Benchmark Senior Living

My mom was 96 when she moved to the Willows in July 2024. The people who I dealt with initially were very nice and understanding. [name removed] was great. But as time went on a few of the people in administrative positions were very disappointing. The rent went up considerably after a few months. It had been our understanding the rent increase would be once a year. But a few months later, we were told they had made a mistake in the level care my mother was and increased her level of care to the maximum number which meant a substantial increase in the rent. The first day she was there they were not prepared for her because they didn't have the lift that was needed for her to use the bathroom. This was the main reason we went there because she needed a two-person transfer. My mother eventually would pay over $[removed] a month. I don't feel the communication was good about a few things, one of them being communication with some of the nursing staff. Phone calls weren't returned sometimes and when they were there were no follow up phone calls involved with any medical issues. However, I did receive phone calls informing me residents were complaining that my mother was playing her audio books too loud. I received several phone calls telling me this had to be resolved and that they would work with us, but it was disturbing other people. My mother had macular degeneration and was unable to read her beloved books, so she had to listen to them. She was also very hard of hearing. Both of these health conditions were known when she moved in, and I don't understand why she wasn't given a room near other people who may also have been hard of hearing. Months later they offered to move her to another room, but she was already settled in. I don't feel my mother was treated fairly about this at all. I received a few calls about this. They also told me residents heard her being unfriendly to some of the caretakers which was unlike my mother but I didn't witness it so I didn't know. What bothered us was the fact that they listened to residents. I asked several caretakers if my mother was unkind to them at any time and they said she was not. Most of the CNA''s were wonderful to my mother and she liked them very much as did I. They truly cared about my mother, and we truly cared about them. They were loving and friendly. The people at the reception desk and other employees that I ran into when visiting my mother (almost daily) were very friendly and welcoming. The physical therapy was outstanding. The therapists were excellent and patient and caring. My mother enjoyed the therapy. They were also very encouraging. I don't feel the weekly cleaning was that good especially the bathroom. The lift that was used for her to transfer to the bathroom was dirty and never wiped off. The entertainment was fantastic, and she enjoyed it very much and looked forward to it. She also enjoyed the food. The people that worked in the dining room and pub were wonderful to her. I saw that firsthand. However, as time went on my mother didn't like it there because she felt it was "clicky" and I also witnessed that. Because of the constant phone calls (although I must say they were polite about it) complaining about her listening to these books, and some health issues that we felt had been ignored, she decided she wanted to move to another assisted living, so I looked around for one. We found the [community removed] (also owned by Benchmark). From the minute we walked in we were treated very warmly, and my mother immediately liked it. The director was outstanding as was his staff. We were like an instant family. My mom was evaluated. They took into account her hearing and vision disabilities and found a room for her near other people who were hard of hearing. They treated all of us like royalty and they were very genuine. My mother was scheduled to move in on [date removed] and she was very excited about it. The week before she came down with a bad cold and cough and after some confusion about a chest Xray that was supposed to done at the willows and wasn't, my mom was feeling worse and asked to go the hospital on Thursday. She was eventually admitted. Her condition worsened after a couple of days and sadly, she passed away on Tuesday, [date removed], the day after she was supposed to move to her new place. She was so looking forward to it too. I think the thing that bothered me the most out of all of this was that after her being there for almost a year, the only communication I received after she passed from the Willows was an EMAIL expressing their condolences which I felt was ironic because they didn't have any trouble calling me a few times about my 97year old mother (who was probably paying more than the people complaining) having the volume up too loud. [community removed] sent beautiful flowers and a nice note. We certainly weren't looking for anything, but a simple sympathy card from the Willows would have gone a long way. Receiving an email just proved to me and to my family that the Willows in Mansfield is just in it for the money, which is a very sad thing to say, but that's how we feel.

This could be the perfect place for you. I moved in too soon thinking that mostly independent living with some help from long-term care insurance would offset the bill. It.s not that easy. Care for things like help with shoes and socks is added to the bill so decreases the insurance benefit. I guess it is the same in all of these facilities. I expected more independent people with fewer memory issues. As it turns out, I will be returning to renting in a fully independent apartment complex. I wish I had saved the money. Not all places are as expensive as Capitol Ridge. Do your research.

