Brookdale

Very pleased.

It wasn't what it seemed like it would be. They say they do activities and art projects, but they would just be sitting in the activity room, sleeping or just sitting, and the staff would be doing the crafts. For those that are totally impaired and not quite able to make judgments this is not the right place, if you loved one is too far gone for participate and communicate, then it's fine. Their response time was sometimes lacking, sometimes taking 10-15 minutes to get to them.

This is a beautiful facility and has good dining and activities for residents. I'm not yet convinced that communication to families about my loved one and acurate, reliable facilitation of my loved one's care plan is a strength.

The only drawback we’ve found is the food. The food is absolutely horrible. I would rate that at a .5 instead of serving the same meal twice and a day. It’s burned. It’s extremely slow. My loved one has had to wait for an hour and a half for her food. Everything else is okay.

There are some concerns with accounts. It’s a nice community. The staff is very friendly. The only significant problem is the corporate concerns about billing. Locally they are dealing very well. I only ate there once – the one time was excellent. The parking is good.

They didn't really have any quality of care, she had a hard time with getting the sheet back on her bed and they would never check on her so I would see she was sleeping on a bare mattress. When I would confront them with a situation, they would make a report, but never really address the situation. It's a locked facility and she was higher functioning that most of the residents, so they should have better care. There was a high turnover of staff. Nobody with the parent company could confirm that she had been there for two years to get her VA benefits, which cost me a lot of money because no one could answer the phone.

My mother lives here & my father visits her daily. He takes her out for dinner, a walk & brings fresh veggie juice. When she lived at home they walked twice a day. When we looked as facilities we were told that they had a walking club & the walkers had an opportunity to walk twice a day. They told us to talk with the dietitian to make sure she they knew what she could and couldn't eat and we gave the facility her doctor's approved list of supplements (many vitamins) & medications (only 2) & the time of day she needed to take them. Unfortunately she was not getting her walks which negatively effects her memory... walking helps her memory. She wasn't getting all her supplements, the timing of her supplements & medication was off. They were giving her one supplement that helps her sleep 1st thing in the morning. They gave her sleeping pill at dinner time... which was too early. She was given foods that makes her Alzheimer's condition worse. Inflammatory foods (wheat, corn, soy, dairy and sugar) makes Alzheimer's worse. Fruit juice is bad for folks w/Alzheimer's & they were giving her juice... when we told them "NO, JUICE PLEASE!" The good part my dad can sleep at night knowing he does not have to worry about her wandering.

The Bad: Terribly run, unprofessionally manged by insincere, phoney penny counters, who care primarily about the bottom line, not people. Also the food is awful!!! You pay top drawer prices for bottom drawer service. The good: The location and some of the staff is very nice.

I thought they were wonderful. I did have a few issues but it was much better than the community we were before. The nurse was not communicative. The staff was good and friendly. The food wasn't very good. The staff was not able to keep up with her needs especially with toileting. I didn't think they had enough physical activities. If they didn't have anyone to visit and take them outside, then they couldn't go outside, unless there is a scheduled outdoor activity. They said that they would take medicaid if the money had spent down.

They had some management turnover, we started out at about a 4.5 and they have dropped since then. We chose the site based on the executive director and the marketing person. If the current director had been there when we were looking we would have found a different place. The workers are still the same so far. The day to day staff is the four and a half. I haven't seen the activities or marketing director in a little while. There are still things going on. I have tried the food, I did have the Thanksgiving meal and it was good, and she was able to invite four people, they had a very nice set up. It would make me feel a little better, if right after lunch when the caregivers kind of disappear, to assist the residents, they should leave somebody there to keep an eye on the residents not being assisted.

When we went to visit they forgot our appointment, we did still get to look around and see it though. They have called and apologized since then, and do follow up. It was small and more assisted living than what we were looking for.

The furniture was really cheap and plastic. It looked almost institutional. The people were nice, but the furniture was a huge turnoff.

It hasn't been great. When she has had to go to the hospital and they don't accompany them to the hospital and she doesn't know where she is or how to get back. The hospital has to call me to find out where to send her back. I haven't eaten there but I think they feed them well. It was very clean and very nice looking from the outside and from the inside too. The staff was nice and polite. I don't think they were prepared for our situation. We told them up front about our situation and they kept telling us oh yeah that's not a problem. We started out at one price and two - three weeks later they told me that she took more care than they thought and raised the price more than 700 dollars.

It hasn't been the best. I chose Arborwood because it seemed like it wasn't a nursing home setting. You have some people that really care and others are just looking for a paycheck. Things guaranteed wouldn't happen and the way things were going to be and he isn't getting the kind of hands on care that they promised. It was guaranteed that the laundry was done separately, but his clothes still all have to be labled and the new sturdy hangers we bought are gone now. The food is just awful, I called and asked what they were having for Thanksgiving, they said prime rib, and we were told no matter what it was two dollars for guests, they served me turkey slices, and the residents got prime rib, he couldn't even cut it or chew it, I heard other residents complaining of the same thing. The first couple of times I ate there it wasn't bad I was impressed. They really stress and promote and say how great a place it is. It doesn't smell, but I was very disappointed. His room is smelly, I don't smell it in the hallway, they guaranteed they would keep him dry. The activity room is not organized at all it is just piled up stuff. I don't think the sales person in this situation fits what the facility is doing they make it sound like this wonderful place and we had to fight to get what was promised. I think it's the Staff I think it's the people that just think they can get by.

Everyone there was dead or dying. Not pretty or cheerful like the Windsor. My girlfriend worked there, and she said that it is a good place, but if you compare them the Windsor is so much nicer.

It was nice. It was an older building and a little smaller, and the in-laws just wanted something newer.

That was interesting. The woman that I was supposed to interview with, she saw me sitting there in the main lobby and she walked into the other office with two woman and they sat down and chatted for a long time. When she finally came out of the office she addressed someone else. I left, and she came running after me, but I wouldn't want my mother there. They have definite communication problems.

Nice tour. Looks good on surface. Felt good choice for family member. Not so sure now. Hard to get info. Visited Sunday evening no one on floor. Several residents calling for help. I finally went to kitchen to get someone to help. Seemed short on staff members.

Generally all were friendly, seemingly disorganized, Did not change dining room table cloths when soiled. Late night help questionable. This would be an average place, If you could not find another that you felt would be better for there loved one, this would not be the worst place for them.

I wasn't impressed with this place at all when I went out there and I heard even worse things about it since I've been there. I just didn't like the atmosphere, it seemed to be excessively crowded and I don't know what's going on there but I just think they were having a lot of issues. Mostly I just really didn't like the atmosphere, the cleanliness was okay from what I saw and I didn't see a whole lot, it seemed to be okay.