Brookdale

Overall experience with Brookdale as a five, but with a caveat that it is so beyond expensive, and I do feel the cost are excessive, even with the excellent care my husband has received and continues to receive from the wonderful staff as they have become our second family. I cannot comment on the activities because he has Parkinson's and does not participate, but it does appear to me that if you are able to join in so to speak that they have done an excellent job providing activities for those residents able to participate. Quality of care is excellent and I truly believe the staff love my husband. He is a kind and gentle man. They do a lot of extremely hard work for what I consider an insufficient pay. The cleanliness of Brookdale has never been an issue. They do an excellent job of that. An item not addressed in your list is the availability of management and I have found Brookdale to have been incredibly good about that as I have dealt a lot with the management staff and they are excellent always available and always willing to work with you to solve any problems that come up realizing that this type of a facility or this industry just has a set of problems that unfortunately probably can never be fixed. Overall, I think we made the right choice and our family has commented in agreement. If you need any additional information, please feel free to contact me again

1. Overall experience-GREAT!! The director, [name removed] is an absolute angel! The day I met her, she had come in on a weekend just to check on the residents to play bingo with them on her day off. And that is consistently how she is in caring for them and their families. She gave me her personal cell phone number for anytime that I had an issue and always responded promptly and in the most compassionate and caring way! And [name removed] , the head nurse is the other angel of that facility. She very personally cares and is a fantastic geriatric nurse! They both go far above the call of duty and treat the residents like their own family. 2. Cleanliness-This is a Modern new building done very beautifully with very much an at home feel. This place smelled clean and nothing like a geriatric residential home or nursing home. Their dining hall had lovely aroma a fresh cooked food every day and not the horrible smell of mass produced food. The common areas were all always very clean and organized and well decorated. They did have some staffing shortage in the last few months of Mom's life last year. A few times I found my mom with the same clothes on from the previous day so she had never been put in a nightgown or helped with getting dressed for the next day. A few times during those last few months, I found food on the floor from the previous days breakfast on days that I was not able to go the day before and was there before the current days breakfast. (Maple syrup spilled from an uneaten tray, etc). When I brought this to [name removed] attention, she personally went and got a mop and cleaned the mess up herself. She apologized and said that corporate Brookdale had cut back on their staff and last year was a tough time to get staff anyway in my own business experience. So I felt supported by the management and I think it is always important anywhere for family to show up randomly and being involved regularly. 4. Quality of care overall good. Again in the last few months, they were shortstaffed and Mom's hygiene suffered when I was out of town. I came in to find her hair in dreads and it took several hours to work that out. I notified [name removed] who as I mentioned had limited resources. She tried to keep an eye out, but it did happen a couple more times. I didn't feel that that was a dealbreaker because mom didn't care and she could be difficult and allowing someone to come her hair even when it was me who she generally was very compliant with when I asked her to do anything. But Alzheimer's can be a tricky thing to work around, and ultimately they loved her and spoiled her so that was a concession I was willing to live with. 5. Meals/Dining-my mom moved from a facility in the Houston area where she had lost weight and had no interest in eating because the food was not good and smelled like mass produced cafeteria nursing home food. This facility cooked fresh meals and I sample them myself before I took my mom there. It had home-cooked taste and I was very happy with it. They also spoiled their residence and making special meals for them if they don't like whatever is cooked for everyone. my mom would ask for tea and coffee and they all knew that she had to have five sugars and she liked cream in her coffee. She also loves tomato soup and they kept it on hand just for her again. It was only during those shortstaffed times that I would find her trays in her room where I specifically said I did not want her to eat & they were cold & uneaten. When I let [name removed] and [name removed] know, they started checking on her and that didn't happen anymore. 6. Activities-they were great with activities. as I said, [name removed] would come out on her days off to play bingo with residents and create other fun things for them to do. They had parties more than any of the rest of us do-Always on every holiday and for birthdays, and sometimes even for no reason at all just for fun. They had an activity room with books and puzzles and other fun things. The center of the building is an open air atrium that some of the ladies did gardening and they were birdfeeders and fountains and a beautiful path completely closed in so it was safe for my mom to go in and out as she pleased. They were always wonderful to encourage everyone to participate and made significant effort to enlist my mom and activities as I requested. I always threw a big birthday party for my mother and it was very cute that some of the resident who also had to mention thought it was their birthday too and we just let them enjoy that. 7. Value for Cost-elder care is incredibly expensive and was a huge cost for me as I had no other family to help. This facility not unlike others was expensive but certainly worth it! And they actually gave me a bit of a price break and accommodated quite a lot for what I paid. The size of the facility is a huge part of the very personal care that we received there and I knew that was what my mother wanted so I made it work. The value was definitely much greater than anything else that I looked at in the city and after experiencing their care Was even more valuable to me! I would absolutely recommend this facility to anyone who is looking for a place for their loved one! As long as [name removed] and [name removed] are there, I absolutely highly recommend this place. I looked at other Brookdale facilities and they did not even come close to matching the quality of this one. They were not bad, but this is the best! That is partly because it is a new and beautiful place, but most importantly because the two ladies who run the place, that do that very difficult job with their heart and soul and it absolutely shows! I am a business owner, and I am also a nurse. So from my professional perspective, I would love to have employees like [name removed] and [name removed] . From a nursing perspective, I visited over 15 facilities, ate a meal & talked to residents & families at each one, & interviewed staff from caring & medical perspectives. I also as an ER nurse have seen MANY nursing home residents as my patients. That is what terrified me when I realize that my mother needed more care. The majority of facilities are incredibly neglectful. There are only a handful that I have seen, loved and cared for geriatric residents. Brookdale Maltsberger is a diamond in a sea of nightmares by majority in my observation across the nation (as a travel nurse). I made a very good decision in choosing this wonderful place upon your fantastic recommendation. From my personal perspective, I am also blessed with these two lovely people in my life beyond the amazing care they gave to my mother. I will forever be grateful to [name removed] & [name removed] and to all the staff who so lovingly cared for my mother! This is a home for very loved family members that are treated as their own!

