Brookdale

I've been living in Brookdale Independent apartments for 8 months and have made new friends and participate in many activities . I was able to give up my car because trans pertation is provided within 10 miles of the building to doctor appointments, Publix, movies the mall etc. No its not perfect, the food could be much better, a better gym would be great, but they do work hard to keep us happy . For me its was a good choice to move into Brookdale with people around and nice surroundings. I visited the building a few times to see what was happening and what kind of apartments where available. I have a one bedroom apartment with a pleasant view and a washer and dryer.

We have been disappointed but know that he is in a safe place. We feel that they need more help. Also, the food is not that great. The room is cleaned once a week which isn't enough. There needs to be more activities for the residents in the Memory Care.

Brookdale looks more like a nursing home than assisted living. Upon entering, one is greeted by semi comitose clients sitting around in wheelchairs not interacting with anyone. It is a startling way to enter the facility. I think that is a big turnoff to family and friends of clients and especially to clients themselves who are not particularly sick and can carry on normal conversations with the staff. This is also why those clients do not opt to participate in the activities that are offered. Food is very bland and not every client has digestive issues and can eat a bit of spice and garlic. As people age they loose their sense of taste and smell and need a bit more stimulation. You might hear fewer complaints from them about the food if you could do that. Of course, if a doctor orders a special diet free from those things, that is a different story. Brookdale does a good job in arranging entertainment for the seniors. As for rising costs, I do wonder why it is so expensive especially for clients that do not need any special services. Those PT services are paid for by insurance anyway. I realize fire insurance for the facility is expensive, but no one gets rich working there including the administration, so where does the money go? I would like to see a breakdown of costs sometime. Was it really necessary to replace all the lobby furniture this year? The original chairs were just fine and really don't look that much different than the new ones. Those are just a few of my thoughts.

The staff to residences is very good. There are activities for the holidays. The staff always call me by name. Staff is always in a good mood.

My father has been in 3 different assisted living and memory care facilities over the past 3 1/2 years. I find that all have been good as far as patient care and caring staff. However I am always disappointed at the one on one that he receives in the area of activity participation and interaction.. Brookdale is no different. They outline a fantastic program as far as activity and social interaction but unless your loved one is able to participate they seem to be left behind to sit in front of a television and sleep because they need more time and attention that the activity director can give. I feel Brookdale should have another activity helper ,at least, so that more attention can be given given to those that need encouraged to participate. This stimulation is extremely important in the case of Alzheimer care when the resident may say no to participation or not realize what is going on. I find my father will get involved and seems to enjoy group activities if encouraged to participate.

Other residents not that friendly in dinning area. Most in their own cliques. Food not very good. I’msure It is nutritious but not very tasty. This is my biggest disappointment in living here. Might not have chosen brookdale trinity if had been aware of it. Service and activities great. Staff wonderful!

Mom is very happy at Brookdale The downside is employee turnover, but the new hires seem to be working out ok.

My step-father is doing very well at Brookdale. The staff’s knowledge of dealing with mental health issies has been a great improvement from aied living. They are able to difuse his anger and anxiety by helping him believe it is his choice and in his best interest. He has acclimated to his new home quicker than I expected and is theiving!

Brook dale has had a change in management. They make mistakes in accounting, but we are on top of it. Brrookdale has a problem with staffing with huge wait times in dinner service. My Mom gets frustrated with the service, but overall she is happy. [Name removed]

Very nice community. Apartments are good size. Staff very helpful.

I chose Brookdale Senior Living Rancho Mirage California for my mother and the care and facility are wonderful. The biggest concern I found in reviews was their billing and payment process. I never imagined it would be such a nightmare! They would like you to let them pull payment from your acct. and I know why. If you mail your check, it goes to the facility your loved one is in. They scan it to Wisconsin who then scans it for deposit! Then you get a call saying "your check is being returned due to quality is poor for scanning!" You get a late fee, phone calls and then they deposit at local branch after much agony. Two months later, a call saying you owe this. DON'T LET THEM PULL FROM YOUR ACCOUNT!!! Brookdale.... fix your problem!! Just have payments sent directly to Wisconsin.. NOT local facility!!

Family Home like Facility Activities are beyond Fun and engaging Food could be better especially selections Care aides very caring only issue is no one lets me know about items needed for example hygiene items Director is very sweet and always welcoming Nursing not very approachable except [name removed] she is always helpful but ARCC she never has a answer nor a solution she nice but never gets back to me she seems clueless therefore I will go directly to ED

We love [name removed] but [name removed] is not as good I find that she does not communicate to us like she should [name removed] is caring The manager [name removed] is very helpful

My Mother had lived here previously and she was pretty happy here. She moved out because of the cost and because she was still rather independent. When she moved back in, the adjustment was a little difficult for her. My mom has been here for a little over a month and I’m a little disappointed. I was told by the sales manager that they would be able to accommodate our requests for certain things. It’s been three weeks since I gave them a list of 4 things to fix and nothing has been done. I’ve received no response from them that they got my email or anything stating why they cannot accommodate my mom. A few of the things I’ve asked for is the rods in the closet to be lowered and a second room key. However, I really like the staff members and it’s a clean facility. They recently did a remodel with fresh paint and carpet when the building changed owners. I would recommend this facility to other families.

My parents lived here for five years. Physically it is a nice facility – clean, homey and lots of windows. Staff is friendly and very competent. They truly seem to care about the residents. Over the five years we saw a change in the style of management. It has become very “corporate” minded and on-site management does not spend much of any time amongst the residents. Lack of understanding of fact that residents are their customers.

My dad stayed here for 2 years and he liked it OK. The staff was wonderful. There wasn't a lot of activities here. It wasn't as bright as it could have been. The room was smaller here and my mom was going to be moving in so we had to go someplace else. The food wasn't that good it wasn't plentiful and no variety. And they had set times to eat. The residents weren't that engaging. I would recommend this community.

[Removed] is an older community and could use some updates, but they do a very good job keeping it cleaned and well-maintained. The food always looks good, they definitely have a lot of activities there, the staff is always helpful, I think the prices are good, and I like that there is a lot of access to transportation so my loved one can get to appointments easily.

This memory care facility is beautifully designed and structurally appealing. However, while my wife was there, the organization of how the facility was structured was not ideal. They don’t attempt to separate the highly functioning residents from the more advanced residents, which made it difficult for my wife to easily interact with the higher functioning people. She had specific dietary needs that they tried to accommodate and I would bring in some specialty items for her use. There were a few activities available as well, but they didn’t appear to differentiate between the different needs of the residents. This community wasn’t ideal for my wife’s needs, however it might be the right fit for an individual that isn’t as highly functioning.

I toured Brookdale Geary Street and really liked it. I loved the brightness of the community, and I appreciated the staff's efforts to try to accommodate us. However, I did not like the long hallways. I don't feel they would have made a good fit for my loved one.

The facility is nice, the people that work there seem to care but I have a complaint. When you go to visit a loved one at or around 6 pm there is no one to answer the door. I have waited over 18 minutes with no help getting in and when the visit is over it is hard to find a care giver to let you out of the facility. I think they are under staffed and it is the one thing that I dislike about Brookdale. This has happened many times and it is not acceptable. With the high rates they charge it would seem they could have a person available to respond to patients loved ones.