contact the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). It represents state health insurance regulators and has a free publication called "A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance." You also can get a copy of the Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare: by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

Counseling and Assistance

SHIPs have counselors who might be able to answer your questions about how to pay for nursing home care, the coverage you may already have, or whether there are any government programs that will help with your expenses.

Fayetteville NC Nursing Homes - 10 Tips to Spotting a Bad Nursing Home

Horror story after horror story seems to come out about nursing homes. But good ones do exist! And there are ways to find them. For one thing, a personal visit can be revealing, if you know what questions to ask.

Dede Bonner, Ph.D., author of The 10 Best Questions for Living with Alzheimer’s, compiled questions to help recognize a bad facility. They include:

• Are there strong odors, particularly of urine or heavy disinfectant as a cover- up?
• Are residents’ needs for privacy treated with respect, such as undressing them in private?
• Are residents’ food trays full or only half eaten? Are staffers helping residents to eat?
• Is there a wide discrepancy between how well decorated and brightly lit the lobby/common areas are compared to the residents’ hallways and rooms?