Brookdale Durham

They have very nice staff members that work here. There are times that the community is short staffed. There has been an ongoing request with maintenance and this is still waiting to be updated. The staff communication with the family has been okay. It did take a bit to establish a routine for my loved one. Some of the care services include medication management, bathing and dressing assistance.

We were charged extra for special care. My suggestion: don't promote a level of care that you're not going to deliver.

They have a lot of activities available; but they're having staffing issues with keeping staff in-house. Being able to give reports from one staff member to another is lacking, so things get missed after shift changes. Some of their activities include outings, bingo, tea-time, bible study, and exercise classes amongst other things. Most importantly I would advise Brookdale to improve on having a more subsequent staff and improving their reporting system to make sure things don't get lost or misconstrued with shift changes.

I would recommend the community to others for their loved ones. They have a good safety plan and it is a secure environment for the residents. The staff communication with the family is really good. They have town halls for the families to attend and keep the communication open. The community has lots of options for activities for the residents.

We went with Brookdale Durham because we needed a place where my parents could go together which narrowed our search considerably. They had availability here with larger apartments to suit their needs. It seems like all of the staff members know all of the residents on a personal level and are always super helpful. I do not think the call bell system is good at all, the response time is slow and the functionality is not the best. Overall I would recommend the facility to others looking.

We chose Brookdale Durham because of the friendliness of the staff and how clean the facility was. It really feels like home, it is pricey but I think it is worth it because of how comfortable they make you feel. The location has been great for our family. I think they could improve on the amount of activities and type of activities provided. They only have 1 outing a week and it is to the grocery store. The activity room is just bingo so my loved one is kind of bored with that. I think they could definitely benefit from more stimulating things to do. I would definitely recommend them to other families who are looking.

It's a beautiful place with excellent care. The residents have to choose to participate, obviously. I know they encourage my parents to come to things, but maybe not enough. Although I understand that one of my loved ones in particular can be difficult when it comes to that. The activities they do offer are great. I'm very happy with the staff. There are certain ones that just really go above and beyond, and I think the staff are pretty wonderful. I just wish there were more food choices. You either eat what they serve, or you can get a sandwich.

My loved one was very unhappy here. We brought photos of other loved ones to put pictures up in my loved one's room. The staff didn't put the pictures up and the television set up and it wasn't. The community charged us a high fee after moving out after three weeks. The director was lying to my loved one. This was a terrible experience for us.

It's a nice place, but expensive. The staff has been good to work with. There are times it takes the staff a while to get back to me with questions or concerns for my loved one. The food has been decent during my loved one's stay.

We have seen the list of activities the residents can choose to participate in. When our loved one moved in her room was supposed to be painted and have touch up spots. They charged us for it but ended up not painting it, we were not pleased with it. According to our loved one the food was not that great.

Pros: The Activity Director is pretty incredible and keeps families informed of loved one's status and seems to go out of her way to do her job at times. The direct care staff seems to do their jobs well and consistently. Unfortunately, like most elderly care homes, sometimes having to also carry the load of their supervisor's responsibilities as well. Such as contacting family when a question is needed to be asked. We're glad at least they do. Clean facility, good meals, good direct care staff. Cons: Initially, it took the administration office more than 2 months just to provide and process all of the information needed to file insurance claim with 3rd party insurance! So, we had to pay out of pocket for 3 months. This was mainly due to administration not following through. We had to press them to make the necessary phone calls to the insurance company, as well as repeatedly explain the paperwork needed. The Executive Director, [name removed] rarely returns phone calls and passes them on to individuals not qualified to answer questions that are needed to resolve a situation, often avoiding appropriate communication with family, until she's called out on it. Medications where ordered to be filled by their pharmacy without legal authorization by family member's Power of Attorney. Updated medication forms/list was not provided to direct care staff. After 3 months of back and forth with them, we hope that finally everything will go smoothly. Thus, communication seems to be the biggest problem there.

I would want families to know when looking at Brookdale that it is overpriced. In the memory care unit, the color of the wall and the furniture made the atmosphere bland and dreary. It made me sad and depressed. There were not a lot of activities provided and the space was limited in the memory care unit. I do like that they had memory boxes outside of each persons room. They had pictures in it and different things about that person. Overall, I would not recommend this facility.

The director of nursing was always friendly and approachable, But once my dad got there, we quickly realized that is wasn't the right fit for him and his care needs. We chose Brookdale in a pinch because my dad was finally willing to move somewhere and they had available. It really is a beautiful facility, always seemed cleaned, and the food was good. We had constant billing issues though.

This place was not bad. The 1 bedroom units were laid out well and they are doing renovations on them. The building is older, but not run down. Big dining room, section of town not bad. A little pricey, but not out of the running. One hallway smelled a little of urine, perhaps temporary. Only 2 small elevators, could be a concern with mobility.

While my loved one was here everything was great. The staff is incredibly kind, they are very attentive, and there was not one moment where there was something that needed to be done and it wasn’t done. My loved one would tell me that she loves them as well. After some time my loved one was moved into hospice care and had to relocate. Unfortunately she had passed away now. When I called and spoke to the director here and told them about that they were telling me how much they loved her and everything. I believe that was a great experience and it shows me how much they paid attention to her. The facility itself was very clean. It was so clean yet it didn’t have that “institutional clean” smell. There are no complaints there with their cleanliness. All in all I would recommend this location to other families as well.