Anthem Lakes

It is a lovely community with good sized rooms. It is a nice place with well cared for grounds. The fees were a little more than we expected. Anthem Lakes is a community that is on the newer side and has been around for about 5 years.

My grandmother enjoys every part of living at Anthem Lakes. She participates all her favorite activities, has friends, and her independence. The staff offers the best care and go above and beyond to fit her needs. The facility offers specialist so she doesn't need to leave for doctors appointments. They accepted her insurance with ease. They always keep in contact with us about the small details. Anthem Lakes is beyond accommodating and the staff is very qualified. It has everything a town offers on one campus.

Because there are no RN’s on staff, there was a lot of theft of medications (especially diabetic medicines). Also, residents get billed for services they never received.

The community is very clean and most of the staff is very good. The only thing is that there are no RNs on staff. The community itself doesn't provide my father much assistance, although that is primarily because he has an outside nurse come in and take care of his medications and such. The activities director does try, however, my father does not much like the activities they put on just based on his own preferences. Definitely worth the price as the care they are providing my father is very good. They clearly love my dad and are so kind to him, which we really appreciate that.

Very disappointed in this ALF. Mom lived here for 2 years. It was good when there were few residents, however as management, chef & employees left and it became more populated, care was sacrificed to a great extent. The place began to smell as residents were left in soiled clothes, laundry was done on a “quick wash” leaving it smelly and still soiled. Food was the equivalent to a truck stop, with breakfast being the only satisfactory meal. Lunch & dinner were heavy, dry pasta, meat, potatoes & bread with a few soggy vegetables. Fruit, when available was canned peaches, pears or fruit cocktail. It was not a menu that the elderly would choose, had they the ability to do so. There are also functional obsolescences throughout the facility. The bathrooms are so small it is nearly impossible to accommodate a wheelchair. There is no protection from weather when taking a resident from the memory care facility and no automatic doors that stay open while maneuvering a wheelchair. The dining area is too small to accommodate full residency so some residents are put alone in common areas to eat. The staff quickly puts residents in their rooms to “nap” even if they don’t “nap” after lunch, I assume in an effort to keep the common area uncrowded. There are just too many negative issues to address. Management is confrontational and quick to threaten expulsion hen issues are raised. Do yourself and your elderly loved ones a favor and avoid Anthem Lakes.

Sadly, Anthem Lakes has proven to be a substandard experience. Those entrusted with the care of my 90 year-old mother have failed on many accounts. After 5 months in residence, my fall-risk mother was unaccompanied while walking around fully-dressed at 4 am while caregivers apparently slept. When she returned to her room alone, she fell & shattered her femur, requiring extensive surgery and was officially an invalid, never to walk again. Mom soon began having seizures when returning to Anthem Lakes, from rehab, and needed to be admitted to Hospice or be moved to a nursing home. Three months after the above experience, DCF was brought in as she was solidly bruised from both hands up to her elbows; her skin then began to tear. Nobody on staff noticed or had a clue what was happening to her as I continted to inquire. When I continued to press, It was discovered by the “best employee ever” on staff, that a male night-shift employee was being “rough” with her as she was “ uncooperative “ when being checked during the night; I was terrified that she was being abused and she could not remember and express her experience as she has Alzheimer’s. This abusive employee was suspended during the investigation but was allowed to come back following its conclusion. The “best-ever” employee was subsequently fired for a ridiculous reason. Although I wished to move Mom to a more responsible facility I felt my hands were tied and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want her to end up in a nursing home nor could I afford an additional on-site caregiver. I continued to visit daily to keep an eye on her, although a couple hours daily only showed that she was being left in soiled clothing. I would continually ask staff to remedy the situation & became a sort of burden for asking them to take care of Mom although I paid in excess of $5,000 per month for care. Strike 3 was when Moms teeth began falling out. Upon going through her always locked supply cabinet, I discovered several full tubes of toothpaste and realized they weren’t having her brush her teeth which she would gladly do if given a toothbrush w/toothpaste. There were also dozens of “sponge sticks” in her cabinet. Upon contacting management regarding her teeth rotting & falling out, I was told that “brushing teeth doesn’t guarantee you won’t get cavities”. Now totally appalled, I knew I had to get her out of there but wasn’t sure how. She was one of the first 3 residents there, had been there over 2 years and things had become tense & crowded during that time. There was not room in the dining room for all residents and care had severely declined. I gave 30 days notice on [date removed], hoping to move her to a new facility being built, however my own life was very busy and 30 days went by. On [date removed] I received a registered letter from Anthem Lake’s attorney notifying me they had a waiting list and telling me to sign & return the letter to cancel my notice to move. I didn’t sign it, received no other communication, other than 2 days later when I received an eviction notice, giving me 45 days to move my mom OR ELSE. I attempted to call the Exec Dir for further information ( as I had given several 30-days notices prior to being able to move into the newly- constructed Anthem Lakes without being evicted. Nobody returned my calls so I emailed, and included the owner in my request for info. The exec dir responded and said the eviction letter was self-explanatory and that residence was on a 30-day basis. I began to press the new facility for a move-in date. It turns out that The nursing dept at Anthem Lakes told the new facility that Mom was combative and had behavioral issues, which was not true, but the new facility rejected Mom due to this. When I contacted the owner at Anthem Lakes regarding the rejection, they stated that they absolutely would not extend Moms residency. Luckily I had her on a waiting list at another facility and was able to move her. I had never expected an ALF that claims to have a passion for the elderly would threaten to put someone’s loved one out on the curb or have the state come & get them because they had a waiting list. Upon completing the move I began alerting others through public forums of the poor treatment received by Anthem Lakes management & owners. Immediately I was contacted by the facility owner, threatening me with legal action for defamation & slander. I informed him that I would no longer be intimidated by his threats and would tell my story in an effort to help others avoid the heartache I have endured by trusting Anthem Lakes with the care of my mother.

Anthem Lakes is not recommended if your elderly loved one requires any type of "care". The caregivers are not CNAs and many are there only to earn a paycheck. I have personally witnessed these "caregivers" tormenting residents and calling them by condescending phrases rather than by their names. Management is confrontational and does not accept ownership of issues within the facility nor do they care to make improvements. The "memory care director" is a 20-something year-old with no nursing experience or degree in nursing and she doesn't appear to like the elderly very much. Until my loved one passed I was afraid to leave a review due to fear of retaliation against them.

What a beautiful place , very nice staff and the people living there were friendly too. We had looked at several others before this visit and we are most pleased with Anthem Lakes and what they offer. Just a different feel.

Clean, nice, small studio is tight; larger studio nicer. Staff very knowledgable and friendly, good interaction with residents. Downside is cost.

Apartments are much smaller than we could accept.