Wood County recently hosted a feedback forum where residents were invited to discuss their experiences in selecting an assisting living facility.

Approximately 60 people attended the forum, held at the Wood County Committee on Aging and facilitated by the Ohio Department of Aging.

Dr. John Weigand, medical director for ODA, said he wanted to learn about people’s experiences at the state’s assisted living facilities.

“We’re going to learn from you … from your experiences so we can better respond,” he said.

He asked for a raise of hands of those who knew someone who was in an assisted living facility; 10-12 responded.

There were no assisted living residents or caregivers in the audience and just a few providers.

It was one of six feedback forums held in the state and was similar to the forum on nursing homes held in the spring.

In February 2023, ODA created a nursing home quality and accountability task force. In February 2024, it launched the nursing home quality navigator and held listening sessions to learn quality of care and system performance of nursing homes around the state.

The navigator provides resident and family satisfaction scores, nurse turnover and total nurse hours per resident per day.

Since then, ODA has learned there is interest in adding an assisted living navigator, Weigand said.

“We’re excited to expand the offerings and functionalities of this tool, especially concerning assisted living,” he said.

He said there are often timelines in identifying the type of care that is needed.

He said that families often have to decide on home care, assisted living or a nursing home for their loved ones who need additional care.

He had attendees engage in small group discussions focusing on expectations versus experiences with assisted living.

“We do value all of the input,” he said.

Navigating ODA is a “jungle,” said one participant, who added their was no standards of care in assisted living facilities.

“I’ve got a lot of problems with you people,” said Lisa U., a Sylvania Township resident. “This is ridiculous. …”

She declined to provide her last name.

She recounted an experience her mother had in a memory care facility where a man crawled into bed with her. The man was discharged, and she was later told if her mother had filed a complaint, she would have been discharged as well.

Suggestions included placing hefty fines on places that fail to provide sufficient care and requiring better ratios between employees and residents.

Someone else suggested ODA staff enter facilities as patients to see what’s it’s like instead of holding forums – and was told ODA has to announce a visit.

Another said facilities are policing themselves and failing.

Another complaint was that many facilities won’t give their prices over the phone and request a visit and tour. It is also difficult to find what physicians serves a facility.

While insurance often pays for nursing home care, many families pay for assisted living out of pocket, a man said.

“Just having that price somewhere on the landing page, I think is going to be very important,” he said.

ODA also needs more staff or volunteers to provide personal assistance in choosing the level of care.

Lisa U. said the ombudsman she used when picking a facility could have been Switzerland in that no definitive information was provided.

“They want to do more but they have to be play very neutral,” she said.

“They are a resource that I think is underutilized,” Weigand agreed.

Either recruit more volunteers or hire staff with the purpose of having personal assistance in choosing the level of care was one suggestion while someone else said the residents bill of rights should be included on the navigator.

An Ohio Department of Health regional liaison suggested there needed to be more public service announcements about the navigator during times families are in front of the TV.

“I think the facilities we have are good, but you need an advocate,” said Denise Niese, executive director of the Wood County Committee on Aging.

“I think we understand that the state still has work to do to get a handle on concerns in assisted living and long-term care facilities. But in talking to my peers around the country, Ohio is much better than most states as far as having standards and having a way to assess a situation and intervene if needed,” she said.

Weigand said after the event said he has heard very similar comments about assisted living at the other forums ODA has held.

There has been confusion over the difference between nursing homes and assisted living facilities, he said.

Nursing homes by nature are much more regulated – with more data available – while assisted living facilities have fewer rules to follow and less oversight, he explained.

“It’s just a matter of the way the industry has evolved,” he said.