Perhaps you've just begun your search for suitable, affordable long-term care for yourself or a family member. If so, you are probably envisioning a number of possibilities including lack of privacy, bad smells, poor food, inadequate staff, and separation from friends and family. The chances are also high that you are currently in the midst of a family medical emergency and never imagined that you would be searching for "one of those places" for yourself or a loved one. Quality care is available and affordable.

A whole new generation of nursing homes has appeared. These "new" nursing homes are moving away from the institutionalized, hospital-like settings of the past to offer more homelike, personalized care. In these new nursing homes, staff are more visible and attentive, family members are more involved, and facilities are cleaner and friendlier.

There are many different kinds of care available for the care of the chronically ill or elderly, frail individuals, including nursing homes. Consider all of the possibilities before deciding on any approach.

If, after considering all the options, you decide that a nursing home is the best choice for you or your loved one:

• Here are some things to look for as you conduct the search for the best care possible.
• There are many resources available, including the consumer guide The New Nursing Homes: A Twenty-Minute Way to Find Great Long-Term Care, put together by Marilyn Rantz, Lori Popejoy, and Mary Zwygart-Stauffacher (all nationally-known experts in long-term nursing care.)
• Once you've researched and decided upon a nursing home, the Quality Improvement Program for Missouri’s Long-Term Care Facilities (QIPMO) is readily available to provide free on-site quality improvement consultation to long-term care facilities. Please don't hesitate to encourage Missouri nursing homes to contact us!