Bonaventure

Gibson Creek Retirement Cottage & Assisted Living was a horrible place. The ownership company and it's operations officer is worst [removed] When I moved her I moved her into a one bedroom unit and I was setting her up with medicaid but medicaid wont pay if they are in a one bedroom. The manager said it was fine and the family would just pay the difference between a studio and a one bedroom. Well, that turned out not to be the case and they had to move her into a studio. [removed] Her call light was under blankets to where she couldn't even get to it. The staff didn't even know she was in building when I called to check on her. They charged us for things they weren't provided. It was just a terrible experience. I would not recommend this facility.

I would never advise seniors to approach this company without a family member advocate. They do not disclose and or complete or explain legal documents. When tragedy happens It only becomes about money. Please have attorney read all documents prior to signing paperwork. DO NOT GIVE ANY MONEY. Our family had to find a place for safety for both parents. They took advantage of vulnerability and would not return calls and was very unprofessional And disheartening. No condolences were offered by any staff when our family member passed . Inhuman. I would look around before deciding on this facility.

I am forwarding this on because of the complaints, lack of response and follow through on several basic issues from simply getting a television to work in their room to the [removed]in the dining room. My family is paying for services that they are not getting. 1) The meals are the biggest complaint. Our parents go to the dining room to eat and it takes nearly an hour to get their food from the time they order. When they do get it, it is cold, not what they ordered, or their food never shows up. This is unacceptable, particularly for people who depend on this service and are paying for it. Often, this lack of service interferes with doctor and therapist appointments that they will be late for. My parents end up not eating and going hungry. We wrote a letter to relay that this [removed] is unacceptable and there have been several follow up conversations. All of these receive the same response, “We’re working on it.” I did a search on reviews for Spring Creek (included below) and it looks like they have been [removed] their residents and “working on it” for two years now. 2) Basic television service is included in the cost of their room and theoretically we are paying for it. It has been 2 months since my parents moved in and there is still no TV. I have personally asked the onsite facilities to get their TV working and the response was "We have a bunch of old boxes up stairs I will see if I can get one working, they seem to break down a lot." So they brought a box by that doesn't work. This is unacceptable. 3) They were supposed to get an orientation on how the facility runs where things are etc. That took over a month and it was very brief. I guess if you are looking for a place to put your elderly family I would not suggest Spring creek. [removed]

My parents moved into Gibson Creek late last summer. The care there was barely sufficient on a good day, extraordinarily terrible on a bad one. I should have known - they had recently sent an RN from another Bonaventure facility in a corporate attempt to "clean the place up" as we were told. Unfortunately, we didn't know that until after they moved in. She stayed for three months and then left. Our initial service plan review occurred 8 days AFTER they moved in (should have been done prior to move in). My dad was being given medications that my family did not approve or know about. My dad actually asked my sister (who is a nurse and was doling out his medications in their apartment) if he should take hers or "theirs" and that someone was giving him pills at meal times. THAT is how we found out Gibson Creek had decided to administer his medication. Luckily he was on 99% vitamins so it wasn't a health risk at that time. BUT we should have moved him at that point - it never got better. They waited 45 minutes for the call lights to be answered at times and sometimes no one would show up at all. There were several occurrences where my parents needed to be ready to go to an appointment and the front desk was notified well in advance of the time (prior to actual day). These requests never went smoothly. He was getting pressure sores and they were supposed to turn him every two hours – which did not happen consistently either. The final straw was around 11am one morning when my dad (who is urine and bowel incontinent) hadn’t been checked or cleaned up since bedtime the night before (approx. 8pm). That is unacceptable. On the day my parents moved out, we asked that my dad be ready for medical transport early that morning as the movers themselves were arriving at 9. True to form, no staff member ever showed up that morning and my dad was still in bed when transport arrived to pick him up. The majority of the care-givers are great, but the facility was so understaffed that they didn't get to give the care they would have under normal circumstances. My biggest complaint is the administration. There were around five office managers in the four months we were there - as well as an influx of care givers and other staff. It was impossible to develop a relationship with anyone in the office – these are people who you should be able to trust with your parent’s well-being. We gave notice five weeks ago - I calculated out pro-rated numbers based on their lease termination policy and over five weeks later they are saying I still owe them hundreds of dollars but CANNOT show me any itemization whatsoever. This book keeping and policy handling is in line with the other administrative nightmares that occurred while we were there. There is just too much to type. GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. When your parents are in their last few years (or in my case months) of their lives, we all want to be sure we are making the right decisions and providing the best possible environment for them - even if it does cost over $5500 per month. As a child and support system for them, by far the biggest mistake I ever made was moving them to Gibson Creek. The second was letting them stay...

