The Ohio Department of Aging launched an update to its online nursing home mapping tool that will now help Ohioans find assisted living senior care centers in their area.
Gov. Mike DeWine and the agency's director Ursel McElroy announced the upgraded map in a news release Thursday morning. The tool used to be called the Nursing Home Quality Navigator, but has been changed to the Long-Term Care Quality Navigator to accommodate the added facilities.
“When it comes to Ohioans choosing where to get care for themselves or a loved one, the most important thing is making sure people are confident that they have all the data and knowledge they need to make an informed decision,” DeWine said in a statement. “By adding assisted living facilities to our Navigator, we are now providing detailed information on over 1,700 long-term care facilities, all in one place. This powerful tool will help more people choose the best place for their needs.”
RELATED: Expert advises Ohio seniors about navigating insurance and preparing for escalating costs
The tool allows users to map out care facilities by location in the state and sort through different options. The map shows there are currently about 930 nursing homes and about 800 assisted living centers in the state of Ohio.
The tool originally launched one year ago and this upgrade was recommended by a taskforce that was set up by DeWine.
“ODA is strengthening an already popular product by listing more facilities and providing more details about each of them,” McElroy said in a statement. “When making one of the most important decisions about their future, Ohioans deserve to have correct, current information at their fingertips. ‘Version 2.0’ of the Navigator provides just that, bolstering ODA’s goal of making Ohio the best place to age in the nation.”
McElroy previously told WOSU information in the public domain often focuses on clinical care, but the navigator helps users see what residents say.
RELATED: Affordable housing is a concern as more Ohioans are living longer
When an option is clicked on the map, information is shown on the facility's address, contact information, the number of beds in each location and the location's rating with a resident satisfaction score out of 100.
"(The survey) includes how the residents feel about their experience with the facilities, activities, the administration, meals and so much more," McElroy said.
The map also lets users sort by the payments types that each location accepts, including Medicaid. It also lets users filter options by what type of special assistance is provided for dementia, Alzheimer's, hospice care, dialysis on site and more.
McElroy said this will help clear up confusion some people may have sorting through the hundreds of options and where they lay on the spectrum of care these facilities provide.
"It's really important, particularly given the advent of memory care and what we're now beginning to see with the population who seeks assisted living. We want to be sure that they, too, have access to information about the very same things that I describe and even other things that are perhaps very unique to assisted living facilities," McElroy said.
RELATED: What kinds of changes to Ohio laws would make life easier for aging seniors?
The ODA also added a new “Care Quiz” feature that asks users questions to help direct them to the type of long-term care facility that may be best for them.
WOSU Public Media explored the journey of caregiving, from health disparities and inequities to exploring if our healthcare system is prepared to support the future aging population in a multi-series project called INSIDE: Caregiving. The latest story focused on the journey families embark on when looking for the correct facility and the difficulties they may face.
