Tour questions · Assisted living
Questions to bring on an assisted living tour
Assisted living is help with bathing, dressing, medications, and meals, with staff in the building around the clock. The brochure covers the daytime. These questions cover the nights, the bill, and the day something changes.
Also: Memory care · Skilled nursing
CarePair, trycarepair.com/tours/questions/al. Free for families. Bring a pen.
01 Staffing and nights
- Who is in the building at 2 a.m., and how many residents does each of them cover?
- Is a nurse on site, and during which hours? Who is on call when there is not?
- How long does a call light take to answer at night? Can we watch one being answered?
- How long have the director of nursing and the aides on this floor been here?
- Do you use agency staff? How often, and on which shifts?
02 Care and medications
- Who gives medications, and what is the window around each scheduled time?
- What happens if my parent refuses a medication or a shower? Who calls me?
- How is a fall handled? Who decides on the hospital, and who rides along?
- How often is the care plan reviewed, and are we in the room when it is?
- Which needs would move my parent to a higher care level, and what does that level cost?
03 Money and what is not included
- What is the base monthly rate, and what exactly does it include?
- What is billed on top: medication management, incontinence care, escorts to meals, laundry?
- Is there a community fee, and is any of it refundable if we leave in the first months?
- How much did rates rise in each of the last three years?
- What happens when private funds run out? Do you take ALP or Medicaid, and is there a waitlist for those beds?
- What is the notice period to leave, and is there a charge after a death?
04 Daily life
- Can we eat a meal with the residents today, and can I see this week's menu?
- What did residents actually do yesterday afternoon?
- How do residents get to appointments, church, or the store?
- Can my parent keep their own doctor, pharmacy, and phone?
- What does a typical resident's day look like here, hour by hour?
05 What triggers a move-out
- What conditions or needs would mean my parent has to leave?
- If needs grow, can they stay under an enhanced license, or is a move the only option?
- Can hospice come in, and can someone stay through the end of life here?
- How much notice do you give, and who helps find the next place?
06 The things families wish they had asked
- Can we see the room that would be theirs, not the model?
- What did the last state inspection find, and what changed after it?
- How do you tell families about a change in condition, and how quickly?
- Who is the one person I call when something is wrong, and what is their direct number?
- May I speak with the family of a current resident?
Four things that work
What families said made the difference
- Eat the residents' meal
- Ask to eat what the residents are eating, not the visitor lunch. The dining room at noon shows you staffing, pace, and how people are treated, and food is a daily quality of life.
- Check the community's job postings
- Search the community's name on the job sites before you visit. Constant openings for aides and nurses on the same shifts tell you about turnover and what nights may look like.
- Visit at shift change
- Come back unannounced around 3 p.m. or 11 p.m. when shifts change. How the handoff sounds, and how residents are doing while it happens, says more than a scheduled tour.
- Ask a resident's family in the parking lot
- Families visiting a parent will tell you what the tour will not. Ask what they would want to know before choosing, and what surprised them after.
Before you go
- Read the community’s state inspection record first. Every listing on CarePair links to it under “Check the record.” An inspection record shows what state surveyors found on the days they visited and whether it was fixed; it cannot tell you what a Tuesday night feels like, so read it alongside a tour.
- A problem inside a nursing home or adult care facility: Long Term Care Ombudsman, 1-855-582-6769. Free, confidential advocates for residents. New York State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
- Write down three things while they are fresh. In CarePair, the case page asks how the tour went once it has passed; your advisor reads it and the community never does.
General information for families in Western New York, written by Cardinal Care Advisors. Not medical or legal advice; a physician, an elder law attorney, or a licensed assessor decides the things that need deciding. Tell us if a question should be here: hello@thecardinalgroup.org.