Washington Commons

On [date removed] I signed papers to rent an apartment for my mother at Washington Commons with the move in date to be [date removed]. On [date removed] I found my mother on the floor of her house where she had fallen and hit her head on the corner of her dresser. I called 911 and she was taken to University Hospital. She stayed at the hospital 5 days and on [date removed] was transferred to Walton Rehab. At this time I was still planning to move my mother to Washington Commons. I got the keys and moved a bed frame with rails into the unit. The doctors at Walton Rehab say my mothers condition is serious. My mother needs 24 hour care. Washington Commons was no longer an acceptable place for her to go. On [date removed] the case manager at Walton Rehab called Washington Commons and explained the situation--stating she would send whatever paperwork was needed to break the lease especially since my mother never moved in. Washington Commons stated there was nothing they could do and to make sure I paid the other two months rent that is due. No associate at Washington Commons has ever met my mother--she was not issued an emergency call pendant, the toilet bowl tank lid was never repaired, no meals ever eaten, and the move in checklist not completed. This company does not even want to work with you after they get your money. They say good friends make good neighbors, I say where are the good friends?? because Washington Commons is not one of them.

I just moved my father into Washington Commons this weekend and it has been a very good experience so far minus the stress of moving in. The facility is very nice and appears very well maintained. My father's one room apartment looks new to me. The common areas are also very nice and welcoming with a very nice dining room and activity areas on the first, second, and third floor. The facility could use a second elevator as opposed to the one single elevator that is often tied up and full during meal times. Additionally, more signage pointing to the alternate routes and areas would be VERY helpful. I only realized after the second day that there were stairs beside my father's room that led to the outside and interior corridors. I am still unsure where some of the rooms are that are listed on the activity calendar. There is cable provided as part of the rent but it is via a basic cable box/outlet affixed to the wall and a coax cable. I spent 2 hours setting up 2 televisions as there were no instructions other than how to set up the universal remote. I asked for assistance but was told that the cable company would have to be contacted the next day. That would have been pure misery for my television addicted father so I sat down and figured it out myself. Basically, you have hook up the TV via the coax cable, set the TV to channel 3, do a channel search and then point the remote at the box on the WALL as opposed to the TV. The following day, a maintenance worker very kindly helped me to pair the remotes to the TVs so that is no longer necessary. There is no wifi in the apartments unless the resident is directly over the office where the office router is kept. I asked about it and was told that we would have to purchase wifi separately via an Xfinity router and service agreement. That is disappointing when all they need to do is install a few wifi boosters around the building. Meal time is great and the food is relatively good in my opinion. They have 2-3 choices of entrees every meal and although not fancy, the food is good. The beverage choices are limited to water, coffee, tea (unsweet), and lemonade. The servers are amazing, very patient, and extremely helpful. If there is a rude one on staff, we have not encountered her/him. My understanding from my Father is that they also have snack foods in between meals in the common rooms but I have not witnessed that myself yet. He likes it and goes there for coffee in the morning. Moving in was stressful as moving always is but this move could have went easier if I had known there were carts and hand trucks kept in the back to help with moving etc. We found them midway through moving when I asked if they had any wagons or carts that we could use. Additionally, there is no back door so you are forced to lug everything large through the lobby and to the elevator if it will fit into the passenger elevator. If not, you have to lug it up 3 flights of stairs. That could use a lot of improvement but I'm not sure what could be done other than an additional elevator and perhaps hiring professional movers. The staff at Washington Commons are all very nice and very willing to help. I have not encountered a single one that was not pleasant and helpful when help was sought. They all seem to get along well with the residents even when the residents are complaining about something (empty soap dispenser). [Removed] in particular is great and is the primary reason that we chose Washington Commons. He gave us the first of multiple tours that I took with my daughter and then my father. I'm not sure that we would have chosen Washington Commons if not for the first tour that we took with [Removed] in November. My father was supposed to be paired with another resident to orient him to the facility but that has not happened to my knowledge. Because my father has memory problems, I hired 'Right at Home' to provide well care visits at mealtime and activity time. This serves to remind him to go to meals and to participate in the activities. I think that he will adjust to the routine at WC in a week or two and won't need the aides for very long but it a great service to have available.

I have no complaints of how things are going for my loved one since she made the move into this community. She is doing a lot better than I expected and I am very pleased to see her improvement. The staff are wonderful people, they are not only kind to her but to all of the family as well. My mother has had no problems with the meals and enjoys the activities from time to time with the other residents.