Brookdale

It's still really early to give a strong rating. So far, administration has been friendly & helpful. A little rocky getting meds switched over, but they are working with us to get this smoothed out. It takes time for parent (s) to adjust & get to know the staff, but the staff is working hard to assist them and to familiarize themselves with my mom. All in all its been a good experience so far, just a little frustration from all that has to take place...but I guess that can be expected in such a big change for everyone. If it were affordable, I would prefer the single apartment vs the companion suite for mom.

If your love one has any memory care or falling issues look elsewhere like a memory care or nursing home. Brookdale has a limited staff to deal with issues and although you may start paying more the staff stays the same they just get more work. You may be told your loved one can stay till they pass unless they need something intravenous but falling issues and others issues can cause them to ask you to move your loved one. They also have a reputation of not allowing residents to return after a hospital stay even when the hospital releases them. Ask yourself what you would do if this happens .One thing to remember is all these places have a community fee so moving around can be expensive

I would recommend Lanier Place but I would suggest you do your homework before moving in a loved one. The staff are friendly for the most part but there have been a few issues. There was an issue with my mom's medication when she moved in and the Director was not quick to act. The community is clean and while the food is fairly good there is not a lot of variety. My mom does like to participate in the activities and enjoys the morning stretches.

I am struggling with my parents adapting to the community and it is not the community's fault, it is my parents. The community is nice and very clean. The staff is very good, I am comfortable with my parents in their care. Most of my issues have been with my parents and not with the community. A place for mom was great to work with.

Brookdale Lake Brazos hasn't made the transition for my Aunt very easy. She does not like it at all and I can only hope that things get better. They are not bringing her meds on time and the dining experience hasn't been the greatest. Most residents have diabetes and need a special diet. Whatever it is that they use upset my Aunt's stomach so I am hoping they can get that corrected as well. I'm going to have to wait to see what happens before I can say I'd recommend.

Some of the staff at Brookdale Skyline need to be constantly monitored by family as we had a major issue with my Mothers medication. She received her medication late or not at all, when they did give her the meds they were given in an incorrect order. There was also an issue with the billing department regarding her long term care insurance. When we were going to move my Mother into the community there were several issues with the level of care they could provide. To make a long story short I had to hire 24 hour care for two weeks totaling $8,000 because they decided they could not provide the level of care Mom needed. Mason is the guy we were dealing with at the time and he actually rented out the room intended for my mother without notifying us. Good thing is the food and some of the nursing staff were very good and the community is beautiful.

Super friendly and helpful when trying to get your loved one in the door. Once there it is a different story. It took them two weeks to get mother's TV working even though a request for service was made the day she moved in. Ditto on hanging two pictures--which I'm not sure has been done yet. I have little info as to how mother is doing. I'm paying a premium for mother's care and except a weekly report. I also asked that the staff make sure that her phone is on the hook so that I may call her--that's never happened. I live 700 miles away, I guess they figure I can't keep tabs on the quality, or lack there of, of care given.

My Aunt has only been here for a very short while but I think she will be happy here. A lovely facility. The residents are pretty active and friendly. Studio apartment is quite spacious

staff was sparse to say the least. medications took too long to get organized and correct. they did strive to meet diet needs. laundry was to be done twice a week it was brought to their attention it hadn't been done for over a week, I was told "Ill take care of it" 2 days later dirty laundry with bad smells on them remained in her room. the biggest flaw there is the pull cords being out of reach. my mom received a few bruises from being pulled up too quickly. as a new resident we were promised that she would be checked in on every hour. I stayed in her room with her for 4 hours with no checking by the staff. they charged extra for the assistance she needed ie 2 staff members to assist with transfers. this was rarely ever done when I was there watching. the staff had conflicting awareness of policy in the newly vamped administration. very frustrating when all staff aren't working on the same playing field.

It is really too early to tell but I think that my friend will be happy at Brookdale. I would rather rate this later. I did appreciate A Home for Mom's help and am hoping this will be ther perfect place for Louise.

My mother in law is in this facility. For what we are paying, we feel the services should be better. The executive and administrative staff are friendly and helpful. However, many of the aids and assistants are indifferent in attitude and response to the needs of the residents. They have fallen short many times with my mother in law and we have complained but nothing seems to change. The food is mediocre. We had a billing problem with them over charging us and it took 6 months of emailing and calling and eventually going to Brookdale home office VP to resolve it and have it taken off our bill. Not a little amount - over $3,000. I would not recommend this place to anyone. There must be better facilities out there. The reason we do not move is the cost of moving and trying to re-acclimate a 91 year old to a new environment. Also, we are in Columbus Oh not Ft Myers.

My Dad was very well taken care of for the short time he was there. The staff were nice and friendly but there were some things that I did not like. Brookdale really dropped the ball on a few things and did nothing to rectify the problem besides apologize. I hate to say it but an apology is not going to fix the emergency pull cords in my Dad's place and it is completely unacceptable for them to be there and only one of the three actually worked. I hate that it didn't work out but I can't say I'd recommend them given the circumstances.

