Choosing a nursing home for a family member can be stressful because there’s so many critical details to consider. You want to be sure you choose an affordable place that can provide the level of care needed, but you also want to be sure it is a place where he or she will be comfortable. Sorting through the information can feel overwhelming.

Fortunately, caregivers have online resources that can help them determine which nursing home would be the best fit for their family member. The following online resources provide advice on how to prepare for choosing a nursing home and allow families to compare nursing homes based on user reviews and government data:

1.    HealthGrove

HealthGrove is a health news and information website that provides data and research tools, such as its nursing home compare feature. Users can find nursing homes in their area and compare them to others based on the “smart rating,” which is a number calculated based on ratings of health inspections, staffing, quality measures, overall medical care and more.

2.    A Place for Mom

This referral website provides details about senior housing options, including independent living, nursing homes and care facilities for people with certain illnesses. Users can search for nursing homes in their area based a variety of amenities, including activities, care services, diet, religion, language and more. They can compare facilities and amenities, read user reviews, see scheduled events and even learn more about pricing options.

3.    Health in Aging

The American Geriatrics Society’s Health in Aging Foundation website helps caregivers understand what to look for when searching for a nursing home and provides information on how to pay for nursing home expenses. The site also lists step-by-step guides on how to begin the search and a checklist of questions to guide you in making a decision about a nursing home.

4.    Care Pathways

This directory provides statistics about local nursing homes, including occupancy and insurance accepted, and state inspection information for individual facilities. Users can see deficiencies and explanations about each listed in yearly reports and whether or not it was corrected the next year. This website would be most beneficial used in conjunction with other resources.

Finding the right nursing home can be time consuming, but diligent research can ensure your loved one is safe and happy. Examine what costs are covered by Medicaid, ratio of attendants to residents and whether they are equipped to provide the care your loved one needs.

About the Author

Sarah Blanchard is the marketing manager for Winburn Bequette, a plaintiffs law firm that represents victims of nursing home abuse and neglect in Arkansas and Missouri. Follow her on Google+ and YouTube.

Studying your family history can be a complicated process, especially if you want to go back as far as possible or trace different branches of the family tree. Creating a template for your family tree is one way to organize information and break it down into sections that are easy to manage. Begin with a small template that is limited to three or four generations.

The Benefits of a Small Family Tree

When organizing your information, it can be easier to find people you are searching for or recognize their relationships with each other if you use small templates. Choose a person and trace his or her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Fill in the information as you discover it and it won’t seem as overwhelming as with a large template of numerous generations when most of them would be blank.

Choosing the Right Template

You can search online and find all kinds of templates. Some will work better for your purpose than others. If you are tracing your family’s genealogy, you won’t need to include photos, but you will want space to write information about each person. Create a template with the person’s name and lines for the birthdate, date of death and marriage date.

It may be helpful to list locations for each of those events or other relevant information that you may need in your research. One of the reasons that a small three- or four-generation template is ideal is that it leaves you extra space to write more.

Entering Information

While you want to have easy access to the most important information about your ancestors, especially if you are traveling, do not try to include every tidbit about your family members. It will clutter up the template and make it difficult to read. Instead, keep it short and simple. Abbreviate as much as possible. For instance, date of birth would be DOB, date of death would be DOD and so on.

Consider using an online template where you can type the information instead of hand-writing it. This allows you to make changes or even erase information or people as you need to without having to start all over with a blank template.

Store your family tree online as well so that you can easily access it if you are traveling and need to look up information as you research. This also makes it easy to print or email a copy of the tree to others who may be helping you in your research.

The most important thing in choosing a template for your small family tree is to find one that works for you. It should fit your needs, be easy to use and look appealing to you.

If you are beginning your research into your family history, start with finding the right family tree template. It makes it much easier to record and keep track of data. Plus, it is fun to share with others who share your interest in genealogy.

Suzie Kolber created http://obituarieshelp.org/free_printable_blank_family_tree.html to be the complete online resource for “do it yourself” genealogy projects.  The site offers the largest offering of <a href=”http://obituarieshelp.org/free_printable_blank_family_tree.html”>free family tree templates</a> online. The site is a not for profit website dedicated to offering free resources for those that are trying to trace their family history.

My daughter is expecting a baby, my second biological grandchild, on Christmas Day this year (She came early). I say second because the first one is in heaven, lost to a miscarriage in the early weeks, so we never got to see him or her. But this new little one on the way is a girl, and she should make her big debut in December.

With the wonders of modern ultrasound, I have already seen pictures of my 4 ½ month gestational granddaughter. She has all her fingers and toes, has been screened for a variety of genetic disorders in utero, and seems to be perfectly healthy and active. My, how far we have come since I had my own children when we waited to be surprised at even the gender of the baby.

So many friends have told me that I will love being a Grandmother. I know they are right because my heart is already longing to see her. I’ve talked to her through Rachel’s tummy so she might recognize my voice once she’s “on the outside”, and have already tried to persuade her that I will be her favorite Nana, of course. Before we knew she was Amelia and not Luke, I bought color-neutral baby clothes and toys with an animal theme like ducks or monkeys. Now I can indulge myself in every store, browsing the pink and frilly, the cute and cuddly, the prim and prissy, choosing kittens and crowns instead of puppies and trains.

Rachel asked how I felt about being a Grandma, and I’m not quite sure. I am excited (for me), scared (about the pregnancy and delivery for mom, Rachel), and nervous (hoping everything will go smoothly) all at the same time. One of the first notions that came to mind was when I told my Dad (was it really 30 years ago?) that I was expecting Rachel and asked him how he felt about being a Grandpa. He replied, “Well, I feel great about being a Grandpa, but I don’t know how I feel about sleeping with a Grandma!” I often wonder how long he had been waiting to use that line!

Amelia will be born into an interesting family. She will have two older half-siblings and six aunts and uncles. Her Mom is a fine veterinarian and her Dad is a professional cowboy, and she will be raised on the Western Slopes of beautiful Colorado in the San Juan Mountains. Surely she will be a terrific horse rider and probably be the Rodeo Queen one day like her older sister. Maybe she will be a singer and dancer like her mother or learn to team rope steer with her father. Amelia will be a lovely looking child with such striking parents as she has. Her in-utero personality is feisty and active. Yes, I love her already.

Amelia, maybe someday you will read this and know that I thought of you constantly before you were born. You make me remember what it was like when I was pregnant with your Mom and how I cherished her through all her life and sent so many prayers up to heaven for her that you couldn’t possibly count them all. Your Mom’s life is an amazing story and yours will be too. I can’t wait to meet you, Amelia. You are the promise that life will continue beyond your Grandma’s old age and that something precious will remain on this earth even when I am gone. Grow big and strong until it’s time to meet the world. You will be the best Christmas present ever.