Family guide
Preparing for a move into a small care home
Every home will give you its own list. These themes come up almost every time, and the first group is usually the one families are least prepared for.
Documents most homes must have
- A physician's report and current medication list, usually dated within the last 30 days.
- A negative tuberculosis screening, usually within the last 30 days.
- Insurance details and the primary care physician's contact information.
- Advance directives, powers of attorney, and any guardianship paperwork.
- Emergency contacts, in the order you actually want them called.
What helps someone settle
- Photographs of people and places they love — more than you think you need.
- Their own bedding, and a chair or throw that has always been theirs.
- Toiletries they already use; a familiar smell does more than a new one.
- A short written note about their routines: how they take coffee, when they wake, what calms them, what to avoid mentioning.
- Clothing labelled the way the home asks for it.
What to leave with family
- Valuables, jewellery of real worth, and large collections.
- Anything irreplaceable that would be distressing to lose.
- Medication not on the current prescribed list — hand it to the nurse rather than packing it.
General guidance, not clinical advice. Every home differs, and an assessment by a qualified clinician is the only thing that settles whether a setting is appropriate.
Questions this guide did not answer?
Ask us directly. We answer honestly, including when the answer is that we are not the right home.