So far they don't like it, and they want to go home. We chose them based on the kind of rooms they offered, and we have been kind of stalled on the one we wanted. The right room would go a long way in making them more comfortable, and affording privacy. They have not been very good about getting back to me about when the room will come available.

Lived here 2 & 1/2 years. Brookdale Corp. bought this place shortly before I arrived. It's been a mixed bag since then. The dining experience originally was 5*. But has steadily gone down. A former dishwasher is now the "Executive Cheff". I like the guy but he is hardly a cook much less a Cheff like the trained proffessional we had before. Mgt. is making strong efforts to maintain this place but it is nearly 30 years old & elevator break downs have been frequent. But I still want to stay here because it's still a good place overall. My biggest concern is mgt.s treatment of their staff. I can't go into detail because it would only make matters worse. Suffice to say that I love the helpful attitude & dedication I see here & only wish the best for all envolved.

The ad for Brookdale Lewiston states that the dining room is an "elegant restaurant-style" dining room. That is not true. The dining room is just a large, plain room with nothing elegant about it except the chandelier in the front portion of the room. Then the ad talks about the "gourmet" meals. Wait a minute. That's going a little bit too far. In a year-and-a-half, the only meals I would label "gourmet" meals were two special buffets where the public was invited. Other times food is not "done", or cold; the meat too tough to cut; sometimes a poor selection of foods to choose from. Another false statement in their ad says "residents love our home-cooked meals". Nothing could be further from the truth! One can hear complaints all around them at nearly every meal. And "decadent" desserts? How can they make that claim when the cookies are half burnt, or too hard to bite? Cinnamon rolls, too, are so hard they must be "dunked" into the coffee cups to be edible. Cake is often dry with no frosting. That advertisement is definitely false advertising!

I would not recommend this facility. It is understaffed, and the food is not inviting. The people charged with running this facility are more interested in money than anything else.

Our mom was in respite care in this facility for 27 days. Before her arrival at the facility, records were completed and prescriptions were made available to the staff. Even so, a medication that our mom was prescribed to prevent a UTI was not given to her during her stay. About 15 days into the stay, our mom became less responsive and mobile and was reportedly incontinent--a remarked change in her behavior and baseline. Although we visited nearly everyday there was little to no communication between the staff and our family. Short of her 30 paid days in respite we pulled her from the facility and took her to the emergency room to find that she indeed had a UTI.

Be careful about added services after initial intake. Mom was placed in memory care instead of assisted living in part because she was a fall risk and we were promised extra monitoring. I took mom back to Brookdale after an outing one evening and could find no staff on the floor. The med tech was in the other side of the building filling out paper work but it took me 10 minutes to find a staff member on the floor to let them know mom was back in her room. Once in the memory care side mom had falling incidents. After the fall incidents, Brookdale wanted to have a 24 hour sitter stay with her (at an unknown cost) and made a recommendation to have her sedated. Additionally, mom was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection from her hospice nurse (outside agency). Brookdale staff did not pick up on the UTI. We moved mom to another facility and she got better within a week. We now are planning to have her moved into an assisted living arrangement.

Anyone trying to educate themselves from these reviews needs to be aware of the corporate changes that have taken place since most of them were written. The people in charge at Brookdale Belle Meade - now talk a good game - but if you are looking into the Memory Care Alzheimers Unit called Clare Bridge Place - BE AWARE - The corporate officials are trying to operate as assisted living on a shoestring budget with residents who require much more care than they are equipped to deal with. Residents must do without safety measures they could take to prevent injury and unrest. The corporate rules are only in the best interest of the company and not the residents. NO call buttons, and nearly no one in charge in the evenings or weekends except untrained personnel with one certified "nurse" to count out meds, distribute and supervise TWO FLOORS. This is not a job that should be interrupted constantly - as one wrong pill could be the last. Sometimes it is impossible to get hold of anyone to talk to, to let you in the door, or out. Family members are not allowed to have a code to get in or out. These care associates may be lovely caring individuals but should not be expected to do all they have to do on the budget Brookdale as set forth. Too little supervision and care for people at the level they proclaim to serve. If you place a loved one here you need to be willing to take care of them and they need to be very stead on their feet and able to do for themselves. It is much like a psych ward but without the medical professionals needed to make it a safe part of their journey. Dinner time - which should be one of the happiest times, is extra sad. The claims that there is "culinary cuisine" is a joke. (think seriously overcooked broccoli that is cold by the time it reaches the table.) The residents likes and dislikes are disregarded - even though upon entry they ask all kinds of questions about what the resident likes as if it will matter. And If a resident needs help with eating or cutting food - forget about it. There just is not enough help. In addition to the cost of having my mother living there I have to pay a private caregiver to go for 2-3 hrs every night unless I can go myself. It is most disappointing that this place is one of the more expensive and better places of it's kind. I'd hate to see the worst. We are looking for an alternative, but does it exist? Not sure.

Dining room: too cold, service is slow; wait time for water is too long. Food is par - leaves something to be desired; tough meat, too many meals of chicken served. Strawberry blintz's are very good.