Your local area agency on aging has free guides and information about such care options as adult foster care homes, adult day care, home health services, assisted living facilities, and long-term care facilities. Additionally, the Medicare/Medicaid options that are available to help your loved one stay in her own home are coordinated through that office. 

Find this office in your local telephone directory or call the toll free number above.

This is the federal government's official nursing home guide page. http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp  It offers pamphlets on how to choose a nursing home and, for the first time, the actual results of nursing home inspections (“surveys”) for every Medicare/Medicaid certified nursing home in the country. The “tags” and the names of the problems cited (“deficiencies”) and the seriousness (“scope and severity”) are posted here. However, the actual text of the citations is not available.

More information on choosing a nursing home: If you find the above website too slow or impossible to load, see also http://www.la4seniors.com/nursing_homes.htm

Medicaid information concerning long-term care services in the United States is found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp

The NCCNHR website has links to citizens’ advocacy groups in all 50 states. Many of these groups have on-line information regarding how to choose a nursing home.  www.nccnhr.org/static_pages/Citizens_groups_list.cfm

The Citizens for Better Care of Michigan has numerous helpful booklets available on all facets of nursing home care. Many are available free online at www.cbcmi.org/publications.htm

. Others may be ordered and the cost is nominal ($2.00 to $3.00). “How to Choose a Nursing Home” ($3.00) is particularly helpful. Go to www.cbcmi.org/publications/nhlook.htm to order this.

A video version is available for $9.00. Go to www.cbcmi.org/publications/video.htm to order this.