Benchmark Senior Living

1. Aides have 7 minutes to respond to a call if you push your button. Sometimes you need to push the button a few times to get someone to come because of demand and staff levels. 2. Nurses on staff are not there to care for the residents if anything happens - it is all handled by outside nursing staff at a cost. So just like living at home without a nurse. The nurses manage meds but, don’t administer them unless short staffed on senior aides that generally hand out. 3. Leaks everywhere in the building especially when it rains hard. 4. Office staff constantly lose paperwork, checks etc.... seem a bit unorganized and not on top of things. Bills do not come consistently month over month at the same time. When you do get them they give you 7 days to pay them inclusive of mail timing. A little unrealistic regarding response timing. It’s considered late the minute you mail the bill. 5. Doctor comes in 1 time a week on Thursdays but, you cannot see them iunless you are signed up to see them. 6. Very limited staff on weekends. The good news is parking in the staffing parking lot B is pleantiful on weekends. 7. Cost of meds are not included in the administering charge hence the up front expense is titled as such. You get a separate fee from the pharmacy. 8. They charge $5 fee for meal delivery per meal and it generally comes 30 minutes after the dining room rush is done 9:30, 1:30 and 6:30 and usually cold. 9. Make sure you ask for a documented listing of all incidental charges. I’m sure we haven’t hit them all yet. 10. The washing machines on the 2nd floor which is supposedly the best one one looks like it is 20 years old and only works just okay to throughly clean clothes. 11. Food is pretty good and servers attentive. 12. People working there do seem to genuinely care. 13. Reaction times are a bit delayed and need to follow up a few times for changes or new requests (new meds, maintenance etc... unless you are right on top of them). Wondering how reactionary they will be in emergencies? 14. They will drive you to where ever you want to go even if it is outside of 10 miles for doctors, dentists and errands which is very nice and the driver is very accommodating. 15. Aides seemed to have changed abruptly and are hired from outside agency. 16. Hair Salon operated by outside stylist that comes twice a week. Prices are a bit steep. My opinion but its pure economics....low supply and high demand allow for higher charges. 17. Fruit flies everywhere. Need to be professionally addressed. 18. Not what I expected based on the Sales pitch but, not enough to make me want to move my loved one either. 19. When I got a professional opinion, they said they were OK. I would agree they are ok Not bad but, not great. 20. Need more attention to detail, tighter quality controls, higher expectations of staff and faster response timing that is measured and monitied for improvement would put them a notch higher than okay.

The lack of stimulation and activities are a negative for anyone somewhat active. There is no gym facility/ indoor exercise area, pool or movie theatre like some of the larger facilities. That being said, other day to day living experiences should be enhanced to compensate. This is not the case. Transportation is almost non existent (one person typically transported one day a week only). The van is less than ideal. Rooms are claustrophobic and small in size and are not kept clean. The amount of dust accumulated in the rooms is disgusting. You must be willing to clean your loved ones apartment. The staff is lovely however, especially all the dining room/kitchen staff. Food is of a higher quality here compared with their larger facilities. Nursing staff, however inconsistent, is largely caring and competent. Remember, they are a large corporate business and are in the business to make money. If I had the choice, I would go with a not for profit living community.

The lack of stimulation and activities are a negative for anyone somewhat active. There is no gym facility/ indoor exercise area, pool or movie theatre like some of the larger facilities. That being said, other day to day living experiences should be enhanced to compensate. This is not the case. Transportation is almost non existent (one person typically transported one day a week only). The van is less than ideal. Rooms are claustrophobic and small in size and are not kept clean. The amount of dust accumulated in the rooms is disgusting. You must be willing to clean your loved ones apartment. The staff is lovely however, especially all the dining room/kitchen staff. Food is of a higher quality here compared with their larger facilities. Nursing staff, however inconsistent, is largely caring and competent. Remember, they are a large corporate business and are in the business to make money. If I had the choice, I would go with a not for profit living community.

