YAKIMA--
Action News learned even the state encourages you to do your own work.
There are easy ways to evaluate a nursing home with your own eyes.
We went to another nursing home--with a better record than Parkside's--to find out how.

Parkside officials wouldn't talk to me, so i went to the home's website... Eagle Health Care Inc... and saw this video.

"One thing that i always tell my people and the one thing I always want them to do is to treat the person you're providing care for as if it were your mother or your father..." says administrator Ron Baker.

The video, showing happy residents at the Union Gap facility, seems to contradict recent findings by the state.
One explanation of a 3,000 dollar fine says Parkside left residents in pain and distress.

Valerie Hurst/Reporting "Senior citizens are some of the most vulnerable members of our community, and the state holds nursing homes to the highest care standards... We asked one local man how he found the right facility for his loved one."

"Talk to the people and some of the patients in there and talk to the nurses and the cleaning people and everything. If they're a nice bunch of people and they keep it clean and you don't have a urine smell in there or anything i think you got a pretty good facility," Gordon Boshears tells us. His mom is a resident at Crescent Convalescent Nursing Home in Yakima.

We got Crescent Convalescent's annual review for '07.
Three citations.
The place says it typically gets that many.
But it has survived a random review with no citations.
The state says that's rare.
Nursing director Tammy Bossert says her long-term staff helps keep fines and penalties away.

"We've worked together for so long that we can anticipate what the next person's going to need or do that we should follow up on..." she explains.

We took another look at Parkside's citations.
The home's defense was a sudden loss of staff.
The state says turnover is typical in nursing homes.
We asked the state for its tips on finding the right nursing home for a loved one.
Here's a quick checklist...

1) Always visit the place. In fact, go on a weekend or evening when administration's likely not around.
Then you can see what the staffing's like.

2) Watch the meal process. Is the food fresh? On time?

3) Talk to people there--residents and families.

4) Let in touch with the long-term resident advocate.
This is someone who visits nursing homes in the region regularly.

5) Definitely check the state's assessment of the place--it should be posted.
And residents often hold their own council meetings with no staff on hand. Try to attend one of those...
You can also go to the Medicare website to compare nursing homes and see recent state reports.
It's www.medicare.gov.
Scroll down the page and click on "Compare Nursing Homes In Your Area."
Erin Nelson is the regional residential advocate we mentioned.
Her number is 509-886-0700.