My experience with Brookdale has always been very courteous, pleasant and professional.

I can’t begin to say how wonderful the staff and atmosphere are at this facility. My mother has adjusted beautifully. She’s clean well fed and happy. This facility has been a god send. When you walk in your greated with a smile . The place is so clean and so are the rooms. There’s always something going on.

I chose this facility because of the security they have here which makes me feel safe. The friendliness of everyone is wonderful and I have made friends here, and I'm glad that I chose to come to Brookdale and I feel like this is home.

Providing 24 hour care was not something we were prepared for nor equipped to do. Brookdale Sandy Creek was very welcoming, I have never encountered a moody employee nor a non-smiling face whenever we drop in to visit our sister. And knowing that she has someone there to help her, anytime, day or night, has taken so much worry and a huge weight off of us. Thank you "A Place For Mom" for providing so many recommendations and helping us find Brookdale Sandy Springs.

Everything has been wonderful. The staff has been very sweet. My father seems to be doing very well which makes less stress for the whole entire family. so I just want to say thank you to the staff and I would definitely recommend this place in the future

Staff is very caring and knowledgeable. My mom gets to go on outings with other residents. She has made friends. The price is a little high, but she is well taken care of. She has three meals a day plus snacks.

My dad has been residing at Brookdale for 2 months. He has a spacious private room with a his own bathroom. All staff is friendly and meets my dad’s needs. It’s quaint, not a large facility so it’s not chaotic; very calm and quiet atmosphere.

The facility is clean, rooms are very nice as well. The staff was so attentive to [name removed]. Getting her out everyday in the day area. She perked up around the folks! All the questions we had were answered by the staff in a timely manner. Wished she could have enjoyed her stay longer.

Brookdale Corpus Christi has made my mom feel at home in an incredibly short time. Mom loves the food, the exercise sessions with fellow residents and the activities provided. They are very pet friendly which is critical since my mom’s small dog is her constant companion. We feel very blessed to have found such a positive organization for our mom.

My opinion of the facility and the care for my father is wonderful and Beautiful. All the staff were great and gave my dad great care. The place was clean the food Top notch. You felt at home and you could really tell that the caregivers truly cared from the bottom of their heart for all the folks that live there.

The most familiar faces can become faded. When a family makes a decision to put a love one under the care of someone else that decision is not made easily. Being confident in somebody else that isn’t family is another tough one. The care mom receives from Brookdale is excellent. The staff finds the time for each resident. The community is small and that’s probably what I like most about it. It’s very warm and welcoming.

They were friendly. Understood where I was in this part of life's transition as the child of the parent going into assisted living. Helped financially to make sure I was comfortable with payments.

Very relaxing, comforting setting!! Love the enclosed "outside" area which sits in the middle of this building!! So the residents can still go outside, enjoy the sun, etc. without having to worry that they may wander off! The food, which I never had myself, looked okay, and [name removed] didn't seem to complain too much! The rooms were kept Clean!! And the POA's decided to give her what I would call a "Suite,"the space of two rooms, especially with her having her dog & crate with her (miniature greyhound). This meant she had 2 large windows looking at the lovely countryside & 2 large closets!! One thing that [name removed] didn't like: while she had a half bathroom, the showers, etc. were not in the Room. Also, she complained that the staff would just waltz in without her inviting them in!! Same goes for the bathroom!! A staff member even opened up the bathroom door while I was using "the Best Seat" in the House!! When it came to activities, most times she was watching TV!! [name removed] , who was a retired College Professor (English), was truly Bored. Thankfully, she made 2 friendships that gave her some joy!! There was a staff member, who either took the dog Daisy out by herself or at times walked the dog with [name removed]!! (Cost extra for that Service) Note: They did have a wonderfully paved sidewalk/path, which encircled the Building!! Of Course, the Big Plus to this private enterprise was that they allowed your pet to join you!! [name removed] never married... did not have children. In addition, she was a "menopause" baby, which meant her parents & siblings were much older; thus, she lost them when she was younger!! Her dog truly was her family!!

My husband had dementia and he really didn't want to do anything but watch tv or sleep but watching the others they all seemed to enjoy hanging out with everyone.

The facility and staff at Brookdale Westerville are treasures for me and my sister in law. Kind, caring they treat us like family. So much more than I ever thought it could be..

Their location and that they had two levels of care as my mom's disease progressed. The staff loved my mom and were so good to her.

Our person has blossomed since being there. The socialization and the caring staff make a huge difference. We are very happy with the services. Don't get me wrong, there is always a hiccup here or there. But overall it is a very good place. Our person there is the youngest in the place.

Most caregivers take good care of mom! But as anywhere some are not as good as others! We really need exhaust fans and heaters in her bathroom! Sometimes odor not good!