How to use the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide to find senior living

If you or a loved one are a senior in Ohio who is looking for long-term care or senior living, one amazing tool at your disposal is the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide. This tool, created and maintained by the Ohio state government, provides a wealth of information to help make the decision-making process easier. In this article, we'll discuss how to use the guide to find a senior living community and explore other options for senior living in Ohio. To learn more about the best ways to find and pay for senior living in Ohio, continue reading our guide on the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide below or reach out to the Sunbound team to learn more.

Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide

First, let's take a closer look at the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide. This resource provides detailed information about licensed nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care providers throughout the state of Ohio. Users can search for facilities by location, facility type, and quality measures. Additionally, the guide provides information about Medicaid and Medicare coverage for long-term care, as well as a variety of other resources for seniors and their families. 

To begin your search for a senior living community using the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide, start by visiting their website. From there, you can search for facilities by location, facility type, and quality measures. Using this information will give you a great idea of senior living facilities in your area and allow you to start touring facilities with as much important information at your fingertips as possible.

Geographic Location

The first criteria to use when using the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer guide is to filter by geographic location as demonstrated below.

The guide provides users with a wide variety of options to choose from when selecting the geographic location for their desired senior living facility. Simply enter your zip code, and use the miles radius adjustment option to ensure that your facility isn’t too far from your desired location. Keep in mind that the larger you set your radius the more facilities you will find, but at the cost that some may be somewhat far away from you.  

Senior Living Facility Type

Along with searching by geography, the tool also allows you to select the type of facility that you’re looking for. This is a required selection, so make sure that you are choosing the type of facility that is right for you. If you are unsure, do some research regarding what type of services different types of senior living facilities offer. In this section, your choices are assisted living, nursing home, supportive living, or residential treatment facility. 

Additionally, you can also filter by the services offered at each type of facility for assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and supportive living services (residential treatment facilities do not offer this breakdown of services in the tool). Below, you can see all the different services that you can filter for among these three types of senior living communities. This will give you a better idea of what type of senior living facility is right for you or your senior loved one.

Assisted living facilities

Nursing homes

Supportive living services

Residential treatment facilities 

Since residential treatment facilities do not have this breakdown, it makes sense to provide a little more context on what they are. Residential care facilities in Ohio are licensed and certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS). These facilities provide housing, meals, and personal care services to elderly individuals who need assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and medication management. The goal of these facilities is to provide a safe and supportive environment for elderly residents who may not be able to live independently due to physical or cognitive limitations. In addition to personal care services, many residential care facilities offer social and recreational activities, transportation, and health care coordination. These services can help to improve the quality of life for elderly residents and provide peace of mind for their families. 

Facility Keywords

While this section isn’t required, it is helpful if you’re looking for a specific type of service, eligibility requirements, or other necessary information. For example, if you require a community that accepts Medicaid Waivers, you can type “waiver” in this section. Now that you’ve selected all the criteria that’s important to you, you’re ready to go! Just click “search” and you will be shown a list of communities that meet your selected criteria. If none are available, try broadening your search requirements, such as the radius from your desired zip code. 

Sorting your results

Now that you have a list of Long-Term Care facilities that meet your criteria, the question becomes which should you choose? Thankfully the guide provides some helpful ways of gauging the right community for you. For example, for assisted living facilities and nursing homes, one helpful tool is the column titled “2022 Family Survey Overall Score” which ranks the facilities based on consumer experience and overall quality of care. Click on the title of this column in order to view the available communities from highest to lowest, depending on their family survey score. This category will let you quickly sort through the Ohio senior living facilities that have received the highest overall scores based on the quality of care they provide.  

Touring Ohio senior living facilities

It's also important to take a closer look at each community. While the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide provides a wealth of information about each facility, including their overall quality rating, staffing levels, and resident satisfaction, as well as detailed information about the facility's inspection history, including any deficiencies or citations that were issued during the most recent inspection, the most important research will often come from seeing the community in person.

Once you have found some communities that interest you, click on their names to start viewing all their relevant information. This information includes the community’s address, phone number, website, email address, comments, religious affiliation, policies, number of staff members, payment information, services to non-residents/visitors, senior staff qualifications, quality measures, and more. You can print this information using the button at the bottom of the page to stay organized and keep track of which facilities are best for you as you start touring Ohio senior living facilities. 

Additional factors to consider

When evaluating a facility, it's important to consider a variety of factors beyond just the quality measures and geographic location found in this guide. One such consideration is cost, as long-term care can be expensive and may not be covered by insurance or government programs. For seniors who require specialized care, it's important to consider facilities that have experience and expertise in that area. For example, some facilities may have specialized units for residents with dementia or other memory impairments, while others may specialize in providing rehabilitative care after surgery or injury. These additional services can sometimes increase the cost of care.

If you or your senior loved one is going to need Medicaid coverage to pay for care, it's important to note that not all facilities accept Medicaid. However, the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide provides information about which facilities do accept Medicaid, as well as the percentage of residents at each facility who are covered by Medicaid. 

Ultimately, the best choice for senior living in Ohio will depend on a variety of factors, including your individual needs and preferences, your budget, and the availability of different types of care in your area. The Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide provides a wealth of information to help you make an informed decision about your care options, but it's important to take the time to thoroughly research and evaluate each facility before making a final decision. 

To learn more about how Sunbound can help make senior living more affordable for you or your loved one, send us an email at info@sunboundhomes.com or request more information on Sunbound. Sunbound is the best way to pay for senior living and is on a mission to make senior living affordable for everyone.