I really didn't want to give Spring Creek a half a star but it wouldn't let me leave it blank. DO NOT MOVE A LOVED ON INTO SPRING CREEK IN BELLINGHAM! I just read the latest state report. Five citations were issued 10/18/14. They have been having med aides doing nurse's duties. Insufficient and untrained staff, leading to falls and medication errors. Lack of state background checks on employees. Lack of national background checks on employees. Many staff members lack certification requirements. I have a family member currently at Spring Creek and we are searching for other facilities. We were promised all sorts of wonderful things. We are lucky if our loved one isn't in dirty clothing, or soaked through with urine. Residents are often neglected due to low staff numbers. ********Stay far, far away!**********

This community looks very nice and a great place to live if you are planning to retire, but it is not a good place for assisted living. Silver Creek is very understaffed they only have 1 caregiver on the floor most of the time to take care of all of the residents there, sometimes they have 2 in the mornings but I have sat back and watched those ladies and they run around all day doing the job of 5. I moved my mom out after 1 month it was so bad. I hope families read this review and think twice before they go through the move in process. The management staff was very nice and helpful but that only goes so far. When it comes to my family I want the best and this is not what you'll get coming here.

This is a true account of incidents that occurred at Bonaventure and is in no way meant to disparage anyone involved but, to educate them and hope they do better to make Bonaventure meet its potential to be a really great place to live...Until then...On July 9th my mother was prescribed nebulizer treatment four times daily for her COPD. She had a bad cough and her O2 levels have been in the low 80s. I called Bonaventure on the 14th to verify that she was getting the treatments. They said their pharmacy—Omnicare—had sent the medication, but not the actual nebulizer and had also failed to inform Bonaventure that they don’t supply nebulizers. Apparently, it wasn’t important enough at Bonaventure to track down a machine until I called them on the 14th, nearly a week after the order. I asked them what they were going to do about it and they finally called the Doctors Clinic and got an order to Lincare for a nebulizer to be delivered to Bonaventure. I would think Bonaventure’s head nurse would have seen the order and done whatever it took to get a nebulizer without waiting nearly a week. I realize that staff people are busy, but COPD is very serious. When an order for medication is received, I expect everyone involved in my mother’s care to scramble to get it to her. They told me she “might get some today, or maybe tomorrow.” She missed several days of a medication she needed four times daily. To breathe. I expect this to be Priority One in the triage pecking order. On July 16th, she received her first nebulizer treatment, a full week after the order was given. On Thursday, July 31st, my mother’s prescription for Duoneb, administered by nebulizer four times daily, was discontinued and replaced by Dr. Prakash at Salem Pulmonary Associates with a Ventolin inhaler. The hand written order sent to Bonaventure was illegible, as per the cliché. On Monday, August 4th, I asked a Bonaventiure nurse if the Duoneb had in fact been replaced by the Ventolin. She said she didn’t think so, because no one at Bonaventure could read Dr. Prakash’ hand writing. They had had Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, plus the weekend, to call SPA and get the prescription clarified, but as of Monday at around 5PM, no one had done so. The nurse said she’d call him, but I did it myself in order to be certain it got done. There are other incidents and examples.

Where do I even start? We have been complaining about this facility ever since we moved my grandmother in. (Shame on us for not relocating her somewhere else). The facility is not clean They nickel and dime you for EVERYTHING!!! ( Apparently toilet paper is not included in room and board!) They are understaffed They do not provide one on one attention to the residents There is zero value I could go on and on but I basically want anyone interested in this facility to make sure they investigate it inside and out. In addition to paying the +$5000/month for my grandmother to stay there, we have a nurse who comes in to bathe her twice a week since Gibson Creek has clearly demonstrated they cannot be depended on. Clearly, it's time for us to move my grandmother to a place she deserves to be. One where she will be respected and engaged instead of being left to rot in her room or parked in front of a TV for hours upon hours.

The staff is very young and inexperienced. The training the staff has is extremely poor. I had lots of issues with everything from the director to medication to communication. They are not what they market at all. When we wanted to stay the last couple of days of our mother’s life they charge us $50 each and would only take cash. That just did not seem like a very professional deal. They tell you one thing and then switch it out and tell you another, but then do not follow through with either. I would not recommend this community to anyone.