Brookdale

Brookdale is definitely a for profit corporation. Always short on staff and good ones are always let go. The ones remaining must double their workload. Corners are cut. Sterling House caters more to the people with memory issues and not so much for people with other disabilities. Sterling House tries, but with a corporation dictating what you can or cannot do, makes a big difference. It's expensive, as well as all the others, and what is supposed to be included, is not (performed). The CEO needs to have a loved one in their communities and than maybe they'd see things differently.

NO WAY! We toured this place. I didn't like the feel of it just driving into the parking area. As we went into the front door, there were three unattended ladies in wheel chairs. They looked like they were in a far off place in their minds. No one was there attending them. No one was around. It was so sad. During our meeting with the Executive Director we were interrupted but another person looking for someone to serve as a notary witness. He put our meeting on pause and left the room to assist them. Very rude and unprofessional! The dining area was dark and quiet, everyone was eating in silence. This place has a very institutional feeling. It was dreary and depressing. I would never leave a loved one there.

Giving low ratings,since medication is not a priority. Found descrepancy in med log. That is serious if one NEEDS medication.. Med techs are also caregivers; therefore, medicines are not always given timely or not given at all--too many distractions.. Grooming needs improvement--wore dirty clothing; his clothes disappeared from his room, no socks, not shaved, towels were not furnished after second day. Not a professional facility.. Does not understand the needs of the various dementia residents. ..

Needs some visible maintenance. Not very professional or friendly. The most expensive facility with the least to offer.

They put up a very, very friendly front when you first go to visit, but then you find out that the care is just not there. I met another family yesterday at the facility where my husband now resides who have moved their mother out of Brookdale Highlands Ranch very quickly. They told me they were going to be contacting the ombudsman regarding whatever it was that went on with her. I also have heard from the wife of a man who is a resident at Brookdale Highlands Ranch who is very concerned about his care

I wouldn't recommend this community to anyone for their loved one's. They sent my loved on to the hospital the first day. The staff member called me from their home during the day, to let me know they were sending my loved one to the hospital due to being combative. The administrator stated that they were doing an emergency discharge, and then I wasn't able to get my money back for over a month.

I would not recommend Brookdale Montrose to anybody. They are definitely not a facility that is equip for individuals with memory care issues.

My loved one was in this facility and I would not recommend them. The room was never clean. The facility itself was beautiful, but the memory care unit was not good. One day when I walked in to visit my loved one, he was wandering the hallway and obviously lost. A staff member, who hadn't yet noticed that I had just walked in, was angry with him and kept yelling his room number to him. He was just standing there, lost and confused. On another occasion, we had come and taken him out for an outing. When we brought him back in the staff was shocked, they didn't even know he was gone! One of them actually said that out loud. I would not recommend this facility for memory care. I will say, right after we left they did have a change in management, so things may be different now.

We had a very poor experience We were led down the yellow brick road by their marketing/sales person. Immediately within a week of moving our loved one in, they said nobody told us she was full assist, and we can't take care of that here. Yet we were very black and white with them about her care needs from the start. We don't want anyone else to experience what we did there. They ended up knocking off some of the fees for care because they agreed we had been misled, that they could not provide the care they indicated they could. Our family was there often at all hours to care for our loved one due to the poor care. Often there was only one staff member to cover two whole floors for a shift. They have at least 60 rooms there and were either at full capacity or close to full capacity. The food was horrendous, and often inedible. When we toured, one of the main reasons we chose them was because all of the staff members we talked to were so friendly and so nice. It was a beautiful facility, and very light and bright. From the outside looking in, it seemed like they had so much to offer. We were shocked to find the level of care did not match up to that at all.

I brought my aunt down there after getting everything done with authorization and all. She was there for just around two hours that they could no longer have her there. They believed she was a risk, the reasoning was mishandled as she is a smoker and they approved it but once actually got in there they wouldn't allow it. It was a very complicated situation, they handled well but did not hold up to the promise that was provided at the beginning.

