Before you choose
We are not going to tell you which home to pick — that is a decision only your family can make, and this whole site is built around not pretending otherwise. What we can do is name the specific things worth knowing before you sign anything. These are the questions that most often decide whether a placement goes well, and most families discover that too late rather than too early.
1. What exactly will we pay each month?
Get the number in writing, not a verbal estimate on a tour. Ask what it includes and what it does not.
2. What additional care charges can arise?
Some homes quote one all-inclusive rate. Others quote a base rate and add charges as care needs increase, which is where families are most often surprised a few months in.
3. What happens if care needs increase?
A home licensed for a certain level of care may not be able to keep someone whose needs progress past it. Ask what the actual threshold is and what happens when someone reaches it.
4. What happens if the money runs out?
"Do you take Medi-Cal" is not specific enough — the common answer is yes, but often only after years of paying privately, and only if a Medi-Cal bed happens to be open then. Ask what happens on the day the money actually runs out.
5. Who provides care overnight?
A daytime staffing level tells you little about the overnight one. Ask specifically what overnight coverage looks like, not just whether someone is "on call."
6. How long have the direct-care staff been there?
No public record holds this. It is one of the few things worth asking directly, and a specific answer tells you more than a vague one.
7. What happens when someone falls?
Ask what the actual response looks like — who is called, what gets documented, whether family is notified the same day — rather than accepting "we have a protocol" as the answer.
8. What happens during a hospitalization?
Ask whether the room or bed is held during a hospital stay, for how long, and what it costs to hold it. This is a common source of disputes that a family finds out about only after it happens to them.
9. How are medications handled?
Ask who administers medication, what happens if a dose is missed or refused, and how changes from a doctor get communicated to the home.
10. What happens if the family disagrees with the care plan?
Ask this before you need the answer. A home’s response to a hypothetical disagreement tells you something a brochure never will.
11. What is the discharge policy, specifically?
Every licensed facility has one. Ask to see it in writing rather than accepting a verbal summary, and ask what could trigger a required move and how much notice is guaranteed.
12. Can we speak with current families?
Not every home will say yes, and a no is not automatically disqualifying — some have good reasons of their own residents’ privacy. But the answer, either way, is worth noting.
Still have unanswered questions? That’s worth pausing for.
None of these questions have one correct answer. They have an honest one, and the value is in getting it before you sign rather than gauging whether an answer is what you hoped to hear. A room fee due tomorrow is not a good enough reason to skip asking.
Planning a tour? The visit checklist covers what to notice while you’re there. Or see things worth paying attention to during that visit and afterward.