Choosing a Nursing Home

Choosing a long-term care facility often feels like an overwhelming task. However, there are easy-to-follow basic steps when searching. The following resources provide a great deal of information to make the search for the right facility a little easier.

• STATE of ILLINOIS:
  The Illinois Department of Public Health (www.idph.state.il.us) is responsible for making sure nursing homes comply with the provisions of the state Nursing Home Care Act. The Department also conducts certification surveys to ensure facilities receiving Medicaid (state) or Medicare (federal) money for resident payment abide by applicable federal regulations. The IDPH Web site provides the following information:
  
  
  • Nursing Homes in Illinois:
    • How to Select a Nursing Home and A reference and checklist for the potential resident
    • Listing of Nursing Homes in Illinois
    • Quarterly Reports of Nursing Home Violators
    • Nursing Homes with No Certification Deficiencies



• FEDERAL:
  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (www.medicare.gov), administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provide the following information:
  
  
  • Nursing Homes section of CMS' Web site
  
  
  
  • Nursing Home Compare – provides overviews of individual facilities. One can search by facility name or location. Easy-to-read information on the types of deficiencies a specific facility has received in recent years is also provided.
  
  
  
  • Nursing Home Quality Initiative
  
  
  
  • Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home – provides detailed information on choosing a nursing facility. (64 pages, PDF file - 665 KB)
  
  
  
  • Long Term Care Planning Tool – helps people understand what long-term care services are available, how much one can expect to pay for long-term care, and what financing options are available. This tool will ask between 12 and 20 questions and will then provide the long-term care results one needs by comparing the answers to those of individuals with similar profiles.
  
  
  
  • Long-Term Care – explains what long-term care is and the types of long-term care, provides steps to choosing care and guidance on paying for care.


• NONPROFIT:
  National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform – consumers and advocates who define and achieve quality for people with long-term care needs.
  • A Consumer Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home

For more information on the Pioneer Approach to Long Term Care and the Illinois Long Term Care Ombudsman program, see also:

• Publications related to the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
  
  
• Other Web sites related to the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program

Return to Long Term Care Ombudsman Program page.