Many Americans trust the care of their elderly loved ones to nursing homes. A nursing home can be a fantastic place for older adults with health problems to get the ongoing care they need to survive. The choice to put a loved one in a nursing home is never an easy one, and it is important for families to thoroughly vet potential nursing homes to ensure they meet the standard of care their loved ones require.
Best West Virginia Nursing Homes
The U.S. News ranks the nursing homes in the United States based on patient satisfaction scores, patient safety, death rates for specific conditions, and findings from routine inspections. Out of the 126 nursing homes in West Virginia, only three have overall ratings of 4.5 or more stars out of five. The following are the highest-rated nursing homes in West Virginia with five-star ratings:
- Springfield Center. This small corporate-owned facility in Lindside, WV only has 60 beds for patients. It is a for-profit organization under private ownership and participates in Medicare and Medicaid.
- St. Barbara’s Memorial Nursing Home. The second-highest rated nursing home in the state is also small and privately-owned. This nursing home only has 57 beds and excels in all categories in patient surveys except staffing. St. Barbara’s employs fewer staff members per patient than other highly ranked nursing homes.
- War Memorial Hospital, Distinct Part. This is a very small facility with only 16 beds under nonprofit corporate ownership. This hospital has five-star ratings for health inspection results, complaints, staffing, and an overall score of five stars. It only sports a 3.4-star rating for medical care quality measures.
Some of the lowest-rated nursing homes in West Virginia include the Valley Center in South Charleston, the Cedar Ridge Center in Sissonville, and the Putnam Center in Hurricane, WV. A one-star rating is likely to deter many possible residents. It’s also important for anyone looking for a good nursing home to consider ratings as merely starting points.
Finding the Right West Virginia Nursing Home
If you are looking for a nursing home for your loved one, start by narrowing down your options to a few that fall within your location needs and have ratings that make you feel confident. Take the time to visit the facilities and getter a better sense of what life will be like for your loved one before signing up a family member to enter a nursing home. Ask staff and other residents (if possible) about working and living at the facility, perks to residency, and any ongoing issues or concerns over patient safety.
Once you have fully vetted your options, do some research to see if those nursing homes have ever faced investigations for elder abuse, neglect, or other problems. You should choose a facility with a pristine record for patient safety and rigorous hiring practices if you intend to send your loved one to live in a nursing home. Be sure to keep consistent contact and make regular visits after your loved one has entered a care facility. If anything appears out of the ordinary during a visit or your loved one has unexpected medical issues or inexplicable bruises, remove him or her from the situation and contact a West Virginia nursing home abuse lawyer. Elder abuse is a serious issue, and it’s crucial that family members of nursing home residents keep close tabs on their loved ones’ living arrangements and ongoing standard of care.