Sunrise Senior Living

Attractive real estate property with good activities well suited for only independent level seniors. Marketing age in place is contradictory to abilities to fulfill that promise for this AL. Not enough staff and constantly changing to inexperienced staff who don't know residents careplan. If senior is in wheelchair or uses walker, not enough staff for prompt assistance in transport or two hour checks. Not enough Med Techs for timely delivery of meds. Lots of mix ups in getting right prescriptions. Med Techs passing meds answering calls at same time. Not enough CNAs to transport or assist with baths, transfers safely to bed or toilet, long waits. Few weekend staff, no guarantee of LPN or RPN on site. Long term residents have more issues longer they stay, too many new residents with acute issues coming in; wandering; dementia; poor mobility being accepted put more pressure on existing staff. Lots falls and calls for ambulance. New Emeritus owner exerts pressure on marketing for heads in beds regardless of staffing to meet needs. Head of Nursing trying to correct but adequate staff to patient ratio not required by law in AL, yet same issues in nursing level care exist here. Charges for extras not disclosed up front, and changes to fee structure occur regardless of original contract. Increases every year, yet assistance services diminished at Gayton Terrace. AL not able to accommodate aging in place, that is a myth.

They are very friendly and kind to my mom at Sunrise of Park Ridge. But she was there for two weeks and had a bladder infection. We knew she had it and told them and told them specific things that they needed to do for her specifically which they did not do. They said that mom was resistant, which I told them she would be and they needed to just get it done no matter what. Due to this mom ended up declining and going to the hospital after a very short period of time. It took me threatening them for them to do what they needed to do. We were really disappointed.

We chose Sunrise Countryside for our loved one due to 1. immediate placement 2. proximity to family 3. Said they could provide service all the way through hospice 4. Staff seemed very friendly and residents appeared active, mingling in common areas, resident room doors were open and there was a sense of vitality. What we didn't know was that this particular location does not have Director or Head of Nursing; both positions are being covered by other staff until filled. This has contributed to poor communication between all parties...family, nursing staff, aides, etc. Our loved one has Kaiser insurance. We were told there would be no problem. our loved one gets prescriptions through Kaiser or free from the VA. We signed up for rhe medication management plan at Sunrise and handed over all the prescriptions at check in. The acting head of nursing told us that they would not handle any of the refills since we would not be using Sunrise's pharmacy. She said family is responsible for knowing when refills are required, we have to deliver them in person to Sunrise, they would not accept any RX delivered from the VA or Kaiser by mail, and all prescriptions have to be "repackaged" by Sunrise pharmacy at the resident's expense. None of this was explained to us beforehand, and we learned that medication management only means they will give the medicine to the resident as prescribed. Our loved one said the food is ok, not great. The buildings and grounds are nice. The aides seem attentive but I was disappointed when our loved one developed a skin problem and no staff reported it.

We contacted Sunrise because of their enhanced license. The facility at Dix Hills impressed us during our first visit and tour with their attitude, friendliness, and appearance of attentive staff and management. An important aspect of our decision to place our very elderly mother here was that we were assured they had good, timely working relationships with doctors and psychiatrists for the needs of a resident who was physically active and alert but slipping into a dementia state. This was especially important as it was her first experience being in an assisted living facility and her medications had just been adjusted prior to her move. They went above and beyond to assure us they could get their doctors involved immediately to monitor and adjust her meds as needed. Unfortunately, the experience was not a good one as they were unable to get their psychiatrist in to see mom for almost a month. Mom developed a UTI within the first two weeks which went undetected until we insisted upon a test because of behavioral changes. Shortly after, we were called about a fall that was witnessed for which they decided it was not necessary to send her out to be checked. She was checked subsequently as a result of other issues and found to have multiple broken ribs. Regardless, our most concerning issue was their focus was on ordering one- on- one care (almost doubling the monthly costs) prior to and apparently instead of reviewing, monitoring, and adjusting her meds and following up on possible medical reasons for her increased needs. The ultimate result is that in less than three months we moved our mother to another facility that has better relationships with their house doctors and puts into action a sense of urgency and care.

