Bethesda Senior Living Communities

2/29/12 visit - The director is daughter of a co-worker of mine - just discovred today. Location is straight down Granbury Rd from work (TCU) Lower prices available here; non-profit puts excess money back in improvements and supports charity. Very little turnover in staff. Bright and cheerful. Room wing hallways have very high ceilings with windows high on wall. Dining room is very large and near entrance; restaurant-like in apperance. Basic static menu with one special on lunch menu. Asked about staff to resident ratio and response was that this is an artificial indicator of service.

Nice place

Nice place

Nice place but it looked a littel older than the other places and it did not allow pets.

Great place, a small community and only one meal.

Our family had an in person tour and the community was just to old and gloomy

It is working out for my mom. She does gave to wait at times for assistance. More vegetables and salad is needed in the meals.

Staff is nice, however, they do not have solid communication skills as no one really seems to know what is going on, nor do the "directors" seem to want to take a "hands on" approach when there is an issue, from the Nursing director to the Sales director, to the executive director. They did not seem to know what was stated during the initial tour, what was needed by the residents at check-in, nor did the executive director care much when I did present her with a serious issue that occurred with my father. The nurses seem to be more involved in their personal conversations than paying attention to the residents or their families concerns or concerns.

My mother has been in Bethesda for several years. Staff is friendly and good to her. The downside is the turnover in staffing. The food is marginal at best, especially on the weekends. Activities could be a bit more stimulating. There isn't much flexibility with getting residents on outings. The appearance is good. Always clean and the grounds are nice. It is corporate run and it shows. Lots of cost cutting and fewer opportunities for the residents

Facilities were great. Communication was terrible. They do not return phone calls. The entry person misled us as to what age in place actually means. Mom was there in memory care 5 days, she had a bad fall and wasn't able to transfer herself to the wheelchair after that so we had to move out. They said that was something she would have to be able to do. So what happened to age in place??? They had about 25 residents in memory care and never had more than 2 attendants on the floor at one time. Apartments were just barely big enough for a double bed and dressers. Food was just adequate nothing you would necessarily say was good, just adequate.

The experience wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I was paying $[removed]for a pendent alert which wasn't given to her until the nurse found her on the floor.

First, the salesman [name removed] does not explain things correctly. We were not informed of "age in place" details. They don't take wheelchair bound residents. There were no activities going on the days we toured or on the days our mother was there. That was disappointing. Contacting the salesman, the general manager, or the Memory Care manager was next to impossible. Phone calls were never returned, we had to just keep calling.

They were nice, the staff were sweet and helpful. Unfortunately, the residents were a different story. They were constantly harassing my mom, they didn't like her and excluded her from everything, they talked about her behind her back and even to us. They constantly told me to take her to a place for "her kind of people" not knowing what they meant. So it just wasn't a good fit for her.

The staff was ok. There were a few good ones but most never even said hi to me. They put all of the residents in a big room in front of the tv and they just wandered around aimlessly all day. I saw 2 activities the whole time [name removed] was there. Most of the time if there was an incident to report, the messages were weird and vague. There was definitely a language barrier. So much laundry was lost, including bedding. I had to ask for toilet paper to be replaced in her room and her room was never cleaned well. There was always dust in the corners and laundry was never put away correctly. When [name removed] was passing (a week long), it was the saddest. Only one employee checked on me and offered me a drink. They would come in and give her meds but never really interact with me or her. There were no creature comforts. The first time I saw her after being bedridden she was in a diaper, tank top, flimsy blanket that wasn't even hers and half falling out of the bed. Hospice was truly amazing during the process and did an excellent job (not a part of Collinwood). I always tell people that it was the cheapest option by far but you absolutely get what you pay for!!!!

Communication about medicine. Staff understanding people's needs

The food, responsiveness of support staff, cleaning the rooms, hiring help--vastly understaffed

There were a few great and a couple not at all. With the care services they left to her own devices much of the time. The food was not healthy and there was not much activity at all. It was definitely not worth the "rent." I would Not recommend the gardens for memory care. They do not have enough help and don't have enough training provided for their staff in that area

The staff are friendly, however figuring out how to get a hold of them or get something done is almost impossible. The staff has turned over quite a bit which can be difficult for the elderly to adjust

We left because medications were supposed to be administered by their staff. Timing of medication was irregular. Since some medications had to be taken a prescribed amount of time prior to eating, this also disrupted eating schedules. Laundry , if done at all, wasn't on schedule . Once when my mom fell, no one came when she pressed her buzzer. She was near the door, so she slid over and opened the door. Someone walking down the hall saw her and got help. We only put her in assisted living because her balance and moving around was getting harder. She was totally capable of medicating herself and doing laundry etc at home. When she moved into Bethesda, many of the things that she could do by herself were turned over to other people, so she lost control of many of the things she could do , and the people tasked with doing those things were not reliable. The falling situation was the final straw. Bethesda came highly recommended and the tour we got was great. The quality of the care was not what was advertised.

Other residents there are nice. Caregivers are not. For the most part. I would not choose this place for my mom again.