Brookdale Manlius

My loved one was there on the enhanced care package. The community wasn't able to assist us with this care. Brookdale wasn't able to assist with the medical needs that my loved one specifically needed.

This is a really great location for someone with more significant physical limitations. They had a lot more options/tools available for those with higher care needs. They were really great here, and easily as nice as where we ended up. Everyone was equally as nice to work with with and talk with. The facility itself was really cool. It was much fancier, and Manlius is definitely a fancier area. It was a grand, two story entrance, and looked really, really nice. We really loved it. We have friends with parents there, and they say the same thing. It just ended up not being the right fit for my mom, who didn't have those higher care needs.

The community is very expensive, and search elsewhere. This community is secure. The communities I have experienced have shown me that you can't trust the staff, and people are people. You can have a great community, but you should still keep an out for your loved one. The transportation is limited to mileage and days of the week. They do have transportation for your loved one to use to doctor appointments. We experienced several months with no driver. What are we paying for?

[Name removed] was so helpful - he provided a really good view of their home and what they have to help Mom - I really liked this place

I thought the facility was a little run down. Although the sales manager said a renovation is in the plans for 2018. The distance for moms doctors appointments and infusion care would have to be altered. The room setup a plus.

I toured here, and I really liked Brookdale Manlius. The staff was kind and friendly, and they had a lot going on as far as activities to keep the residents busy. However, it is a larger place than I was looking for. I liked the idea of a smaller facility for easy navigation, and so that my loved one would be able to get the care she needs easily. While I liked this Brookdale, it was too big to be a good fit for us.

I enjoyed my tour of this community, it was nice. From what I saw everything appears to be well maintained. The staff I met was kind and friendly. This is a good community. With friendly people. It was a community we were considering moving my aunt too.

Cherrie assisted me with deciding what is important when choosing a community for my Mother. Looking at several facilities is important to compare apples with apples so to speak. This community appears to be very nice. Staff were professional, facility was clean, and residents appeared happy. This community didn't meet the needs my family member requires. For the right person it seems a lovely community.

It has been an alright experience with the Brookdale Manlius. I think it is a good facility, but there has been an adjustment period for my loved one which has been longer than I had hoped. She has only been there for about a month now though.

We wrote this so others may enter into an agreement with Wynwoood of Manlius, NY with their eyes wide open. After our relative’s passing, a letter stating our complaints was sent to Brookdale Senior Living, owners of Wynwood, and no response was received. Our female relative lived at Wynwood for nearly three years, 2011-2014. The intake process and tour were well done and inviting. First impressions were positive. However, the reality of being a resident, and one with increasing needs (and therefore, significant add-on expense), was quite the opposite. Family members visited regularly (weekly/monthly), communicated with the staff, and tried to be objective, knowing there are two sides to a story. We observed the following 16 issues: 1. The Admission Fee is a fee, not a deposit, and is non-refundable. 2. When our relative was hospitalized a few days before passing, the doctors informed the family she had severe bed sores. We were shocked to think this could happen with aides dressing her and being in the care of staff nurses. 3. Because the bus driver transports residents to doctor appointments, he is required to carry a Wynwood Transfer Form (confidential medical history, medications, insurance policy numbers of which Medicare’s number is the social security number) for the resident he transports. We were handed our relative's stapled packet of papers from the bus driver upon meeting her at the appointment. All of the above information was on the top sheet, visible to anyone, including the bus driver. We complained to the staff about this huge breach of confidentiality. The staff said they never thought of putting the papers in a sealed envelope and thought it was a great suggestion. Their irresponsible lack of respect for confidentiality astounded us. 4. For two out of her nearly three years there, water leaked through the ceiling and living room window, creating mold on the ceiling, window frame and sill. Six to eight attempts to repair it were unsuccessful. When it was deemed repaired, the construction crew did not cover any furniture prior to plastering, sanding and painting. Fine sanding dust was all over everything. Wynwood did not clean up the dust so our relative had to pay privately to have it done. The painting was never finished. 5. Aides, for which she paid dearly as a part of Wynwood Add-On Service Charges, often were late to respond or did not respond at all. She was afraid of upsetting them, regardless that the staff encouraged her to assert herself and tell the aides what she needed. Although there was a small handful of wonderful, friendly and helpful aides, there was also a handful of aides who were mean, yelled, belittled, intimidated and frightened her. Most aides simply came in, did what they did, and left the room as fast as possible, sometimes leaving our relative on the toilet for extended time periods. Additionally, aide retention was a major issue for Wynwood. 6. The necklace call button, while a necessary item, was not dependable or easy to press with weak, arthritic fingers. What is needed is a button with a light on it to confirm the call was received. This system exists but is not used at Wynwood. Several times we requested a different type of button, and received the same reply that they would look into the matter. 7. Her credit card, insurance card, social security card and cash were stolen from her purse. It was clear the purse had been searched through and all cards had to be replaced. The cash was never found. 8. Laundry was often missing or replaced with lower quality items. 9. Cleaning was consistently inadequately done - rarely dusted, vacuumed or mopped, and dirty cups and utensils were left in kitchen sink. Upon several visits, the toilet was soiled and filthy. We had to request it be cleaned. Ants were found on the carpet. 10. There was no telephone voice mail for staff. Front desk receptionist took all messages. This caused a gap in time, made communication difficult and breached confidentiality. 11. No staff members were available by email. When we inquired, the answer was, "We have it but we don't use it. I don't even know my address." We found this unacceptable and couldn't help but think they simply didn't want to be held accountable for anything they might put in writing. 12. The building design left much to be desired, with very long halls/wings. Our relative was at the farthest end of the longest wing. She felt isolated and it therefore took aides much longer to reach her. 13. Each meal required two hours (total of six hours for three meals), way too long and a huge waste of time and energy. Being escorted to the dining room (another Wynwood Add-On Service Charge), waiting to order, waiting to be served, eating (difficult to get wait staff attention if there was a problem with the meal delivered), and being escorted back to her room took six hours out of every day. Even though they were paid for, eventually she skipped meals and provided her own food. 14. Upon becoming a resident, she was assigned to a dining room table and kept the same table and table mates the entire time. Very little conversation transpired because some were deaf or had memory issues, and tables were large which made hearing more difficult. With each meal requiring two hours, mealtime became unbearable after awhile. It would have been better if residents could change tables every two to four weeks to get acquainted with new people or, better yet, not have assigned tables at all. 15. She regularly attended Resident Council meetings where comments and complaints about Wynwood were aired. As she said, pretty much the same complaints were aired each month and nothing changed. Food Chat meetings were more constructive and occasionally positive changes resulted. 16. After our relative died and we packed up her apartment over a two-day period, despite encountering several Wynwood staff members, only one family member received an expression of sympathy, and that was from an aide. Sadly, Wynwood may be among the better alternatives in the Syracuse area. We truly wish our relative had the opportunity to live out her last years at home or, at the very least, in a facility better managed than Wynwood.

