2 Star User Review
My mom was here 5 weeks, December 2011 through the end of January 2012 recovering from a colon repair (for a twisted colon). Her friend was also here, for 2 months, recovering from colon surgery, about four months earlier. We were recently all together, and the comments below are a composite of our conversation.
As many others have mentioned, the facility is very pretty. I noticed right away how inviting the several lounge areas were. They are located at the end of the halls, and compose a pod area, with the nurse’s station in the middle. The lounges have an atrium style raised ceiling, giving the appearance of space. Each has a welcoming fireplace and collection of couches and side chairs.
My mom and her friend both had positive comments about the staff. They were helpful, and when asked to assist with something, there were not long waits. The rooms are clean and spacious. What else could be needed?
Here is the negative:
FOOD: As so many have mentioned, the food is “horrible”. Both these women are not picky eaters. Both admit when they were first admitted, they had no interest in food, due to a lack of appetite. However, once they felt better, they both made the argument that food is the primary tie to feeling they were truly recovering. Examples of the level they experienced were comments like, “how many colors can peas be?” “Corn…corn with almost every meal. I wondered if maybe they had so much left over, they just kept warming it over day after day.” Most disturbing was the description of this, a typical meal, which certainly made me question whether there was a licensed nutritionist or dietitian on staff: dry breaded chicken patty, dry mac and cheese, corn. Another: mashed potatoes, corn and dry ham “you could not hardly cut it let alone chew it”. Overcooked, “mushy” broccoli was the norm. There seemed to be no use of herbs or seasonings (i.e., lemon juice on the broccoli) to give the food a bit of flavor.
NURSING EXPERTISE: I asked my mother’s doctor just when was she was notified by this facililty that my mother started exhibiting a downward spiral (loss of weight, depression, lethargy) a couple weeks after her arrival? Her answer….never! (it should be noted that this doctor told us she will never send patients here again, due to what happened to my mom and one other patient. She has a call into their director of nursing. Her assumption is that the primary doctor is not being advised, but the doctor that owns the facility is. This owner is well known in the community for being inept.) It took several family members stepping in and contacting the doctor on our own with our concerns. Another problem occurred when mom complained of not being able to breathe the second evening of her stay. If they had listened to her chest routinely (she had been given extensive IV fluids and was very bloated), and noted she was in cardiac a-fib due to a leaky mitral valve, they would have found her lungs filling with fluid before she had to be rushed back by ambulance to the hospital. 1.2 liters of water was removed from one lung, with a similar amount taken off the other lung the next day.