The call usually comes with little warning. A relative is medically stable enough to leave the hospital but not well enough to go home, a discharge planner presents a list of skilled nursing facilities with open beds, and the family has a day or two to choose.
That is not enough time to research anything properly, which is exactly why the research is worth doing before the call comes. The federal data on staffing, inspections and quality is public, free and searchable, and most of it can be reviewed in half an hour.
