Tours & questions · 7 min read
27 Questions to Ask on a Personal Care Home Tour
A practical, printable checklist of questions to ask when you tour a personal care home — covering staffing, care, daily life, safety, and costs.
By Frezer Kifle · Published April 11, 2026
Most tour guides are skilled at giving you the polished version. To get past it, you need specific questions with specific answers — not 'how's the food?' but 'who writes the weekly menu and can I see last week's?' Here are 27 questions grouped by what they reveal. Print or screenshot this page and bring it with you.
About staffing
- What is the staff-to-resident ratio during the day, evening, and overnight?
- How many staff were on duty last night? (Not 'typically' — last night.)
- What is your annual staff turnover rate?
- How long has the current administrator been in the role?
- Are staff W-2 employees or mostly agency/contracted?
About care and medical
- How is medication managed — self-administration, reminders, or staff-administered?
- Who is the home's consulting physician, and how often do they see residents?
- How do you handle a resident whose care needs increase — at what point would they be discharged?
- Can you describe your last three admissions and what their care needs were?
- How do you handle a medical emergency — what's the response time to a fall or chest pain?
About daily life
- Can I see this week's activity calendar and last week's?
- What's a typical day for a resident with similar needs to my loved one?
- Who plans the menu, and can I see a sample week of meals?
- Can residents join you for a meal today before I decide?
- What's the visitation policy — any restricted hours or notice required?
About safety and quality
- Can I see your most recent DHS inspection report?
- Have there been any citations or complaints in the last two years? What were they and how were they addressed?
- How often does the fire alarm and sprinkler system get tested?
- What's your policy on physical and chemical restraints?
- How do you prevent pressure sores in residents who use wheelchairs?
About costs
- What's the base monthly rate for the room type I'm considering?
- What tier of care would my loved one be assessed at, and what does it cost?
- What's the community fee, and is it refundable?
- How often do you raise rates, and by how much in the past two years?
- What happens if a resident's funds run out — do you accept SPP, and what's the transition look like?
After the tour
- Can I take the admissions agreement home to review?
- Can I come back for a second visit, unannounced, before deciding?
If a home refuses to let you take the admissions agreement home, or pressures you to sign on-site, walk away. A real home with real quality is not afraid of an overnight review.