Brookdale

I would never recommend Brookdale NE. My experience was extremely disappointing. The facility felt poorly supervised, understaffed, and lacking in proper care and attention. Some staff members seemed like they simply didn’t care about the residents, and the overall environment was unpleasant, including cleanliness and unpleasant odors. Management and leadership were also very disappointing and did not seem to address the problems effectively. Overall, this was a very negative experience, and I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

The staff (nurses, aids, chefs, front desk) were all so sweet to my mom. Otherwise the whole place felt like a sales job. "If you commit now we will lower the admin fees. You better make a decision quickly or the room will go to somebody else" When my mother wasn't the "easiest" resident, they literally pushed us out the door. The last time was she was sent to Hartford Hospital for noncompliance (from the memory care unit) because she didn't want to go to bed. She had dementia. I'm sure she wasn't the only person who didn't follow instructions all the time. Brookdale ignored my phone calls and it wasn't until a social worker called me from Hartford Hospital, to tell me that Brookdale wasn't "allowing" my mom to move back. She was not physically there for seven weeks until I finally moved all of her stuff out and they are sending me a $[removed] bill for what? I would never recommend Brookdale to anybody.

Long story short my mom only spent one night at Brookdale, so this review only relates to our experience with the administrators and settling our account. Brookdale deposited our check for the $[removed] community fee but then refused to respond to any requests to help settle our account. They refused to apply the 80% credit due back to us for leaving within 30 days, refused to provide us a bill or statement, and charged $[removed] in late fees. [name removed] and [name removed] who were beyond charming on the phone prior to move in completely ghosted us. They offered no help to resolve the matter whatsoever. My sister went there in person to confront them, they claimed we had to pay in full so they can “clear the account” before they would credit the 80% community fee. They wanted us to pay $[removed], THEN they would refund $[removed], all the while never returning calls or emails. This went on for 2 months. I then get a call from collections and explained our situation. The rep agreed that a “simple credit” for the 80% of the community fee would reflect a credit due back to us. I followed up with an email and was given a customer service number. That rep told me the credit had been applied, late fees reversed, a check was mailed and she emailed me a statement. I since received the check. [name removed] or [name removed] or any staff member could have offered the customer service number or something to help but they deliberately ignored us. It’s a terrible shame people like this are in this industry. I’m left feeling they were deceitful and disrespectful, all in an already stressful situation.

Brookdale is under staffed. Management has to often work with serving staff in order to feed residents. There have been 2 activity directors in approximately a 4 month timeframe. Activities are lacking in many ways. The food the residents are receiving is not nourishing healthy food. Dessert consists of a jello cup. Promotional material advertises snacks available at any time. Snacks have never been offered residents! The cleaning staff does not clean the rooms on a weekly basis. Safety of residents is not a high priority. Corporate does not communicate with families to address concerns.

The only positives about Brookdale are dining and the therapy. Dining offers a nice variety. There is a few choices for each meal. Food is tasty and served hot. Items are made from scratch. The occupational & physical therapy offered by Power Back is great. The care at this facility is not good. Call buttons are not answered in a timely manner. Staff, especially evening and overnight shifts, is rude. Director of Nursing is new and doesn't view situations from the patients needs. Medication management is poor. I definitely don't recommend this facility.

Understaffed and not very well trained. Our mother was there for about a year back in 2025. Food served was pretty bad. I mean, I understand that its hard to put out good meals everyday, but there were really no good days. I visited my mother several days back to back and was there when breakfast and lunch was served. Food was not appetizing and very small portions. Mom would wait 30-50 min. for help after a call up front. By that time she needed help getting to and from the restroom. Room cleaning was seldom to non existent. Many of the other residents I spoke with had some of the same concerns. Alot had no relatives to check on them and felt somewhat hopeless. My sister and I felt we had made a mistake in putting our mother in there. Unfortunately after several months our mother passed away. Putting a loved one in a assisted living is the hardest thing anyone will ever do. Do your best to check them out along with other places.

