Questions To Ask During Your First Nursing Home Visit To Spot Red Flags

Choosing a nursing home for someone you love ranks among the hardest decisions you’ll ever make. The facility becomes responsible for everything: daily care, safety, dignity, and quality of life. So that first tour? It matters more than most people realize.

Here’s what happens, though. Families walk through and focus on the wrong things. They notice the nice lobby. They ask about the activities calendar. They check out the dining room. Those details aren’t unimportant, but they won’t tell you how a facility actually operates when family members aren’t watching.

At Davis & Brusca, LLC, we’ve handled too many cases where the warning signs were right there during the initial visit. Families just didn’t know what they were looking at.

Staff Questions That Reveal Quality Of Care

Start with staffing ratios. Ask the administrator directly: how many certified nursing assistants work each shift, and how many residents does each one care for?

If they hesitate or give you vague numbers, that’s your first red flag.

Staff turnover matters just as much. High turnover typically means poor working conditions, and that flows directly into how residents are treated. You want a team that’s been there a while. Experience and consistency make a real difference in care quality.

Don’t skip this one: ask about call light response times. How long does it take staff to answer when a resident needs help? Do they track this metric? Delayed call light responses lead to falls, missed medications, and flat-out neglect. If they can’t give you a straight answer, keep looking.

Medical Care And Emergency Protocols

You need to understand who’s managing your loved one’s medical needs. Ask who provides oversight. How often does a physician actually visit residents? Some facilities rely heavily on nurse practitioners, which might be fine depending on your family member’s health status, but you deserve to know upfront.

What happens in emergencies? Get specific. How fast can they get someone to a hospital if needed? What conditions trigger an immediate call to you? These protocols should be documented and clear. If the administrator fumbles through this answer, that tells you something.

Questions About Daily Living And Personal Care

Ask them to walk you through how they handle bathing, dressing, and toileting. The details of their answer matter more than the fact that they have a process. A quality facility will explain the specifics, including how they maintain dignity during personal care.

What about residents with mobility issues or dementia? How do they prevent falls? What safety measures are actually in place? Listen for proactive planning, not just reactive responses to problems after they happen.

Red Flags To Watch For During Your Tour

While you’re asking questions, pay attention to what’s happening around you. Look at the current residents. Are they clean? Well-groomed? Dressed appropriately for the time of day?

Watch how staff interact with residents. Do they make eye contact? Speak respectfully? More importantly, do they actually respond when residents ask for help, or do they keep walking?

Here are the warning signs you can’t ignore:

• Strong urine or feces odors in hallways or common spaces
• Residents sitting alone in common areas for extended periods with no staff interaction
• Call lights are going unanswered while you’re standing there watching
• Staff who seem rushed, stressed, or speak sharply to residents
• Residents with visible bedsores, unexplained bruises, or poor hygiene
• Medication carts left open and unattended

Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is.

Understanding Resident Rights And Complaints

Every Pennsylvania nursing home must inform residents of their rights. Ask to see the facility’s Residents’ Bill of Rights. Ask how they communicate these protections to families.

Then dig into their complaint process. How do families report concerns? Who investigates? What’s the typical response time? A good facility won’t get defensive about these questions. They’ll have clear procedures, and they’ll welcome your questions.

You have the legal right to access your loved one’s care plan and medical records. Any facility that pushes back on this should raise serious concerns.

Medication Management Practices

Medication errors are one of the most common forms of nursing home negligence we see. Ask how they prevent mistakes. Do they use electronic systems? How many medication passes happen each day? Who’s administering medications, and what training do they have?

Find out what happens when a physician orders a medication change. How does information flow between the medical staff, nursing staff, and you? Communication breakdowns in this area can be dangerous.

Taking Action When You Spot Problems

If something feels wrong during your tour, don’t talk yourself out of it. Even if the facility looks perfect on paper, your discomfort means something.

After placement, if you start noticing problems, document everything. Take photos when you can. Keep detailed notes with specific dates and times. This information becomes incredibly valuable if you need to take legal action later.

A Philadelphia nursing home neglect lawyer can review what you’ve observed and help you determine whether your loved one’s rights have been violated. We’ve investigated countless facilities. We know what proper care looks like and what neglect looks like. Our team reviews medical records, interviews staff when necessary, and holds negligent providers accountable when they fail to meet basic standards of care. If you suspect your family member isn’t getting the care they deserve, reach out to our Philadelphia nursing home neglect lawyer to discuss what’s happening and how we can help protect your loved one.