Suite Living Senior Care

For activities during the week they are great but for the weekends we would give them a 1 stars The residents just sit in their rooms for 2 days. They get very bored. When [name removed] is absent no one covers for her. With the value it was a rough start for us but seems to be getting a little better. Mom is supposed have a shower every Thursday and my sister comes up on Thursday evening and she hadn't had a shower yet. My sister showers her. Since mom has dementia, she only needs to be reminded.

The nurse manager [name removed] has been an absolutely pleasure to work with, she is incredibly sweet with all of the residents and anytime we have any questions she takes care of it right away and is on top of it. However we do feel sometimes there is a lot of down time with the employees so they could do more to have an active environment and they could have maybe some more snacks for the residents since the meal portions seem a little small.

I think it is way too expensive for the services that are provided. It was very hard to get in, you had to wait to be let in and there were no staff to be found. I think there should have been a code to get in rather than having to wait. He was supposed to get hospice when he got here but they were so busy that he did not get it until the day before he passed away. We were disappointed in the whole experience.

If I were advising a friend who was going to be moving their mom into this facility and coordinating with hospice care; I'd tell them to get every single thing written down, don't take their word, and take your own check list every time you visit. They'll tell you one thing, but will only do what they can get away with. Make sure that you have records in regards to what care is required for your loved one and create a check list yourself. Compare your checklist to theirs and make sure it lines up, because YOU will be the one who's responsible for overseeing the care of your loved one. If you fully trust them, you will be surprised by how short they fall. If I had to do it all over again, that's what I'd do. I decided to fully trust them, because I'd heard such wonderful things about hospice care, but that was not our experience. The lead nurse was just wonderful, whereas some of the daily staff we interacted with were not. My loved one was there for six weeks before she passed. She had late stage dementia when she moved in, and I was with her everyday because I lived close by. When I tell people the story about the end of her life, I rave about A Place for Mom. My Senior Living Advisor [name removed] facilitated things for me, and she was just wonderful. During intake for my loved one, the hospice care staff from [agency name removed] and Suite Living were awesome, but they didn't follow through on any of the stuff they said they'd do. So I wouldn't give either of them high ratings. A Place for Mom did a great job, but the community did not. I thought maybe it was my own grief and being with my loved one throughout the end of her life. So I had to take a step back and evaluate it, as if it were someone else's experience. Now I'm pretty clear on how I feel. The care got worse towards the end of her life and I don't know if they didn't know what to do, or if they just didn't care enough. If I wasn't there to feed her, she wouldn't eat. Suite Living staff said, "We don't have enough people to sit down 1 on 1 with residents to feed them, that's hospice's job". It then felt like it was my job to relay that message to the hospice agency, but I thought there was an ongoing communication between the two. I asked to see the notes that they've communicated these things with the hospice agency and of course, they never showed it to me. When it comes to meals and dining - if you're someone who can fully take care of yourself, it's great, but that wasn't the case for my loved one. She needed assistance to eat, and there were times I'd visit and there'd be food all over the front of her and in her lap because she tried to eat, but couldn't get the food to her mouth. I asked them to put a napkin or apron on her to protect her clothing and they were not willing to do that either. My loved one was not vain, but she did take pride in her appearance. She was always clean and well groomed. During intake I asked if they had a hair dresser and they said yes. I told them my loved one would love to have her hair done once a week, when can we get this setup? Their reply was that it could be done that upcoming Monday. As it turns out, she only got her hair done one time - which was five days before she passed. It's like they didn't do it and didn't care to do it. She was also supposed to be getting eye drops for glaucoma 4 times a day. I noticed that her eyes were changing, so I asked when will they give her the eye drops because I'd never seen anyone do it. The caregiver replied that they give it to her at night. I then asked to see her chart. Other times I asked to see the chart, they wouldn't allow me to stand next to them. This time I was adamant, and she allowed me to stand next to her. The instructions said only once a day. I looked through all of her medical records and even called a family member who was the administrator of medication for our loved one. The records I found, alongside my family member, both confirmed that there were no changes made by a doctor and it was still supposed to be administered 4 times per day. At the end, I don't think she could hardly see. Another example would be the laundry. Yes they would get it done, but some of her items came up missing. I but bought new towels for her upon moving in, and some of them disappeared. I'm the one who moved her in and I'm the one who removed her belongings out when she passed. So I know that some of them are gone. I told them this and they said they'd look around for them, but they never got back to me about it. The facility was only open for about 6 months and that might be of value to some people. They say they provide end of life care in hospice, and I think my loved one was the only one there in hospice - so it wasn't like the agency had a high level of need or demand from other residents. The day we did intake for my loved one, [name removed], from Suite Living's corporate office was filling in for the director. I told her I had names of hospice agencies and asked for her opinion on who could provide the best care. She recommended [agency name removed]. She said they were excellent and how she used to work with them. From her recommendation, that was my experience. Again, It's up to YOU to oversee the care of your loved one here at Suite Living.

Ask if they give meds according to prescribed directions. For example, take with food or take on an empty stomach, take with 6 oz of water. Ask if all the nurses turn their phones off (I guess to save the battery) which means the pendant calls from residents can't register on their phones til they turn their phones on !! Yeah, it happens!!! Ask if when someone dies, the management could respectfully announce this to the other residents. These residents who have lived side by side become extended family, loved ones. Then someone dies and no one hears diddly squat about it. Ask what the employee turnover rate is?? Ask why so many employees quit? Ask them if your loved one is eligible for hospice.

It was a brand new facility. Unless I asked, my loved ones care needs were unmet. They were short staffed, and lots of things were left undone. This really opened my eyes to elder care needs/unmet needs, and the elders are unable to advocate for themselves.

Our family had an in person tour and we liked nothing about this community at all, we just knew it was not going to be a good fit. You weren't able to go anywhere in the community without hearing loud music in the hallways, or residents lined up in wheelchairs just watching TV. There wasn't a lot of space for families to come and visit and the meals and dining service did not seem to be very good.