Shane Baldwin, LNHA
Interim Executive Director Heritage Manor
Selecting a skilled nursing facility for yourself or a loved one is a major decision. With over 900 facilities across Ohio, choosing the right place can feel overwhelming.
Where do you start?
It’s natural to be drawn to appearances. A newly renovated facility with elegant furnishings, spacious common areas, and modern amenities will always catch your eye. While this is an element of the decision, there are other factors you should consider first.
When residing in a skilled nursing facility, whether short or long term, you want assurances of safe, compassionate, and high-quality care.
To find this the best place to start is Care Compare.
🔗 https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
This website will allow you to see the skilled nursing facilities in your desired area, but more importantly, compare their star ratings.
The Five-Star Quality Rating System created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was designed to help consumers compare skilled nursing facilities based on objective performance measures.
Facilities receive ratings based on health inspections, staffing levels, and quality measures related to resident care. Facilities will be rated from 1-star (much below average) to 5-star (much above average).
A 5-star rating generally indicates that a facility performs well in areas that directly affect residents, including safety, clinical care, and overall quality outcomes.
While no rating system is perfect, these scores provide objective valuable insight into how a nursing home operates on a day-to-day basis.
Health Inspection
State inspectors evaluate facilities for compliance with federal regulations and assess everything from infection control practices to resident rights and safety procedures.
Inspections are completed unannounced annually or upon resident complaints. These inspections often uncover issues that visitors would never notice during a tour.
Repeated deficiencies, poor infection control, or safety violations can indicate underlying problems that may affect residents.
A high-performing facility typically demonstrates a strong commitment to compliance and continuous improvement.
Reviewing inspection results can provide families with a much more complete understanding of a nursing home’s strengths and weaknesses.
Care Compare allows you to review each facility’s past inspection results in detail.
Staffing Levels
One of the most important factors influencing resident care is staffing.
Some may say that staffing is the foundation for quality of care.
Residents in skilled nursing facilities often require assistance with medication management, mobility, bathing, dressing, meals, and medical monitoring.
Without enough qualified caregivers, a facility can struggle to meet residents’ needs.
A skilled nursing facility with strong staffing levels is more likely to provide timely assistance, identify health concerns early, and deliver personalized care.
Residents receive more attention, families receive better communication, and caregivers are less likely to become overwhelmed.
Care Compare allows you to review each facility’s staffing ratios and turnover percentage.
Quality Measures
Quality measures focus on resident outcomes and clinical performance indicators.
The ultimate goal of any skilled nursing facility is to help residents maintain the highest possible quality of life.
Facilities with strong quality ratings often demonstrate better outcomes in areas such as infection prevention, fall reduction, hospital readmissions, and overall resident well-being.
These outcomes have real consequences.
A nursing home’s ability to prevent avoidable complications can affect a resident’s health, independence, and comfort.
5-star quality measures often indicate attentive caregivers, effective clinical practices, and a commitment to safety.
Remember that quality care is not always visible.
Some of the most important aspects of a skilled nursing facilities performance occur behind the scenes through staff training, care planning, communication, and clinical oversight.
Care Compare allows you to review each facility’s short and long stay quality measures.
Touring the Facility
Now that you have narrowed down potential facilities from star ratings, it’s time to set up a tour.
You now know the building is highly rated, this is a good time to start factoring in appearance in the decision making process.
When touring the facility, make sure you are being observant of what’s going on around you and don’t be afraid to ask staff members questions.
Things to look for during the tour:
- Is there an odor when you enter the building?
- Does the building appear clean and tidy?
- Are staff members visible, friendly, and seem knowledgeable?
- How are staff members interacting with residents?
- Are there shared rooms and bathrooms?
- Do you see many call lights going off, and do staff walk by active call lights?
- Do other residents appear to be well taken care of?
- If you’re there during a meal time, does the food look appetizing?
- Do you see activities going on with the residents?
- Does the therapy gym have the proper equipment for you?
Making the Final Decision
Once the tour is complete, it’s time to make the decision.
Ultimately, choosing a skilled nursing facility is about finding a place where you or your loved one will receive safe, compassionate, and high-quality care every day.
By using Care Compare to review a facility’s star ratings, inspection history, staffing levels, and quality measures, you have focused on the factors that matter most.
Then, by touring the facilities and observing the environment firsthand, you can determine whether the facility’s culture, staff, and services are the right fit for your needs.
A skilled nursing facility may become someone’s home for weeks, months, or even years.
Taking the time to look beyond appearance and evaluate a facility’s proven track record can make all the difference.
The goal is not simply to choose a place that looks good, but to choose a place where residents are treated with dignity, respected as individuals, and provided the quality care they deserve.
A Message from Heritage Manor
Now comes the part where I may be a bit biased.
Working at Heritage Manor now for nine years, I can say no one wants to have to come to a skilled nursing facility but if you have to, Heritage Manor is the place to be.
Heritage is a 5-star facility overall including 5-star in staffing, 5-star in quality measures and has been since before my time here. In fact, we have received two out of our last three deficiency free annual health surveys.
Newsweek ranked us one of the Top 5 Small Nursing Homes in Ohio for 2025.
Heritage Manor offers all private rooms and bathrooms.
We also built a new 12 bed rehab wing in 2022 with a state of the art therapy gym and continue to renovate the rest of our building.
We have been serving both Mahoning and Trumbull county residents for over 60 years.
If you are someone interested in a skilled nursing facility, you are more than welcome to come tour our building.
Lastly, please remember: having peace of mind that your loved one is receiving quality care is worth the extra 10 minute drive.
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