A tour is where you find out what the website cannot tell you. Plan for about 45 minutes, go mid-morning on a weekday if you can, and bring someone with you so one person can talk while the other watches.
Print the touring checklist to take with you.
The first minute
Notice the smell as you walk in. Clean is good. Heavy air freshener can be covering a problem. Look at the residents: mid-morning, they should be up, dressed, and groomed. Notice whether a caregiver greets you or only the owner, and whether the household feels calm or chaotic.
Check the license
The license should be posted. Check the address matches and the capacity matches the number of residents you see. You can look up any licensed facility, and its inspection history, on the California Department of Social Services Care Facility Search.
Then ask two questions that decide whether your parent can stay as needs grow:
- Is the home cleared for non-ambulatory or bedridden residents? California requires the right fire clearance before a home can keep a resident who is bedridden.
- Does the home hold a hospice care waiver? Without one, a resident who goes on hospice may have to move.
Ask about staffing
- How many caregivers are on each shift, and are they awake overnight?
- How long have the current caregivers worked here?
- Who gives medications, and how are they recorded?
- Do the caregivers speak your parent's language?
Long-serving caregivers are one of the strongest signs a home is run well.
Look at daily life
See the actual room your parent would have, not just a show room. Check the bathroom for grab bars and a walk-in shower. Ask for this week's menu, and ask what a normal day looks like from breakfast to bedtime.
Get the money in writing
- The monthly rate at your parent's care level
- What is not included
- What triggers a rate increase, and how much notice you get
- The notice period to move out, and refund rules
- The situations in which the home would ask your parent to leave
Answers that should worry you
- Reluctance to show you the room, or the license
- Vague answers about overnight staff
- Pressure to pay a deposit today
- No written rate
See the full list of red flags to watch for.