I like the Village at Buckland Court the place is nice so are all the people. The only complaints that I have are you are assigned seats for meals. I hate that. My meal mates are very nice but they don't talk much. I am used to table hopping and you get to meet more people and that's more fun!When I moved in they took the guard rails off my bed. They told me to buy Halo (I don't remember the whole name) they cost $[removed] a piece which is too costly so I never got them. That is not right. Two very stupid rules! The village is a really nice place the people are very nice they do have a couple things that I have problems with. One is that they have assigned seats for meals and my meal mates don't talk very much and I'm used to being at [community removed] and the residents at [community removed] they both have unassigned seating and no one is allowed to save a seat for someone so anybody can go to any table and that's great I enjoyed that thoroughly

They are too expensive for what they offer and provide. Some people are a bit more intellectual and could be more stimulated.

When I had questions they found answers for me! The food was not that great! I think they reheated in microwave too much ! Her last assisted living food was really good!

After assuring me there would be no additional charges to the quoted price, after a few weeks they started hitting us with additional charges.

What they could improve on would be the nursing and direct care staff, HIRE MORE HELP! With this area of improvement, yes we would most definitely recommend the community to other families. But with the lack of staffing not at all

Administrative staff-sales-5. The other admin-3. The best experience with Tatnuck was with [name removed] The sales person. The food and activities were also good. Communication and health care was poor with nursing and admin.

I feel the communication is not good both among the staff, as well as to the adult children. I'm kind of unique in that I'm a gerontologist as well as senior living designer so I am more aware of things than the average person, and question more. But I've been a little frustrated on how they handled certain situations with my dad without communicating with me first.

There was a lot of turn over. I Found mom sitting by herself one time and nobody knew where she was. I was surprised more of the staff didn't help look for her. I would have liked to see the staff trying to engage mom more in the activities. a lot of times staff were on there phones and sometimes annoyed that I was asking them for help getting mom some ice cream. Not a lot of them could speak English. I would not recommend them.

pay attention to details during your tour Check trash outside front door Coffee and tea area missing cups or drinks Healthy Menu items constantly not available: fish, carrots, fruit one weekday trip but no evening outings Room cleaning not always available due to staff turnover Beauty services a few hours on Friday with months of zero services Management communication poor Rooftop patio not well maintained or used Dinner service takes @an hr due to understaffing Staff try their best under challenging environment

Overall, Benchmark is a nice facility, Floor staff are very friendly and helpful and most importantly to the residents like my mother. The facility is nice and clean and recently remodeled. Negatively speaking, we were just hit with an 11% increase for my mother's care. Which is very excessive and contrary to what I was told I could expect for annual increases when I went through the due diligence process before moving my mother in. The administrative staff has not been very helpful with regard to discussion on this issue.

Overall, the facility was clean, well maintained and the staff was professional. Communication was a bit challenging on the care of the resident with staff and nursing care and hospice. Rotating nursing staff makes it hard for communication to be filtered through properly. Staff was not ware of the needs of the resident to help with meal time and left unattended. Although discussed during the interview process it was an issue. That was resolved quickly.

Overall dad had a fairly good experience at Evans Park. They were a bit too quick to call an ambulance for a minor fall. The first year they had him listed and charged at a higher rate than he should have been. Not until a full time Director of Care was there and did a reevaluation was his status changed. There was no transparency on the original evaluation. There was an ongoing issue with housekeeping and their inability to properly make a bed or hang up his clothes. The majority of the staff were fabulous and became family for dad and for me. They were a phenomenal support group during dad's last months. For us they exuded love. We still keep in touch. I will be forever grateful for their love and especially their hugs.

I was expecting the director to be more responsive to requests for information about my loved one. The facility itself is quite nice and the staff seem friendly, but I expected more for the high cost.

The staff is friendly. I think that the cost is very high, I don't know if anyone else could afford it

I have nothing to compare Benchmark with. My mother seems happy. We're generally ok with Benchmark but the administration could be better at communicating between departments.

Regarding memory care, I was told residents would be taken on outings but that never occurred while my loved one was there. Activities are not really patient centered as promoted in Marketing. Snacks offered could be healthier. Fresh fruit appeared to be limited to breakfast. Not sure all staff are adequately trained to deal with Alzheimer patients. Some of the furniture needs replacing in common areas. Dining room chairs are heavy and make loud screeching sounds on the floor that are not conducive to Alzheimer patients. I did mention this to staff on more than one occasion.

It's a clean, up-to-date building. The care could be improved. My mother fell and was left on the ground for nearly an hour and had to call 911 for herself from the ground although her room was directly next to the nurses station.

For the meals are often good but very high cholesterol and except for salads, they cannot do vegetables. We would recommend this community to other families based on the experience we have had so far.