1 Star User Review
I am, presently, a "resident" at Brookhaven and let me tell you, there are not enough words in all the world's languages put together that can fully describe what a nightmare Brookhaven is. The place runs on Paranoia, Vindictiveness, Self-Interest and Absolutely Mind-Boggling Incompetense. Residents are "the enemy" so the automatic answer to everything is, "If you're not happy, you don't have to stay here, you know." And if your problem happens to land you on any Department Head's desk, Heaven help you, "Administration" will swoop down and destroy whatever small comforts and consolations you have managed to gather around you, mainly by uprooting you, moving you from room to room, floor to floor. Each floor is supposed to house different problems. That doesn't matter here, though: psychiatric, intellectually-challenged, geriatric, medical rehab - all are intermingled on every floor. Resulting in NO ONE receiving the proper care. Not that anyone would anyway - staff communication is ZERO here, no one knows what's going on, no one thinks to inform anyone of what's going on and everyone - doctors included - end up (bizarrely) turning to the resident (who, of course, knows nothing) for answers. And then berates the resident when s/he has none. The food? Low on protein, high on glutinous, stodgy carb. Veggies come with fancy names: Swedish, Norweigian, Exotic, Summer, Winter, Spring. Veggies ARE, actually, simply over- or under-cooked frozen or canned. Every main is flavoured with either curry or adobo, even if it's "Hungarian Goulash" or "Beef Stroganoff." Toward the end of the month, the coffee becomes dark dish water, the "chicken" dishes feature not so much chunks of chicken as purposefully-cut chunks of onion. Fresh food? Scant handfuls of wilty lettuce, a few shavings of carrot and a cherry tomato every lunch and dinner, a banana every other week. Constipating food… which will be dealt with with laxatives… which they will run out of every other month. Which you may not notice, so busy will you be making sure you are getting THIS month's meds, and not meds that were discontinued MONTHS ago. Or making sure you're not getting TWICE the required amount of prescribed meds.
The sullen, disinterested aides… the hostile, resentful aides… the aides who barely speak English… the nurses who barely speak English… the crusty toilet seats… the grimy floors… the bags of soiled linen, the bags of garbage, that aides look at and, then, run away from… believe me, I could go on and on. But, as I said, I am living here right now, and just thinking of all these things is depressing a hole right through the thin veil of anti-depressants I am taking to try to make being here even barely livable. (By the way, did I mention that you will get almost ZERO help from your supposed last bastion of assistance , your social worker - if you turn to them thinking they'll surely help you. Did I mention the most your social worker will likely do is tell you that if you don't like it, arrangements can be made to send you home.) So let me end, here, with a word of advice… unless you have no other alternative, or are prepared to come here at least once a week to cheer up and advocate, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT allow your loved one to be placed in Brookhaven Rehab. Your worst enemy, YES. Your loved ones, NO. NO. NO. NO!!!