Bonaventure

We moves mom into Olympic Place a little over a week ago. Things are going pretty good but it is certainly not perfect. Here are my concerns/ I am concerned with the Assisted Living Services fees. They have a scale of 1 to 5 service levels. When we first talked with the folks at Olympic Place, mom was going to be at level 1 (the minimum service level) which was somewhat expensive, but doable. After a couple days, they bumped her up to a level 2 then level 3 which brings the coast from $750 per month to $1600 per month. Which is not acceptable as I don't feel she needs these additional services and she frankly cannot afford it. I am still working with them/doctor/therapists to get her fees back down to a more reasonable level. Mom has complained that she is seated for meals at a table where no one talks. This might be because, they aren't able to or don't wish to. I don't know. I was original told that the management would try to get her at a table with people with similar interests. This is not happening apparently. I have asked the management to put mom at a table with more "lively" people. She isn't inclined to go to the dining room if the meals are an unpleasant/uncomfortable experience. They also have a Low Income Credit for folks who earn less than a specific income level. Other place advertise this feature, but I had to pursue this avenue as it was never mentioned until I broached the subject. Make certain you discuss this option. On the positive side, the place is VERY clean and the folks working there are very kind and helpful. The apartment is small, but very functional. It appears that there are plenty of activities for the resident to enjoy. The hard part in getting a new resident to get involved in the activities. Once the resident has been there for 4 years, they can continue living there even if they run out of funds and uses Medicaid. This was one of the main reasons that I selected Olympic Place. Some of the other facilities would kick her to the curb if she spent down all her assets. I have taken a very active role in her care and the transition. This is not the sort of place you just move mom in and leave. You need to be very proactive to insure what you originally negotiated is indeed what is being done.

They have some cottages that a lot of couples use. They're right across from a grocery store but not real convenient as far as walking to things. There's a drug store but there's not really any shopping other that.

Elevators were frequently inoperable or down, therefore residents who could not take the stairs were unable to go up or down. They did make some efforts at making the freight elevator available. There were problems with the cook staff being present during hours they were scheduled, causing delayed food service for all residents. Residents are unhappy with food quality. The waitstaff was very friendly and courteous. The bus that was so highly talked about being able to take residents to Dr. visits or shopping was not available all summer because of mechanical issues. This was a problem for many residents causing them to miss appointments or pay out of pocket to get to appointments. Housekeeping services were provided as promised. Cleanliness of the facility was good.

There are inconsistent staffing and services - salon has been closed for extended periods, the kitchen is often short staffed, there are facilities issues, but also they have good caring staff.

The location and building are nice. The food is not good with very few choices. There aren’t healthy choices or alternatives. There are some social outings but not many. The social side and encouraging gatherings/friendships isn’t as developed as would be helpful for residents. It’s lackluster. The scheduling of dining is restrictive and not ideal. The staff are friendly.

My mother in law is in a 1 bedroom on the 3rd floor. When we were looking last year we told then she can't do stairs because of her knees. During a recent fire alarm she went down early because there was no one to help. I'm scared what will happen to her if there is a fire there. She eats 1 meal a day and no matter the cooked item it's normally always cold or luke warm. With several items undercooked. She now takes her lunch to her room to reheat it. This has also been my experience when I eat there with her. The management turn over has been hard. I use to receive text messages on activities but that has stopped. I no longer recommend it to anyone. The staff is very friendly which is a blessing.

Highly understaffed and current staff is not experienced. Dining hall is very lacking in its offerings, quantity, flexibility and treatment of my parents' is necessary for us to constantly monitor the cleanliness and orderliness of their apartment. Their clothes and bedding/ towels( particularly some expensive ones) have disappeared. Transportation is very limited. Communication is not clear between departments.

Super high staff turnover. BUT that may be normal for assisted living. Building is kept clean. Parents hate the food On more than one occasion I have witnessed staff try to give parents the wrong medication. Fortunately dad knows what he takes and points it out to staff. Unsure of how often this happens

The apartment is a good size. Wet towels are left on the floor. Furniture is moved and knocked around by house cleaning and left. $[removed] was taken out of his wallet and no one seemed to care. Getting him a haircut is difficult to schedule. Otherwise the facility is nice and has good curb appeal.

The maids are out sick at least once a month, but when they come, they do a good job and are very careful. The activities seem to be run by whoever is not busy at the moment. They are not trained in PT or exercise science. No one knows how to use the gym equipment Mom was told to use. The painting classes are fun, with amateurs teaching, but the crafts are projects one would offer a young child. The biggest issue for Mom was the rent increase despite an almost total staff change and the exceedingly slow maintenance for things like broken water faucets. She had no kitchen water for a month. The established wait staff are lovely and know all the residents' names and regular needs—coffee with cream, juice, ice cream for dessert, etc. The young people in the restaurant often take an order and then forget to deliver it. The food is often room temperature, and the noodles are inedible and hard. Otherwise, the food is much more varied and nutritious than at most other places Mom has lived. Overall, I was happy with the care and attention she received at first, but the last six months have been very disappointing.