First observations have been a mixed bag. I like some of the residents here,not many like to talk as much I do. My apartment is o.k , needs some updates ( new microwave oven ). I like the girls in the dining room , cute and attentive.Surprised by the food,very good so far,my family loves the soup/chowders. My laundry situation is not good,lost items etc. Housekeepers seem nice , but not very good. I don't think my bathroom has been cleaned in weeks.I have been told they will get to me when they have time. Overall not a bad place ,but not first class.

All I can say is that behind the beautiful decor, the medical care, in specific, is at best Laxing, especially if the patient can not advocate for himself. The left hand and the right hand sometimes fails to communicate and the patient sometimes suffers: wrong medication is given and prescription doses is mixed up in a web of confusion of nursing staff and incompetent aids.

Very nice place but avoid third floor at all cost during heating season. Heat from first two floors rises and they have no control over it. Not unusual for the hallways to be 90 degrees and residents have doors and windows open on warmer winter days.

We took a tour of Benchmark Senior Living. I didn't think that the community was too bad. It was nice enough, but it is on the older side. We were hoping for something more up to date for our loved ones, so we decided to look at other communities.

Very clean and awesome staff. However staff is under paid. The residents can be very difficult. I as a family member pay way too much and the poor aides is under paid. How does that work!?!

The community was clean and kept up very well. The memory unit could use some updating it looked old. The staff was not very friendly and seemed to not like their job which is a bad sign to me.

Overall, I would recommend River Ridge at Avon. They modified my mother-in-law's pain meds and there was an interaction between the meds and she had to spend some time in the hospital. The medical staff either wasn't aware of the potential intereraction or ignored them. We were surprised by that. The rest of the staff there is wonderful. It's a nice community. The food is very good. They do offer activities but she has not participated yet.

I've had difficulty getting the staff to shower my husband daily. He is not elderly, unfortunately, and needs a daily shower. I get the impression at times that there is not enough staff to cover the resident population.

Lovely suburban setting, priced a little high in comparison to other facilities for what you get. I selected this facility due to location and being close to friends and family to provide my loved one with more company. Common areas are immaculate. Housekeeping and laundry are frequently not done on the assigned day, residents are not advised. A minor repair had to be requested more than once before being taken care of. The facility has a lot of cliques, and they're not very accepting of newer residents. Activities are sparse. The calendar looks full, until you take a good look and see that entries such as breakfast, 1st seat & 2nd. seating for lunch & dinner are there. I can only say that it's OK, not great, not ugh. You can do better, you can do worse.

They were all overpriced, ridiculously high, so I'd give any of them one star. The only thing I really don't like about it is the way they do medication. His diabetic medication is hard to manage. I'm not sure how much of it their fault; I have to be more involved than I want to be. I like the location, because it is close to my brother and me, and in the location where he has lived for most of his life. They seem to have alot of activities, all day long. They have movies, every Sunday they have a coffee hour, weekend religious services. There are four or five things going on each day. They had an antique car show there once; it was pretty neat. When I had a couple of issues to raise with staff, they got back to it right away. On one instance, my father's room was too hot; they had a team meeting to discuss the problem, and the issue has been solved.

I find the staffing a big problem since often times there aren't enough RCAs to handle the residents. This could be a problem at some point. I understand they are hiring more help but there should be back ups when there are call outs. My loved one is living here and I have been a big supporter of the facility but am noticing some problems of late. I appreciate all of the staff at this facility because they work extremely hard at thier jobs. They deserve kudos for doing such good jobs. I think Benchmark should reevaluate thier priorities.

My mother has been at Crescent Point for the past 18 months. From the beginning, communication with staff has been terrible. With the exception of the nursing staff, the only time we've received communication is when her bill is due or they want to upgrade her "Plan of Care" which in turns raises her monthly costs. I moved my mother here hoping she'd be more active than at home, but that has not been the case. She has deteriorated much in the past year in the Alzheimer wing compared to what she had been in my care at home for 6 years. Crescent Point I feel is great if your loved one doesn't need much care and is pretty independent. Otherwise, I feel there are other places just as well qualified and not as costly.

