Before you ask anything, set yourself up
- Go at a mealtime if you can — lunch shows you staffing, food, and how residents are treated all at once.
- Read the home's page here first — rating, staffing, inspection findings. The strongest questions start with “I read that…”.
- Bring your care list — the specific things your loved one needs. A gorgeous lobby means nothing if the care list doesn't match.
Questions about staffing
Staffing is the single biggest driver of day-to-day quality. Ask these directly — the numbers are publicly reported, so there's nothing to hide.
Staffing
- How many residents does each aide care for on a day shift? On the night shift?
- How long have the director of nursing and the administrator been here? (Turnover at the top is telling.)
- How often is a doctor or nurse practitioner physically in the building?
- Do you use a lot of agency (temporary) staff, or mostly your own team?
- What's your staff turnover like — and what are you doing about it?
Questions about care and safety
Care & safety
- Can you handle every item on my care list? (Ask them one by one — therapy, wound care, dialysis transport, memory support.)
- Who would be my point of contact when something worries me, and what happens after I call?
- How do you handle a resident who won't eat, or keeps trying to get up alone? (Listen for patience, not annoyance.)
- How do you prevent falls and pressure sores, and how do you tell families when something happens?
- I read your last inspection found [X]. What changed since then?
Questions about daily life
Daily life
- Can we see the actual room type my mother would get — not a model room?
- What does a normal day look like here? What activities happen on a weekend?
- How is the food handled for special diets, allergies, or cultural and religious needs?
- What's the visiting policy, and can family come at meal times?
- How do you handle roommates and room changes?
Questions about money
Money
- What's the daily rate, and exactly what does it include? What costs extra?
- Do you accept Medicaid? If savings run out, can my loved one stay in the same bed?
- Which insurance plans are you in network with?
- What happens when covered rehab days end?
- Can we have the full fee schedule and the admission agreement in writing, to take home?