Brookdale

We've been there since the middle of [date removed]. And my main concern is our loved one's medication management - they have let us down tremendously with that. We pay extra for that service, and I keep finding medication all over the place in her room. They hand her a cup of pills at mealtime, and they don't watch her take them. She has dementia, so they should know they need to watch her to make sure she takes them. I've asked them several times to do so. The director is aware, and hopefully it will be better managed going forward. Otherwise the daily care is good. They're all friendly, and she's well cared for otherwise. Communication is lacking though- for instance our family found out about care that she was receiving via insurance EOBs instead of Brookdale letting us know about it directly.

Brookdale Geary Street has some major improvements that they need to make and my ratings show that. Med tech training is probably the main thing that I think they need to work on.

Brookdale Germantown is very corporate. There's a lot of turnover because it is typical corporate looking out for the bottom line and cutting corners at every possibility. A lot of corners are cut and there are a lot things they don't provide that other places do, but there are pros and cons to every place. I do love the fact that the courtyard is in the middle, it's one of the main reasons we picked this place. The courtyard setup provides security and my loved one's room specifically is extremely nice in comparison to others we looked at. The amenities in their apartment are very nice compared to others too, but I just feel that it's very corporate, it doesn't have that family hospitably or warm and fuzzy feel. The residents there seem nice. In regards to the meals and dining: shortly after my loved one moved in they lost their head chef, and from what my loved one told me, the person who normally does accounting was filling in for the dining area. They still don't have the bistro area opened back up - whereas most residences have sandwiches, smoothies, or pick-up food. A lot of the time the sheets are not out to place an order, they have to ask for it, and when they do place an order they have to wait almost an hour for their food. They will say it'll be done at a certain time, but when they go up to get it it's not done, and by the time they get it, it's cold. So, that part has been struggling, and I think they have someone now, so hopefully it gets better. I'm unsure of why the bistro area is still closed, but I'm sure it's because of their lack of staffing and cutting corners. One of the reasons why my loved one justified moving here and spending the money was because they were looking forward to having their meals cooked for them, but they're still having to cook for themselves. My loved one has a walking aid and they try to enjoy walking. The courtyard itself is not maintained very well especially for, in my opinion, the elderly. They've had an ant issue that has gone on for months, where my loved one just ended up getting their own home-spray for insects and trying to combat it on their own - which they should not be having to do. And it's not just their apartment, it's several others. There are divots in the courtyard area - and I feel that it should be made safer for the those who use walkers or other walking aids. My loved one is not happy with the landscaping, as they're used to having their own meticulous yard that they can no longer maintain. So, that's something else that gets under their skin. Hopefully things will get better, now that we are on this side of Covid. I think all communities have their own issues and I'm unsure if it would be a better move to go elsewhere.

My experience at Brookdale was mixed at best. I cannot say I would recommend them.

We pay someone to go in 3x per week to check on our loved one, to make sure they are eating and their clothes is changed. We have found them, in the same clothes for several days. Be sure to have someone check on your loved one, no matter where they are. As it relates, we have seen a difference in the last two weeks. There is new nursing management, so we are hoping that things will get better, and be a more postive experience.

My loved one had 2 UTI's in 6 weeks and I was the one who found them, not the staff. That was very upsetting to me. I ended up moving my loved one to another facility.

The meals and dining service was very good, when they were running a special the value was really good but once the special was gone the value skyrocketed and became to expensive for me.

The food was really good. It was way too expensive. It was alright. I did not need as much care, that they offered.

Unfortunately our loved ones were not able to stay as long as we had expected, but they took very good care of them both. They made it a very safe atmosphere which was the most important thing for us. Their compassion was wonderful and the staff were just great. However billing was a big frustration for us and the administration team could use some tune up - it was hard to get responses from them and when we did the excuse was because they can't get ahold of cooperate. We just wanted a little bit better communication

The staff turnover has been very difficult to establish a relationship. There has been new people and outside contractors. The food started off good but mom has been complaining, because there has also been a turnover with the kitchen staff. There is no encoragement for engagement in activiites. Initially, it was top-notch bit over the months the food levels have declined. Overall, the most significant Thing is staff turnover, which makes it impossible to develop relationships with anyone.

When we met with them in the conference room, the table was really dirty. When we were speaking with them they did not really seem interested in our needs and didn't answer a lot of the questions that we had asked. There also was not a lot going on within the facility. When we left they kept calling and calling.

We are at about half the activities that we we received before the shut down.

The people and facility was nice. They had mulitple buildings, but one main building would have been nice.

The staff is slow to respond and answer phone calls when we try to contact them. When we moved in, it was a very difficult move and there were a lot of things were not explained as well as they could have been. I think they could do better with that whole process altogether.

Our family had an in person tour and the tour was fine, but the facility itself seemed very old and dark

They have a lot of activities available; but they're having staffing issues with keeping staff in-house. Being able to give reports from one staff member to another is lacking, so things get missed after shift changes. Some of their activities include outings, bingo, tea-time, bible study, and exercise classes amongst other things. Most importantly I would advise Brookdale to improve on having a more subsequent staff and improving their reporting system to make sure things don't get lost or misconstrued with shift changes.

The problem I have is that there are no alternatives in this area, but I think I would still be here if there were. Brookdale Apache Junction offers housekeeping weekly, transportation to appointments & stores, and they allow pets. The meals have gotten a bit stranger as we've gone along. They offer four different options for lunch and dinner. The kitchen and waitstaff are very nice, but we're starting to have a problem with the quality of the food. I have also been waiting over a month to have something fixed in my apartment. The part has arrived on the property, but it's been difficult to actually get it installed. I've been told it'll be done at a particular time no matter what, but they've yet to come by. I really like and appreciate the two maintenance workers, but there's only two of them for 120 units. Brookdale has a variety of activities for the whole week; and I especially appreciate the non-denominational service on Sunday afternoon. There's also a Sunday morning service for Catholicism, which I appreciate as well.

We toured Brookdale Montclair Poulsbo and they were about to start renovating the facility to make some updates. The facility was nice and the price was comparable to others in the area that we saw, it was our second choice. When we were walking around it kind of reminded me of a daycare- they had baby dolls out for the memory care residents and things like that and I knew my mom would not like that. The location was also just too far.