On a positive note the food was very good. The cleaning staff do a very consistent job of cleaning the rooms and hallways. The rooms are spacious enough and efficient. However, this is all overshadowed by the lack of compassionate understanding of basic ways to treat dementia patients by a few staff members including nursing. The director stated prior to accepting my husband that they were well trained in how to handle sundowning and aggression yet they instead videotaped my husband's aggressive episode instead of calling hospice for med management. They then had him Baker acted and although I was told they would accept him back upon discharge they told the geri psych hospital social worker the entire time that they would probably not accept him back. The social worker at geri psych informed me of this because she was appalled that I was being mislead. The staff turnover is high. Several nursing assistants, maintenance, and activities personnel quit in the 6 weeks that my husband was there and there was never anyone to staff the hair salon the entire time. The director appeared to have good intentions however she spent the majority of her time in her office behind closed doors and did not seem to have a grasp on what was really happening in regards to the actual care being delivered. It was an extremely disappointing and frustrating experience.

Our Mother was at Brookdale for a year and a half. We had billing errors and lost payments (at corporate level), lack of communication (on several occasions and subjects) but the reason I'm writing this review, Mom's apartment was unspeakably filthy when we moved her stuff out. The toilet was stained dark brown, overflowing trash, multiple unopened, uneaten meals laying around so smelled like rotten food, urine drenched bed, so much dead flaked skin on the floor it was a slipping hazard. We'll see if the state does anything about the conditions. One staff member mentioned they had complained to the state too. Also noticed on Google review site, one of the 5 star reviews was by a prior billing supervisor, but its possible he could have (had) a relative housed there.

My family moved my parents into this assisted living facility in February. Sadly, my dad passed away just two weeks later. During an already difficult time, we spent months dealing with billing errors and poor communication. The facility overbilled my mom by more than $[removed] through ACH withdrawals from her bank account. It took nearly three months and multiple meetings to correct the error and receive a reimbursement of over $[removed]. Even then, the first reimbursement check was made out incorrectly and couldn't be deposited, causing additional delays. Despite providing the required 30-day notice when we moved my mom out at the end of May, paying for the full notice period, we later received a bill for a $[removed] late fee. I called and left a message asking for an explanation, but, like many previous attempts to communicate, I never received a response. Another disappointment was the meals. The weekly menus posted online rarely matched what was actually served, and on more than one occa

This company charges all a cart. And if you don't use their pharmacy, you also get charged. Honestly, Brookdale was the worst experience ever. They did not have the staff to care for their residence. They were constantly losing my LO's clothes. I kept having to buy clothes for him. It finally came down to where I asked them not to touch his laundry. They don't keep garbage cans in their room so I would often find soiled. Depends just laying on the ground. I had him in there from [Dates Removed]. They were never consistent on making sure that he got his medication. They would not make him feel safe in his own room and they would let him fall asleep out in the TV room all night there were times when he was in a wheelchair and I would find him just sitting off in a corner. There were some staff there that truly cared. I addressed this with the administrative team even sent emails about the soil diapers and never got a response. I would never recommend this place to anyone. The one thing about the Pharmacy that if I didn't use their in-house pharmacy, they were going to charge me $175 per month.

I have not been contacted for any health issues or concerns. This is unacceptable. I need communication from nurses and especially the executive director. I have sent emails with my concern on housekeeping in her room. It has never been addressed

Overall experience was awful. Some of the residents were nice and some of the staff were great. The care services and staff were awful as well as the value for cost. I moved my mom in and moved her out 8 days later. They wanted to add [Amount received]of services after we moved in. They should have evaluated her better and given a TRUE price before we moved in. They could improve on better evaluation and honesty. They let me move my mom in to make money. They were not the right place for her, and THEY should have said so. They were dishonest. Other people in town and even some employees told me the level of care has gone down.

Be very clear in the needs of your loved one. Concerns I expressed were glazed over and the sales person made assurances that I found out were misleading after I signed the contract for my loved one to become a resident. They cancelled his lease after they lost him for 20 minutes. And still required us to pay over [amount removed] when he was kicked out after about 13 hrs of being at the location.....

The facility was loved by my parents, but once dad died and mom needed help it went down hill. 1st, the billing went haywire and pulled nearly [Amount Removed] from account once dad died charging for parking which he had previously gotten rid of and charging as if he still lived there. Then with mom, had charges for in-home services never provided (just a few), and once she went in the hospital for final time they stopped doing the light cleaning (so kitchen garbage sat for weeks). When she passed, they would not let us use the meals we paid for (60 day notice even w/death), though could use unused meals when she was alive. New Exec Director, [Name removed], kept sending us outrageous bills and adding late fees. At least after dad died, the Exec Director stopped the computer glitch and profusely apologized. After getting the "final" bill of over[Amount Removed] I called corporate that said that is not right we owe you over [Amount Removed]. Got that check -- Be careful, this location seems to try to prey on grieving families.