I will say it is a very nice clean place..If I had problems, Doug was very attentive.. The wait staff were darlings for the most part.. My problem was with the Nursing. There are 120 residents at any time there. and from 11pm to 7 am there are only 2 aides for the whole place. We took our loved one out of there because of this.. How do you not notice that a person goes from walking by themself to not being able to the next day and not call 911 immediately, then there were two more incidents and that is when we took our loved one out of there.. I understand it is assisted living, but I was told that they could take people who needed assistance to people who needed full time care..

Staff is kind but......every department is lacking adequate staff. Too many staff working crazy hours and there is a lot of wait for things to get fixed. Food is very good. Although a lot of waste. More variety of activities would be good. Especially for the men. Cleanliness can always be worked on. Lots of cobwebs and broken lights on the front porch sitting area. I living room area should be the same size as the bedroom not smaller.

The staff is wonderful and tries hard but are not equipped to deal with really sick people. I informed the people who interviewed me of my husband's progressive illness and the course it would take. They knew their staff of CNAs couldn't handle his needs, or they should have. It was a nightmare. He died after moving to hospice respite care. At least he died peacefully.

Positive, I became very close with the residents. If not for them, I would not have made it through each day. Negatives, unless one has a STRONG advocate to make certain things are done, folks are simply forgotten. I did not have such a person, nor did many of the residents. I advocated for both they and myself, often to no avail. You feel like you're ln prison with staff telling you what you can and cannot do, when completely competent. DINING ROOM is absolutely disgusting. NEVER wash tables properly, nor completely, let alone what is on tables such as washing/refilling salt/pepper shakers and cream/ butter dishes, cheap/expired products, servers set each place as one leaves. I would watch them in disgust. They touch utensils from the using end, not the handles. Same with glasses. They place four glasses on their fingers in one hand then place them on the table! floor is not swept after each meal thus what you see in the AM from the night before is there all day. floors are often sticky. numerous reminders regarding bathrooms, smell of feces/urine in the hallways, lost laundry, my room burglarized twice including money, jewelry and meds. I was told nothing they can do and to call police. Got a lock box after. rather than thanking me for bringing such things to their attention, they ALL get swept under the rug, blamed on another department and at the end of the day, unresolved. Friendliness, when they're trying to sell you a bill of goods, to sign on the dotted line, it sounds perfect. Once there, administrative staff flips the switch and one feels a bother to get issues resolved in house, billing, medical help, transports to and from room without waiting as much as 30 minutes in a hallway. Staff who were absolutely wonderful quit after two, four, six moths. HIGH turnover in EVERY department, which broke our hearts. I'd say aids are at maybe 25% who know what they're doing and actually care. First shower the gal dumped a TON of shampoo on my head and went from there. I tried to speak with her and though they say all employees are required to speak English, many do not. There's a difference between being able to speak enough English to get the job and UNDERSTADING English. You know when you try to speak to an aid and they simply smile and nod. Food is hit or miss. BASIC staples are often out of stock. Too many sandwiches and food often cold. Wait staff is EXTREMELY rude, lackadaisical, young, inexperienced, on their phones. One is made to feel a bother to get hot soup. They say they're open 7-7. Not even close. They rush you in and out of every meal. Activities are inconsistent. often changed without notice or cancelled. Value for the money...I have no comparison. I can simply speak to my experience.

The bottom line is that we would not recommend Benchmark at Alexandria except for someone who really doesn't need much assistance. (In which case there's a question of whether such a person needs "assisted living" at all.) We have received some recommendations (from people who know) for places to switch to, which we will be checking out. . For my mother in law's specific situation, I'd call it a 2. I think her actual experience is more like 3, but that's because my wife spends 6-7 hours a day at Benchmark, 7 days a week. (And also occasionally helps other residents who aren't being attended to by staff.)