My mothers nursing home does not keep her surroundings clean and seem negligent to her sanitary conditions. What can I do?

Apart from searching for another facility, you might want to first speak with the top administrator of the current nursing home about your concerns, noting that you’d like for your mom to keep living there, if these problems are quickly corrected. If this doesn’t help, check to see if there’s an ombudsman who can help you get critical changes made. Nursing homes rely heavily on positive word of mouth to keep going, so most will listen to your complaints and readily make necessary changes.

If your mom’s needs still aren’t being properly met, you should seriously consider    filing a complaint with your state’s Department of Aging (or similarly titled agency)   to alert them to the problems. It would also be wise to contact a lawyer specializing in nursing home standards of care and abuse issues. Few nursing homes want the  negative publicity that comes with litigation. Furthermore, since they are all regularly inspected and rated by the individual states, they don’t want to lose their licenses by failing to comply with basic health and safety requirements.