Choosing a nursing home for a parent, spouse, or other loved one is rarely a decision a family has the luxury of making slowly. Often, the need arises after a hospitalization or other medical crisis, and families are asked to select a skilled nursing facility within a matter of days—or even hours.
A recent Ventura County Star article, “Advocates offer tips for choosing a Ventura County nursing home,” highlights how difficult that decision can be and offers practical advice from advocates who work with nursing home residents and their families.
Read the Ventura County Star article.
Although the article focuses on Ventura County, many of the issues it raises apply to families throughout California.
Don’t Wait Until the Hospital Discharge to Start Asking Questions
One of the difficulties families encounter is timing. The Ventura County Star reports that many nursing home residents enter a facility directly from a hospital. A family dealing with a medical crisis may therefore be making an important long-term decision under considerable time pressure.
If it appears that a family member may need skilled nursing care after hospitalization, start asking questions as early as possible. Talk with the hospital’s discharge planner or social worker and begin identifying facilities that can meet the patient’s particular needs.
Look Beyond Location and Appearance
It is understandable to want a facility close to home. Frequent visits from family can be extremely important. But convenience should not be the only consideration.
Families should investigate a facility’s history, staffing, services, and ability to care for the particular resident.
Medicare’s Care Compare website provides information about Medicare-certified nursing homes, including overall star ratings and information concerning health inspections, staffing, and quality measures.
Compare nursing homes using Medicare Care Compare.
Ratings are a useful starting point, but they should not replace actually learning about the facility.
Visit—and Consider Visiting at an Unexpected Time
One particularly practical suggestion in the Ventura County Star article is that families consider visiting facilities during evenings or weekends. A scheduled weekday tour may not tell you what the facility is like when administrative personnel are gone and staffing may be different.
When visiting, pay attention to more than the décor. Observe how staff members interact with residents. Do residents appear clean and appropriately cared for? Are call lights being answered? Do staff members appear rushed? Are residents engaged, or are they largely left alone?
You are trying to determine what everyday life in the facility is actually like.
Find Out Whether the Facility Can Meet the Resident’s Particular Needs
A nursing home that is appropriate for one person may be entirely inappropriate for another.
The Ventura County Star article emphasizes the importance of determining whether a facility can meet the prospective resident’s needs and understanding how the care will be paid for.
Families should ask specifically about the services their loved one requires. That may include rehabilitation, dementia care, wound care, assistance with mobility, or other specialized needs.
Ask About Medicare and Medi-Cal
For California families, the financial side of the decision can be just as important as the medical side.
Medicare and Medi-Cal are not interchangeable. A person may initially enter a skilled nursing facility with Medicare coverage following a qualifying hospitalization, but Medicare does not provide unlimited coverage for long-term custodial nursing home care.
For someone who will need long-term nursing home care, Medi-Cal eligibility can become extremely important.
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform provides extensive consumer information about nursing home selection, Medi-Cal, and residents’ rights.
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform: How to Choose a Nursing Home.
This is an area where families sometimes make decisions based on assumptions about what Medicare will cover or what must happen to a person’s assets before Medi-Cal will provide assistance. Those assumptions are not always correct.
Read the Admission Documents Carefully
In the rush to arrange a discharge, it can be tempting to sign whatever paperwork is placed in front of you. Don’t treat nursing home admission documents as routine paperwork.
Understand who is assuming responsibility for what, how charges will be handled, what services are included, and what the facility’s policies provide. If you are signing documents on behalf of another person, be clear about the legal authority under which you are acting.
Make Sure the Estate Planning Documents Are in Order
A move to skilled nursing care also illustrates why incapacity planning is an important part of estate planning.
If the resident cannot make or communicate decisions, someone may need legal authority to address financial matters and health care decisions.
A comprehensive California estate plan commonly includes a durable power of attorney for financial matters, health care power of attorney, living will addressing end-of-life wishes, and HIPAA authorization, in addition to a will or trust.
Ideally, those documents are prepared and reviewed before a medical crisis occurs.
Planning Can Make a Difficult Situation More Manageable
No checklist can make choosing a nursing home easy. But families can make a more informed decision by researching facilities, examining inspection and staffing information, visiting in person, asking questions about the resident’s particular needs, and understanding how care will be financed.
When long-term care rather than short-term rehabilitation is likely, it may also be time to consider how Medi-Cal planning and the family’s existing estate plan fit into the larger picture.
At The Law Office of Maureen Lyons, PC, we help California families with estate planning, elder law and Medi-Cal planning, including the legal and financial issues that can arise when a loved one requires long-term care.
Source: Makena Huey, Ventura County Star, “Advocates offer tips for choosing a Ventura County nursing home,” September 5, 2026. Read the original article.