I have been visiting my mother here 7 days a week for a few months, my mother has been mostly in the rehab side and spent a little over a week in the assisted living side there, so I feel my many observations are valid. As this is all new to me, I didn't know what to expect, but I did expect more empathy and understanding than I got. Right from the start, I was unaware I needed to put my mother's name on her clothing, and was informed after the fact that this is basic. Basic for those who do this for a living, not me. Anyway, I noticed another resident wearing my mother's close for a few days, and brought it to their attention. So, if no name is on the clothes, they are just given out to whoever? Really? My dealing with the social worker there was usually unpleasant as well most of the time. ( I don't appreciate being spoken to like a child) My mother has a tendency to fall out of bed, I told them this, she fell out at least twice, and got calls in the evening advising me, I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that but they said they are required to call. They make NO effort to address this, I made a few suggestions, and was told no constantly (no rail on bed, no chairs by bed, no to sitting in a chair until she gets sleepy, no to this, no to that) These people are in this business, my mother can't be the only resident like this, but apparently based on one conversation with a staff member there, she is. Odd for sure. Upon moving her to the assisted living side, I mentioned this, was told a rubber mat (later on advised for purchase) could be placed along side the bed, (but it wasn't at first), and the bed could be lowered. The staff seems to stick to a standard script with a smile. I got "yessed" a lot but them being more proactive would have been nice. They tell me they are not allowed to restrain residents, but allowing them to fall out of bed is fine, it seems. Additionally my mother developed a huge bruise on her upper thigh, the nurse advised she was bleeding internally due to this. My guess I she got this bruise falling out of bed, it didn't just happen by itself, and I refuse to believe my mother who is frail and fragile would NOT bruise after a fall out of bed. My take on on this whole experience is that the place exists to make money, and providing care is secondary. The place looks great, and the dog and cat there are a nice plus too. Some of the staff went out of their way to be pleasant, but I expected more as I was there every day.

We were recently billed for over $1000 in medications ordered by Sunrise staff without notice to us, which should have been provided by the VA. There appears to be a breakdown in communications/policy in the office of the health care manager.

When I toured here, they seemed to be disorganized. I was asking questions about how long the different staff members had been there. Most of them were new, there is a high turnover rate there. We had heard from other people who had stayed here before that they were unhappy with them. During the tour there was a woman who had fallen, it seemed like it took them a while to get things under control and seemed very chaotic, it also seemed like the woman laid there on the floor for a while as they tried to get it together. Maybe with time they will be better, but other Sunrise communities seem to be better organized.

Nice place

The Courtyard at Lakewood had potential to be a beautiful place for seniors; however, corporate has not kept up with the maintenance or put any money into this facility in a long time. Unfortunately there are MANY maintenance concerns that go unaddressed. Leaky roof and garage, bursting pipes, constantly breaking elevators and laundry facilities just to name a few. Safety has also become quite an issue. My mother lived there for a year and we could not get her out fast enough. Except for the friendliness of the assistant managers (who have since left) and the friendliness of the residents, there is very little nice to say about this facility.

Problems continue at this facility. There is a constant turnover of personnel. They have not yet had an Activities Director that has related to the residents in any meaningful way. At this time, they are again without one and supposedly actively searching. There is a new management company and that, too, has brought some problems. They have substituted med techs for LPN's. A med tech doesn't have the background to pickup on problems as an LPN does. The caregivers rarely seem to relate to their charges...they lack warmth and caring.

