Choosing a Nursing Home

• How to Choose a Nursing Home (pdf)
• Types of Nursing Homes in California (pdf)
• Nursing Home Evaluation Checklist (pdf)

Public Websites That Identify Nursing Homes and Provide Inspection Histories on Them:

• Cal Health Find (operated by the California Department of Public Health)
• Cal Quality Care (managed by the University of California, San Francisco)
• Nursing Home Compare (operated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

Note: CANHR does not endorse nursing home ratings. The information on these sites may be helpful to you but you should not solely rely on them to determine the quality of a facility. See CANHR’s fact sheet on choosing a nursing home.

Filing Complaints

• How to File a Complaint Against a Nursing Home (pdf)
• Licensing & Certification District Offices

Advocacy Help with Nursing Home Concerns

• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs by County
• Overview of the California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

Resident Rights

• Outline of Nursing Home Residents’ Rights (pdf)
• Transfer and Discharge Rights (pdf)
• The Epidemic in Nursing Home Evictions (pdf)
• Admission Agreement Rights (pdf)
• Don’t Sign Arbitration Agreements
• Toxic Medicine: What You Should Know to Fight the Misuse of Psychoactive Drugs in California Nursing Homes
• Your Right to Visit: A Guide to Visiting Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities
• Your Right to Leave: A Guide to the Rights of Long-Term Care Consumers to Be Free From Forced Placement
• Questions and Answers Regarding Informed Consent (pdf)
• Access to Medical Records in California Nursing Homes (pdf)
• Theft and Loss (pdf)
• “Did You Know?”/”Dear Advocate” archives – helpful consumer information from the CANHR Advocate.

CANHR Postcard Series on Resident Rights

• "Nursing Home Discharges…What to Know Before You Go"
• "Nursing Home Staffing…Your Right to Have Enough Staff to Meet Your Needs"
  Coming soon...
• "Nursing Home Visitation Rights…Your Right to Have Visitors"
  Coming soon...

Advocating for Quality Care

• Nursing Home Care Standards (pdf)
• Making Care Plans Work (pdf)
• Restraint Free Care (pdf)

Paying for Nursing Home Care

Organizing a Family Council

• Family Council Fact Sheet (pdf)
• Organizing Family Councils in Long Term Care Facilities (booklet)
• Family Councils: Making a Difference (online video)
• Introduction to Family Councils
• Organizing a Family Council
• Tips for Running an Effective Family Council
• Family Council Articles

Key Resources

• More CANHR Fact Sheets
• 25 Common Nursing Home Problems & How to Resolve Them by Justice in Aging
• Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud & Elder Abuse
• Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud & Elder Abuse Complaint Form
• California Health Advocates
• California regulations on skilled nursing facilities
  (Title 22, CCR, Division 5, Chapter 3)
• Center for Medicare Advocacy
• CDPH Enforcement Actions (Citations) site
• Disability Rights California
• Find Your California Legislators
• Guidance to Surveyors for Long Term Care FacilitiesZ
  (Appendix PP, State Operations Manual)
• Justice in Aging
• Long Term Care Community Coalition
• Long Term Care Ombudsman Contacts by County
• National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
• NH Regs Plus (examine and compare state regulations on nursing homes)
• Nursing Home Inspect by ProPublica
• Nursing Home Staffing by Facility (from Long Term Care Community Coalition)