Overheard my sister say nursing homes are 'just fine' and I almost lost it

We were at Christmas dinner last month. She said mom will be fine in a basic facility. I looked up the state inspection reports for the three places near her in Phoenix. Two had violations for med errors. One had a citation for a broken call light system that took 3 days to fix. Mom needs daily insulin. How do you just trust that? The good places cost $6k a month plus extra. Has anyone actually toured a facility and walked right back out?

3 comments

3 Comments

green.noah10d agoTop Commenter

I read somewhere that one in four nursing homes has staffing levels below what's needed for basic care. It's not just about violations on paper. I toured a place once where the smell hit me as soon as the door opened. The lady at the front desk couldn't even tell me how often a nurse checked on residents. Have you looked at the actual nurse-to-patient ratios for those Phoenix places?

mileslane10d ago

Go drop in on a few unannounced during shift changes, @green.noah, you'll see the real numbers fast.

simon_carr10d ago

Bet on the cheaper places right before a holiday weekend to see what's really happening.