ZERO Stars! Dishonest, horrible overcooked, hard, dried out food. Poor maintenance.

The management staff was accommodating and generally responsive to our concerns. Unfortunately, our experience with the nursing and general staff was much less positive. They were often unresponsive, came across as rude, and communication was difficult at times. Another major issue was the lack of transparency regarding costs. We were initially led to believe that the monthly expense would be around $[removed], but that was not the case. In just two months, our parents spent more than half of their savings, and the charges were not easy to understand or anticipate. Based on our experience, I would not recommend this facility—or assisted living in general—to others considering this type of care.

Majority of staff is rude and lazy. Especially evening staff. Food is always cold. It's very hard to get in and out of the memory care unit because they avoid answering the door. They have zero patience or training when it comes to dealing with dementia residents. The facility is filthy. My mom's room was never cleaned and had ants everywhere. Cockroaches were seen often in the common areas. I had to ask every single time I wanted her laundry done or bedding cleaned and it still usually didn't get done. I would have to take it home and do it myself. My mom's neighbor let herself into her room and fell on the floor...she laid there for an entire night because no one checked on either of them. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone! Keep looking elsewhere

Once [Name Removed] was admitted into Brookdale, I would not let me see home for 4 days. When they did have me come in they said he had been acting aggressively. When I went to his room, he was crying and said he thought I had died. The next day they shipped him off to a behavioral hospital to adjust his medications, which was what they told me they could do at their facility. I assumed River Vista was like any other hospital, but found once again I was not allowed to see him in that facility until they okayed it. Ten days passed. By the time I was allowed to come for a supervised 30 minute visit, he was a shell of the man I took to Brookdale. I can't imagine why you would treat someone with Alzheimer's that way. He felt abandoned, as I would have under the circumstances. I will blame myself for the rest of my life for thinking Brookdale would be a good facility for him. He fell at River Vista, as he did a couple of times at Brookdale, and was sent to the OSU emergency room. I refused to allow him to be sent back to either facility. OSU worked with me.to get him into the [community removed] which had a memory care unit. He died there a few weeks later.

Our family Family entrusted Brookdale RH with the care of our mother, who had Alzheimer's for approximately six months. Unfortunately, our experience was deeply disappointing. One of our most consistent concerns was the lack of professionalism from many staff members. Staff were frequently on their phones, in the hallways, during meals, and entering a residents room. Residents privacy was also a concern, as staff regularly entered rooms without knocking. The biggest issue was services paid for were not consistently provided. We paid for escort services, to activities, and meals. Instead, she was often taken to breakfast and left our of her room for the remainder of the day until my sister or I arrived in the evening. We also paid for medication administration services. However, my sister and I were often handed moms meds in the evenings and gave Mom her meds. We asked for a copy of the medical log and 6 months later we still have not received. BEWARE !!!!! GET A CAMERAS !!!!!!!! Brookdale RH is very understaffed and were told on many occasions they were in the process of hiring, but ultimately they remained understaffed. Management is the biggest concern. Throughout our Mothers stay, we repeatedly brought concerns to management regarding escort services, medication administration resident care and communication. Unfortunately, we often felt that our concerns were minimized, ignored or met with little sense of urgency. The culture of the facility starts with leadership, and in our experience there appeared to be a lack of accountability and follow-through when issues were raised. The lack of compassion is shameful. We regret entrusting Brookdale RH with our precious Mom. BEWARE !!!!!!!!!!!

Our family’s experience at Brookdale Maltsberger was deeply concerning and heart breaking once my mother’s care needs increased due to an injury at their facility. This is a type B facility meaning they should be able to provide advanced, 24-hour care for individuals with limited mobility and dementia but we found the care severely lacking compassion and attentiveness. My mom does not have dementia but the place needs to be locked down for those that do however, the entrance doors were often left unlocked. My mom experienced repeated delays in response times for basic assistance, inconsistent care, and rude interactions that left her hesitant to ask staff for help. Ultimately, we moved her to a smaller personal care home where her condition improved significantly within days. My mom was only there a month but Brookdale still kept the full $2,000 community fee. Based on our experience, I would not recommend this facility for a loved one with advanced care needs.