Some things are okay but important things need work. It's an attractive place, clean and the people who work there are mostly caring and pleasant. They have a lot of activities including exercise, lectures, movies, music, self-help, outings, and are very creative with these. They offer a lot of services but getting them done in a timely fashion or at all is another thing. The communication between the whole staff is one of their biggest problem. They are overextended and have part-time or transient personnel, so a concern will not filter to everyone on the staff who has contact with the resident. There's an ala carte menu for personal care, medication, supervision, etc., but you may be paying for a service you never receive. If the resident refuses bathing or getting dressed, they may not get these grooming issues done. "We can't force the resident to take a shower," (or change their clothes or Depends, etc.) is something we have heard more than once. They have a variety of aides who come with all levels of competency and dedication, but most seem caring, if harried. The food is okay (not great), but the menu never changes, and is especially boring if one is on a restricted diet. They also don't want to assume responsibility for some diet issues and the resident may be expected to know what they should or shouldn't eat without assistance - difficult for someone who has any degree of mental confusion. The most serious issues involve lack of emergency response to an alert button worn by all residents which doubles as a call button for an aide. When the resident pushes their button, be it for a serious health emergency or because they just want help getting out of a chair, it's the same response time - when they get around to it. We timed it recently at 25 minutes and that's totally unacceptable. There is no 24 hour supervision of the front door and sometimes aides go out for a smoke at night and the front door is left unlocked. Very scary. A chat with the administrator revealed that we had "Unrealistic expectations," and it was suggested that if we weren't happy we could take our parent somewhere else. Really?! They will put the best face on when you go to visit and tour, but that doesn't mean that things will go perfectly for your relative. An opportunity to speak with the family members of other residents may be helpful in letting you know what to expect. We think this establishment is below the standard one would expect for competent care, especially given the high cost.

The experience has not been good for us because within thirty days of moving her in they have decided that she needs a higher level of care. They are nice people and I like them. They were understanding and caring, but it just isn't working for us. They have all these add ons and the cost of care is very high. The hallways were very long so a resident at the end of the hall would have a long way to walk for the dining room. I liked the staff.

It's beautiful. It's the Rolls Royce of assisted living facilities. It was a little more expensive but boy it was beautiful and the menu was to die for.

The reason we chose this community was because in central New York it is the only community that is licensed to do enhanced assisted living. The cost is really expensive because they have no competition in the area. They are at 100% occupancy and really don't need to lower the price because of supply and demand. The Wynwood brand offers the same rooms in the Buffalo and other areas for 35%-50% cheaper, but because of the location and the lack of competition they can charge more in central New York. They are the only licensed enhanced assisted living community.

One of only a couple of facilities with enhanced care that allows for help getting in and out of bed. Cost start at $3955 and another $1300 will probably have to be added. They do not take Medicaid...TOO Expensive....They do take care of all level until end of life. 77 apartments....