My mother has been at the facility for 2 years. The daily staff of personal aids and kitchen staff is excellent. Caring and considerate. I have had a good relationship with the management for nursing and direct services personnel. However I have had major issue with the business office over important paper work and billing which have since been resolved. I would review all of your parents applications, emergency info, and bills on a regular basis. The director at Sunrise is lacking in professionalism and compassion. I had to go above her to a supervisor and to corporate to finally get some information corrected on my mom's emergency sheet. Make sure your parent's doctor is connected to the hospital you choose. This is key. The doctor at Sunrise sees my mom as a "private" patient and he is very good. Lutheran Memorial seems a good hospital and that is who the facility uses. Good luck continue to advocate and watch dog your parent's care regularly.

Our biggest issue is they claim to work with special diets, but in reality, the kitchen staff keeps telling my Mom, "just don't eat it!" She gets terrible diarrhea when she has any of their soups for lunch. The scrambled eggs in the morning are scrambled in some sort of oil that also causes her diarrhea. Many food items at either breakfast, lunch or dinner cause the same gastric distress. She has told them she can't eat things cooked with tropical oils, soybean oil, generic "vegetable" oil. The answer from the kitchen staff is always the same...don't eat it! When she is paying over $4000.00 a month for a small apartment and meals are included, shouldn't they work with people with special diets?? How do any of the diabetics survive there also. Needless to say we are looking for another place for her to move that actually does cater to special diets.

I didn't get very far in touring this community. When I saw it I immediately didn't want to go in. The outside was really old looking and looked like an apartment complex in a residential area. There was really no parking available, it just did not seem like an ideal situation.

This community was very expensive. A young employee made a comment that I found to be very callous and uncaring, and inappropriate, that really made me think twice about this community. He mentioned that when the residents are with it and able to understand, you pay more for a better community and when they don't really understand anymore, you spend less on a place that isn't as nice, since they don't know where they are then anyway. I got the impression that they just want to nickle and dime these people for all they have. We chose something else.

We toured this facility a few months ago and we felt it was overpriced for what they offer. We saw some other places that offered more for less.

Sunrise of Haverford is friendly and nice place. The daily care is fine. However there is very little emphasis on family communication from Sunrise care management. My stepfather experienced a great deal of difficulty around a roommate situation that we were not made aware of. Sunrise only contacted us when the situation had reached the point where they felt (without family input) that his level of agitation required one to one care. If this facility wishes to move up a level its leadership should consider that family participation be an aspect of implementing decisions made by Sunrise that are significant events in the resident's life.

Moved my parents there earlier this year have to say the staff that actually helps my folks are great. The people in Admin offices not so great they promise you all kinds of things get you in there then pretty much forget about you. The food is pretty good but the portions are way way to small. For the price you have to pay you would think the Admin staff would be bending over backwards to help, we are thinking of moving my parents but know it would be a set back for them as they have dementia. We are going to give it until late summer and if it keeps up we will do more through research and move them if need be..Also when I only made "fair" of friendliness it only applies to Admin Staff not the staff actually caring for my parents. It would be great to actually have an email answered in a timely manner instead of having to call

Prices are high here. A studio of about 300 sq. feet runs about $3660 per month. A larger studio runs $4050. A one-bedroom would be $3750-$4650. This does not include care costs which range from $527-$2480 in additional fees. The 'membership' fee is $2000 and is charged only once.

The Independent Living side is the focus here. My mother was a resident in Independent Living for a while and enjoyed it a lot. The staff is generally pleasant. The Assisted Living side seems dreadful. They just seem to be sitting around there without much to do. There is not enough space for them to plan many activities, and they pack the place, so it's a full money making house. The residents on the Independent side live in fear that they might end up there. Overhearing comments from the residents on the Independent side, such as, "I hope I don't end up over there" was quite common. They would be best as a fully Independent Living facility, which is what they do best.

It was clean and friendly, just like most of the places I saw, it was the sales staff that made the difference. I never got a straight answer out of them. They quoted me three different prices. That made me nervous, what was going to happen once we moved in? I went with a community that was much more straightforward to deal with.