ACD-HUB

25 Questions to Ask on a Nursing Home Tour

A scheduled tour is choreographed. The administrator's job during your visit is to keep you in the marketing narrative. Your job is to get past it with specific, answerable questions. These are the 25 that elder-care advisors actually use, grouped by category so you can compare answers across facilities.

Staffing

Staffing is the strongest predictor of resident outcomes. Get specific numbers, not slogans like "we have great staff."

  1. What are your registered nurse (RN) hours per resident per day? What about total nursing-staff HPRD?

  2. What is your annual nursing-staff turnover rate?

  3. What are your minimum staffing levels on evenings, nights, and weekends — and how often do you fall short?

  4. How long has your director of nursing been in this role? Your administrator?

  5. Do you use agency or temporary staff? What percentage of weekly nursing hours come from agency?

Medical Care & Emergencies

These questions establish what happens when something goes wrong — which is the moment that matters most.

  1. Is there a registered nurse on-site 24 hours a day?

  2. Which physician is the medical director, and how often do they actually round?

  3. Which hospital do you transfer residents to, and what's the average ambulance response time?

  4. What is your protocol for medication errors and adverse events? How are they tracked?

  5. What is your process for fall prevention, and what is your annual falls-with-injury rate?

Daily Life

These reveal whether the facility runs on the residents' schedule or the facility's convenience.

  1. Can residents wake up, eat meals, and go to bed on their own schedule?

  2. Can residents have personal belongings, decorate their rooms, and bring their own furniture?

  3. What is the activity program like? Can I see the weekly calendar?

  4. What's your policy on residents going outside, having visitors, or leaving the facility for outings?

  5. How do you accommodate residents with dementia who may wander or have behavioral changes?

Money

Get every number in writing. A well-run facility hands these over without resistance.

  1. What is the total monthly cost? What's included in the base rate vs. billed separately?

  2. Do you accept Medicaid? If yes, is there a waiting list for Medicaid beds?

  3. What happens when a private-pay resident runs out of funds — do they need to move rooms or transfer?

  4. What is your billing for therapy services (physical, occupational, speech)?

  5. What is your 30-day cancellation policy and any non-refundable deposits?

Oversight & Resident Rights

These tell you whether the facility welcomes external scrutiny — which is the best protection a resident has.

  1. Can I read your most recent state inspection report on-site? Can I take a copy?

  2. What's your formal complaint process, and who's the resident-council president?

  3. Are there hours when visitors are not welcome? (Hint: the right answer is "no.")

  4. How do you communicate medical changes to family members?

  5. Can I speak with two current resident families before deciding?

What good answers look like

Specific numbers, not adjectives. "Our RN HPRD is 0.85 and total nursing HPRD is 4.2 — you can verify on Medicare.gov" beats "we have great staffing levels."

Documents on the spot. A facility that hands you the most recent inspection report and the resident handbook during the tour is a facility that doesn't have anything to hide.

Comfort with hard questions. A good administrator gets more engaged when you ask about turnover and deficiencies, not less. Deflection is the warning sign.

Pick facilities to tour

Browse CMS-rated facilities by state on ACD-HUB and shortlist 2–3 to visit:

Related Guides

7-Step Framework 12 Red Flags Printable Visit Checklist CMS Ratings Residents' Rights