18 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Nursing Home in Nebraska

Choosing a nursing home for someone you love can feel overwhelming. You may be working against a hospital discharge deadline, balancing different opinions, or wondering how to tell whether a facility will provide the care your loved one needs.

A tour is a chance to look beyond the brochure. The questions you ask—and how clearly staff answer them—can help you understand what everyday life and care may look like.

Bring this list when visiting nursing homes in Omaha, Lincoln, or elsewhere in Nebraska. Take notes, ask follow-up questions, and include your loved one in the conversation whenever possible.

Before Your Visit: Start With Your Loved One’s Needs

Write down the help your loved one currently requires. This might include assistance with walking, eating, toileting, medication, memory problems, or wound care. Ask their healthcare team what level of care is appropriate.

You can compare Medicare-certified nursing homes using staffing, quality, and inspection information available through Medicare. Use that information to prepare questions for your visit—not as a substitute for visiting. CMS: Finding a Nursing Home

Questions About Staffing and Daily Care

1. Can you meet my loved one’s specific care needs?

Describe those needs in detail. Ask who will provide the care, what equipment is available, and which services require outside providers.

Ask what would happen if your loved one’s needs increased after admission.

2. How many nurses and nursing assistants work on this unit?

Ask about the actual unit where your loved one would live, including evenings, nights, and weekends. Find out how staffing changes when someone calls in sick.

A useful follow-up is: “How many residents would each nursing assistant usually be helping on this shift?”

3. How do you respond when a resident presses the call button?

Ask how calls are monitored, what happens when a response is delayed, and how someone who cannot use a call button receives help.

During the tour, notice whether staff acknowledge residents who ask for assistance.

4. Will the same caregivers regularly work with my loved one?

Ask how staff learn a resident’s routines, communication needs, and preferences. Find out how important information is passed between shifts and shared with temporary staff.

5. How do you help residents with toileting, bathing, and getting dressed?

Ask how the facility plans for residents who cannot request help or need assistance from more than one person.

Listen for an explanation that addresses dignity and individual preferences as well as scheduling.

Questions About Preventing Injuries and Responding to Illness

6. How do you prevent bedsores and pressure wounds?

Ask how staff assess risk, check skin, help residents change position, and arrange pressure-relieving equipment when needed.

If your loved one already has a wound, ask who will oversee treatment and how changes will be communicated. Learn more about bedsores and pressure wounds in nursing homes.

7. What is your approach to preventing falls?

Ask how the team identifies individual risks and provides help with transfers, walking, and toileting.

Then ask: “If a fall happens, how do you assess the resident, notify the appropriate people, and change the care plan?”

8. How do you manage medications safely?

Ask who reviews medications after admission or a hospital stay, how missed doses are handled, and how possible side effects are reported.

If your loved one takes time-sensitive medication, explain that and ask how the schedule will be maintained.

9. What happens when a resident suddenly becomes ill?

Ask who assesses a change, how a clinician is contacted after hours, and how staff decide whether emergency evaluation is needed.

Request a concrete explanation of how the facility responds to a resident who becomes unusually confused, weak, or short of breath.

10. How do you prevent infections and communicate outbreaks?

Ask about hand hygiene, cleaning, staff training, and communication with residents and families.

Find out how the facility supports residents who need additional precautions while maintaining their dignity and access to care.

11. How do you support residents with dementia?

Describe any wandering, communication difficulties, sleep changes, or distress your loved one experiences.

Ask how staff learn what helps the person feel comfortable and how they respond when someone refuses care or becomes upset.

Questions About Meals, Choices, and Quality of Life

12. Who helps residents who cannot eat or drink independently?

Ask whether help is available throughout meals and between meals. Explain any swallowing concerns or prescribed dietary needs.

Find out how staff notice and respond when a resident is eating or drinking less than usual.

13. What choices will my loved one have each day?

Ask about waking up, going to bed, clothing, meals, activities, and time outdoors.

The Nebraska Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s nursing-home checklist includes questions about resident choice and the feel of the living environment. It can be a useful companion to your own notes. Nebraska Nursing Home Checklist

14. How do you help residents stay connected?

Ask about visits, phone calls, activities, and support for hearing, vision, or language needs.

Find out what is available for someone who prefers quiet company or cannot participate in group activities.

Questions About Communication and Accountability

15. Who will be my main contact, and how will care meetings work?

Ask how residents and authorized representatives participate in planning care. Get the name or role of the person to contact with routine questions and urgent concerns.

Clarify how the facility communicates significant changes and what happens if you cannot reach your usual contact.

16. Can we review your recent inspection findings?

Ask staff to explain any findings relevant to your loved one’s needs, what corrections were made, and how they check that improvements continue.

Medicare recommends visiting prospective facilities and using a checklist to guide the comparison. Medicare: Choosing a Nursing Home

17. How can residents and families raise concerns?

Ask how complaints are documented, who investigates them, and how you will receive a response.

Also ask for contact information for the resident or family council, if available, and the Nebraska Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The ombudsman program works with nursing-home and assisted-living residents on concerns about their care and rights. Nebraska Long-Term Care Ombudsman

18. What will the care cost, and what agreements must we sign?

Request a written explanation of charges, services included, additional fees, and payment arrangements.

Ask which documents are required, whether any agreements are optional, and what happens if care needs or payment sources change. Take time to understand documents before signing and seek independent advice when terms are unclear.

What to Notice During the Tour

Alongside the answers, write down your observations:

• Do staff speak directly and respectfully to residents?
• Does the unit appear clean and maintained?
• Can residents reach the items they need?
• Do staff respond when someone asks for help?
• Do the answers address your loved one’s circumstances?

One visit cannot tell you everything. If possible, return at a different time and compare your impressions. Respect residents’ privacy when observing or speaking with them.

Compare Answers Before Making a Decision

After each visit, record the facility’s answers, your unanswered questions, and any promises that need written confirmation.

Focus on whether the facility can explain how it will meet your loved one’s needs. A reassuring statement is more useful when it comes with a clear process, a responsible person, and a way to follow up.

Even careful research cannot guarantee that problems will never arise. Choosing a facility does not make a family responsible for failures in the care it provides.

If You Later Become Concerned About Neglect

At The Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law Firm, we help Nebraska families understand concerns about nursing home abuse and neglect. Shayla Reed has practiced law since 1999, and our practice focuses exclusively on this area.

If your loved one has been injured and you have questions about their care, we’re here to listen.

Call (402) 933-0588 or request a free consultation.