How to choose a care home: 20 questions to ask and what to look for on the visit

Almost nobody gets to choose a care home with time to spare. It happens after a hospital discharge, in a week, with a lot of guilt. This guide is so that, even in a week, you choose well.

Updated September 2026 · Orbi, care circle

Before you visit: is it licensed?

In Argentina, senior care homes are licensed by each province (or by the City of Buenos Aires), through its ministry of health or social development, and often by the municipality as well. An unlicensed place can be a private house with four beds and no nurse. Before you go, ask over the phone for the license number and the agency that issued it, and if they hesitate to answer, you already have your answer. Orbi’s care home directory lists almost 6,000 care homes across all 24 provinces, so you can search by city and send them an inquiry; always ask the care home itself for the license number and verify it with the agency that issued it.

What kind of place does your parent need?

Before the questions, be clear on the answer to this one: how is he getting by today? A care home for independent residents (they walk, eat and bathe with little help) is different from one for dependent residents (wheelchair, help with everything) and from one with a memory care unit (keypad-locked doors, trained staff, specific activities). Many say they take "all kinds of cases"; ask how many residents at your dad’s level they have right now, and how many staff per shift.

The 20 questions

1. What’s your license number and which agency issued it? Can I see it?
2. How many residents are there, and how many caregivers per shift, day and night?
3. Is there nursing 24 hours a day? A registered nurse or a nursing aide?
4. Is there a doctor? How often do they come? Who decides on a hospital transfer at 3 a.m., and how?
5. Which emergency medical service do you use? What happens if he has to be hospitalized: who goes with him?
6. Do you accept PAMI / my health insurance (obra social)? What exactly does the insurance cover and what do I pay?
7. How much is the monthly fee, what does it include and what’s extra? (adult diapers, medications, physical therapy, podiatry, hairdresser, transportation)
8. How and when does the fee go up? Is there a written contract?
9. Shared or private room? Shared with how many? Private bathroom?
10. Who gives out the medications and how do you log each dose? Can I see a resident’s log?
11. How will you let me know if he falls, runs a fever, or something changes? Through what channel, and how quickly?
12. Can I visit at any time? Can I drop by unannounced?
13. What do residents eat? Can I see this week’s menu? Do you adapt diets (diabetic, low-salt, pureed)?
14. What activities are there, and who runs them? Do residents go outside? How much time do they spend in bed or in front of the TV?
15. Is there a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist? Included or extra?
16. How do you handle a resident with dementia who wants to leave? Do you use physical or chemical restraints? (The right answer is that they avoid both and explain how.)
17. What happens with clothing and personal belongings? Do things go missing?
18. What’s the policy if my dad gets worse? Can you keep caring for him, or will I have to move him?
19. Can I talk to family members of other residents?
20. What happens in the first month if he doesn’t adjust? Is there a trial period?

What to look for on the visit

• The smell. It’s the first thing you notice and the thing that lies the least. It should smell clean, like food. Not like urine, or like disinfectant covering up urine.
• Where the residents are at that hour. If at 11 a.m. they’re all in bed or lined up in front of the TV with nobody talking to them, you’ve seen what you needed to see.
• How staff talk to them. By name, making eye contact, with patience. If they treat someone like a piece of furniture in front of you, imagine what happens when you’re not there.
• The residents’ hands and nails. Clean and trimmed means care; anything else means neglect.
• The bathrooms. Grab bars, non-slip floors, a call button within reach.
• The kitchen (ask to see it) and the posted menu.
• The medication log: ask to see one. If it’s a tidy log with times and signatures, good. If "the nurse knows," bad.
• Stairs, ramps, emergency exits, fire extinguishers.

And make a second, unannounced visit, on a weekday afternoon or a Sunday. The difference between the two visits is the most valuable information you’ll get.

How much does it cost?

In 2026, in Buenos Aires City (CABA) and Greater Buenos Aires (GBA), prices start at ARS 1,700,000 a month (budget, shared room, independent resident), run between ARS 2,000,000 and ARS 3,500,000 for standard, and go up to ARS 6,500,000 for high-dependency or premium care. Elsewhere in the country they tend to be lower. The fee covers room, meals, nursing and activities; medications, adult diapers and therapies are extra and add up fast. All the numbers, with in-home caregivers and adult day centers for comparison, are in What it costs to care for an aging parent in 2026. With PAMI (the national health program for retirees), some care homes accept full or partial coverage, and PAMI runs its own care homes for people with no family: it’s all in the PAMI guide.

After the move: the family keeps caring

The most common mistake after the move is letting go. The care home provides care, but it’s the family who notices that "he’s drowsier than last week," that he’s lost weight, that his medication changed and nobody said anything. Keep taking notes: every visit, two lines. Ask the care home to share updates through a channel all the siblings can see, not just the one who signed. And visit at different times.