Westminster at Lake Ridge a CCRC

Over the holiday I went to visit my aunt at Westminster. She is in the memory care unit that is called "The Neighborhood" - no idea why. When I walked in I could not find any staff. There was an elderly patient sitting in a wheelchair, slumped to the side, almost slid off the seat. This person obviously could not get out of the wheelchair, and did not have the strength to correct their sitting position. While I checked around for help, the patient continued to call out Help, Help. Finally I went to the person and said I would help, but the poor thing was obviously terrified. I made sure that a fall was not imminent. On my continued search for my aunt and some staff I encountered more people confined to chairs, in various places in the center. Someone was beating on the locked door to the neighborhood. Over the years my aunt has received good care in Assisted Living, and I have met very kind people working there. The problem is nursing care and memory care. There is not enough staff, and what they do have are barely able to keep up. They are severely understaffed and it is a chronic situation. Recently, it has become dramatically worse, there have been cutbacks, and I am very worried about her future. I also discovered that the Executive Director, head of HR and a significant amount of nursing staff are now also suddenly gone. The marketing department does a great job selling people on the amenities of this place, but I think if more people took an unscheduled tour of the assisted living and memory care areas, the last beds they will be provided there, they would be afraid to give control of their last days to these people. I was horrified and brokenhearted at the conditions in which I found my aunt and the even worse conditions in which I found her fellow patients. I honestly have no idea what to do. I need to share this, if only to remind people to dig deeper into the future of care here.

Over the holiday I went to visit my aunt at Westminster. She is in the memory care unit that is called "The Neighborhood" - no idea why. When I walked in I could not find any staff. There was an elderly patient sitting in a wheelchair, slumped to the side, almost slid off the seat. This person obviously could not get out of the wheelchair, and did not have the strength to correct their sitting position. While I checked around for help, the patient continued to call out Help, Help. Finally I went to the person and said I would help, but the poor thing was obviously terrified. I made sure that a fall was not imminent. On my continued search for my aunt and some staff I encountered more people confined to chairs, in various places in the center. Someone was beating on the locked door to the neighborhood. Over the years my aunt has received good care in Assisted Living, and I have met very kind people working there. The problem is nursing care and memory care. There is not enough staff, and what they do have are barely able to keep up. They are severely understaffed and it is a chronic situation. Recently, it has become dramatically worse, there have been cutbacks, and I am very worried about her future. I also discovered that the Executive Director, head of HR and a significant amount of nursing staff are now also suddenly gone. The marketing department does a great job selling people on the amenities of this place, but I think if more people took an unscheduled tour of the assisted living and memory care areas, the last beds they will be provided there, they would be afraid to give control of their last days to these people. I was horrified and brokenhearted at the conditions in which I found my aunt and the even worse conditions in which I found her fellow patients. I honestly have no idea what to do. I need to share this, if only to remind people to dig deeper into the future of care here.

We have visited a few places as guests of residents but had always been pleased with Westminster when we visited a cousin of my mother many times over several years. She had an apartment that was very comfortable and we enjoyed our meals with her in the dining room. When we started thinking of our own future we discovered Westminster was going through a major renovation and liked the plans that we saw and the staff's care and accommodations for the present residents. We also liked the size of the facility and the activities within Westminster and in the neighboring community. Westminster's continuing care plan is also and important consideration as we get older. We can make our move when the time comes without mourning what we leave behind us as it gets more difficult to keep up with a house and yard.