Before placing a loved one in a nursing facility (or checking into one long-term yourself), make it a point to tour facilities with the following questions and observations in mind for an informed decision:

1. Are there activities that stimulate both mind and body?

If residents in a nursing facility do nothing but sit around all day, even the healthier ones will develop dementia in an environment of stagnation. Both physical and mental exercise keep the mind sharp and prevents dementia by delay. Ask for a schedule of activities, how instructors are selected, how much variety or change there is in the programming, and how much say residents have in the programme development.

2. How flexible is the in-and-out traffic?

Nursing facilities are meant to be homes, not prisons. If visitation hours are limited or inconvenient for family and friends, residents will have a difficult time adjusting to nursing home life. If residents are not allowed to leave, they will become depressed. Of course security should be a primary concern, but if the rules are so strict that residents do not enjoy living there, quality of life should not be killed for the sake of security.

3. How is aggressive behaviour managed?

When people with dementia struggle with communication, it can deceptively come out as aggression and violence. Therapeutic or counseling work to find the underlying cause may be all it takes to fix the problem, but some nursing homes will use medication as a default treatment. Although medication can be a good thing, if it is prescribed inappropriately or excessively, it harms the patients’ ability to cope and live in harmony with society. Ask about available counselors and non-medication courses of treatment.

If just these three issues are explored thoroughly, residential life will not be such a shock or cause more unintended problems. If a facility is unwilling to provide answers or room for negotiation in these areas, it is probably not a patient-centric organization. If a facility is willing to work with residents and residents’ families for the well-being of a resident, the experience will be much more enjoyable and may even relieve the stress of dementia.