I would highly detour anyone from going to this facility. My mom was there a total of [dates removed] before going to the ER after her 2nd fall. The life alert necklace was supposed to be given day 1. My mom wasn’t given one until she was there day 5 she was there a total amount of [dates removed]. The on staff MD that made rounds was also concerned and brought it up to staff. My mom had to pull the emergency cord because she had lost her balance (she was using a walker with a chair and a fall risk post a spinal surgery). When the nurse came to the room my they told to my mom “not pull the cord unless it was a true emergency”. We told the director about this in person, and there was zero accountability. Just told my mom to pull the cord whenever she needs anything. Mom was passed over on dinner. She asked the night nurse for something to snack on and an hour later was told “sorry we don’t have anything to give you for a snack and the kitchen is closed”. Their website shows they have a “culinary menu” and “snacks 24/7”. We addressed it the very next day with the director and on-site manager. Simply told “sorry” and they would make sure it doesn’t happen again. At this time we also brought up the food concerns. The website says “culinary and healthy choices”. The options were actually shocking! A choice between a corn dog or cold ham and cheese sandwich was her option one day. It seemed turkey chili was served almost every day or a ham sandwich or chicken noodle soup. There was by no means anything culinary and something that couldn’t have met a normal caloric daily intake. The site had a scheduled meeting with the residents to go over menu options because many were complaining, but unfortunately, that was canceled and never reschedule. Mom had a medication plan and the facility encouraged us (heavily) that we allow them to handle the medication management. My mom was actually discharged coherent and able to take them on her own. But the facility said it would be faster for them to respond to refills and management for changes as they happened. My mom was never given a her medication on a schedule starting day 1 and she had to call the nurses for each dose daily. Something I witnessed. She had medical orders that stated on Brookdale’s own paperwork that said “before meals” on blood pressure and diabetes medication and others. This truly never happened. Her blood sugar spiked over 230 on several occasions. She went from a regimen to utter chaos. Her pain medication was PRN so she did have to call for it every 3-4 hours, however, her wait time to get it was 45-mins or longer. The nurse's station was 2 doors down from her, but that nurse said my mom was assigned to the nurse on the opposite side. She often had to call more than once. Mom had [name removed] for her rehab. I literally was pulled aside by her physical therapist and she gave me a primary MD to call and told me she highly recommend I reach out and have someone other than Brookdale handle the care management. My mom specifically complained about 1 nurse while she was there and said they were mean and uncaring. While I tried to associate her complaint to her not wanting to be there, I actually walked in one night to catch that nurse talking horribly about my mom and what a “pain” she was and that she was “nasty”, and “demanding” and plenty of other comments. While I understand we all complain about clients to a degree, this was going on with 2 other employees standing at the receptionist's desk when you walk in. The facility said they would change my mom sheets and do her laundry and hang her clothes up. I had to change her sheets, and they left her clothes in a basket both times they did it. I’m fact, the 2nd time they did her laundry they left her basket outside her door. My mom went to get it and that was the day of her second fall. She fell doing a task they were supposed to help her with. There were also someone’s dirty undergarments left on the hall handrail. Upon move in, I cleaned my mom's room bc I felt like I wanted to just make sure, I’m glad I did because her toilet had urine on it and the under lid was gross.

We had a terrible experience with Brookdale. I would never recommend this facility to anybody

Brookdale did a care assessment with a skilled rehab that my loved one was in, and the fees were reasonable for us. However, the first month fees were much higher that the family expected, and then the family was told that the director made a mistake on the pricing. An aide called me to tell me that my loved one had to be hospitalized. I wish the community would have had a nurse call me with the details. From this point forward the experience kept going down hill with my loved one and family. Medications were messed up and missed for my loved one during their stay here, and this caused a fatal error. I feel like they took time away from my loved one. We had a poor experience with the lead med tech, we are still getting bills from the community, and more with this community. I felt like I was always putting out fires when I would visit my loved one, instead of visiting my loved one. The head nurse was never there and the management were very unprofessional towards our family and my loved one during the stay. The lead med tech questioned the family's decision to place our loved one on Morphine and let nature take its course. The family was strong armed into using a specific hospice that we later found out the community was getting kick backs from. The director left without any notice to the families or residents.

Brookdale did not meet our families expectations - we would not recommend this community to anybody. We felt the director never excepted accountability for the issues and concerns that were brought her way. Our loved one chose to eat the meals in their room and did not like going down to the dining hall, so at that point they just basically left him in his room and treated him like he wasn't there. When they could deliver the food it would come without utensils, so by the time the staff would bring back utensils the food was cold. They would not clean the room unless we asked them to. When our loved one would push the button for assistance the staff would come and help him into his wheelchair but then never really provide assistance beyond that.

During the time our loved one was there, they did not get the care she needed and deserved. When we would call they did not return calls, and has lost substantial weight. Thing were stolen, and the room was always a mess. Our family had a bad experience.

This was not a nice community, it was poorly run and dirty. I was shown the community by a nurse that was not very thorough and when we got here no one even knew we were coming. The cabinets were hanging off, and the bathroom was dirty.

I am disgusted with this community. They charge more than what they say, they did not realize that my dad had moved in for two weeks. They scream at my father, he hates it, I hate it and my loved one is not happy here. He does not want to come out of his room due to how he feels on how he is treated. My loved one was supposed to have meals delivered due to the fact that he is scared to come out of the room. We were told that there would be a staff member that would help my loved one find how to get from one area to another and this did not happen. After my loved one got in they popped up with a bunch of surprise charges. I have to have a private nurse come in to help my loved one due to them not being able to provide the care that is needed. They state that they are assisted living and it is not assisted living it is independent living and everything is with extra fees. We were never given a welcome package or a tour or anything when we entered this community.

Our family had an in person and we cannot speak about the staff and residents there, but the place was horrific. It was dirty, run down and smelly. We felt like our time was wasted, we would not send our dog there. Nothing about the community was appealing we knew right away this was not the community for our loved one.

The staff was great and they were very inviting. Had more of a nursing home feeling than independent living.

What was represented in the beginning is not at all what we got. There is a major lack of communication between staff. My father passed away and they are still billing us for this month and next month. We had a terrible experience with them and would never recommend to others.