The executive management is the biggest problem. MOST staff try their best but if they are not supported it doesn't work. AND, if staff are not given clear direction and held to account, it doesn't work. While the physical apartments are nice and the frontline staff does their best, the leadership at this facility is highly disappointing. We are now in our seventh month here, and these critical issues have been happening since day one. There is a massive disconnect between management and staff, meaning the right hand rarely knows what the left hand is doing. Getting a response from administration requires sending numerous emails, and when they finally reply, they offer excuses rather than solutions. Because of this lack of support, the good staff members are left overworked and stretched far too thin. At these high price points—where cost scales up based on apartment size and services rendered—we are absolutely not getting the value we pay for. In fact, we are routinely paying for services that are simply not rendered. If it were not for the enormous daily effort of my brother and me to monitor everything and advocate for our parent, these issues would go completely unaccounted for. Our experience includes: • Medical Protocol Failures: My mom recently experienced a fall. While the staff came immediately and were wonderful in that moment, the facility completely failed to follow its own protocol. Their procedure requires putting the resident on a 24- to 72-hour watch, which entails checking in and taking vital signs multiple times. This simply did not happen, and follow-up with both the resident and family members does not occur. • Inconsistent Services: We pay for a full house cleaning but have witnessed staff only vacuuming, entirely skipping the bathroom cleaning, the kitchen area, and dusting. • Sloppy Operations: We pay for laundry service and constantly have to call because it is either missed on its scheduled day or returns late and sloppy. • Misleading Dining Claims: The dining is just decent, and the promise that residents can order "anything they want, anytime they want" for food or snacks is a complete lie. Residents wait and wait just to have their initial order taken or for a follow-up. Often, requested items like a bowl of soup or a coffee/iced tea refill are simply never provided. • Complete Carelessness: To illustrate their total lack of follow-through, management still has not corrected the spelling on our parent’s nameplate outside their apartment, despite us asking a half-dozen times since moving in. Families looking for strong communication, reliable medical follow-through, and true value for their money should look elsewhere.

Overall we were pleased by front line staff and the condition of the facility. There was an awful lot of turnover of mid-level administrative staff which was problematic. Information was given to. Is that was either not always correct or not followed through with. My mom's situation did get more complicated as she transitioned onto Hospice and assisted living (from independent living) at the same time. RCS was also doing a survey at the time and staff were preoccupied with that vs residents care. Understandable but would have been better if they were adequately staffed. I was not happy with the medication management aspects of my mother's care but she passed soon after Hospice started and the transition period was brief. With more time we probably would've smoothed that aspect out. The biggest issue I had was in trying to get a refund after my mother passed on[Date Removed]. I stopped in, left multiple voicemails and exchanged multiple emails trying get a refund for the remainder of the month. I cited the signed contract and asked for an explanation and or detailed invoice as the amount the initially paid was no whet near what I believed it should have been. I was working with a mid-level employee and making some progress but then communication just stopped. I went in after about 2 weeks without a response and found she was no longer an employee. I then went to the Director and received no concrete help just promises she was on it. I eventually went to a regional manager who did facilitate a more timely process and a refund more in keeping with what I had expected, but still less, but still no invoicing showing charges or how they arrived at the amount. As this was close to the 6 month mark and I was ready to just move on, I accepted what was refunded and stopped communication with them.

And most of them it's a little of this and a little of that and hard to come up with a solid number. Believe it or not although my mom has been gone almost 2 months, we are still dealing with a couple of issues and I will have a more thorough review when all that has settled. Friendliness, for example seems to be at least somewhat, a front. But I guess we can go into all of those things later Still anonymously, I would like to have it on their record that: "Most places require a certain amount of time of private pay before Medicaid kicks in, at Bonaventure when your private pay runs out, you are out. Period. And then probably that means you have no more private pay left to cover care in a different facility until Medicaid kicks in, which leaves you in a tough spot with nowhere to go."

The activities are fun and numerous. I felt like the administration was super friendly and supportive when "selling" the place to us, but communication has decreased since.

Some of the staff don't try very hard and management don't seem to know what they're doing.

It's a nice facility but there is a lot of turnover with the staff. Several promises made while considering the place are suddenly unavailable once you move in. Do not let the fact that meals are included be a deciding factor in your choice. They go through cooks quickly, some better than others. We still buy a lot of food for my mom. Two positive things! It's a beautiful facility and they put a lot of thought into fun activities, outings, holiday celebrations etc.

Lots of activities posted daily but my parents have not participated. Said they aren't interested. Food is one of their biggest complaints though we have nothing to compare it too. Staff is great. Very helpful and friendly. Huge turnover in senior managers at facility. Also not great at follow-up. Apartment is darling. Not sure if staff actually are coming in weekly to clean. Facility in general is quite clean.

Be present with your loved one on a regular basis ... just to make sure your person is included in activities. Variety of activities is what stood out the most.

They do not offer a Diabetic meal plan. They do not separate Dementia tenants from the regular population. They do not monitor the front door, tenants can walk out without any questioning.

Residents that have obvious mental problems are allowed to rent apartments in the independent wing if there is no room in Assisted. They also don't seem to be able to enforce or don't want to enforce problems with resident's dogs that are often pooping and peeing in the common areas.