Bickford Senior Living

My dad was approved for Assisted Living in June and he moved in on [date removed]. At that time, he needed a hoyer lift to get in and out of bed or in and out of his wheelchair. The understanding was that his PT would continue so he could eventually become a one person transfer. Approximately 90 days later I was told that they wanted to move him to memory care because of his reliance on the hoyer lift. I told the Administrator at Bickford that my dad was making great progress with PT and he was able to stand for at least 60 seconds with the help of his physical therapist. I asked if I needed to supplement his PT with an additional therapist. I was met with resistance. My dad was on-board with a move to Memory Care based on the fact that he would be able to spend more time in his room. Communication was not great. One nurse told me that it could be a 2-4 week transition because my biggest concern was his possible confusion of being in a new apartment at Bickford. I received text messages last week on Tuesday from the Administrator that my dad was supposed to have moved the prior weekend. When I asked about his slow movement to Memory Care, I was told that he must be moved immediately. Last Tuesday evening we had to solicit friends to help move my dad. Apparently they had a new resident who was moving in on Wednesday. By and large, there are caring people who work there. The food is enjoyed by my dad and I know that he is safe there but an unpleasant situation that could have been solved for with better communication would have been appreciated. I also found out that they were double-diapering my dad. I had no idea what that meant but apparently if they double diaper him they change him less frequently. PS. Billing is a nightmare!!

They are shorthand all the time. So it takes them awhile to answer calls. The staff are very nice and are doing what they can. It hard for one person to take care of 20 - 30 people on their own. They do the best they can.

I think the food is terrible and I believe they are under staff. Not in the kitchen they need more help on the floor The lady who runs the activities is wonderful. I think the furniture outside needs cleaning it smells like urine . And where the ducks are needs to be cleaned they are making a real mess . The shower curtain are to short and water gets all over the floor the people could slip.

Never enough help so took for ever to get help they were suppose to help with the cat and that was seldom. Always had to wait to get in or out of the building because of shortages of help,there were rooms that really smelled like pee really strong.

When my mom got there she wasn't able to walk by herself or get out of bed by herself. I think Bickford is a good place for someone who can get around good. My mom was left stranded at Breakfast or in her room at times. We ended up moving her to the [facility name removed]nursing home where they could better care for her. She has passed away at 91 late last year.

My grandmother, with dementia and 90% blind, needed more one on one care than their facility was able to provide. What they offer would be considered more of independent living with supervisory care. Staff did their job, it just didn't meet her specific needs.

I loved the place when my father in law was cared for in the assisted living area. There were activities, good meals, and he could sit in different areas to keep his mind occupied. However when my father-in-law became worse and was placed on the memory ward; it was awful. He needed hospice/end of life care; the RN did a poor job assessing my dad’s needs for pain management. Every time we went there his door was closed??!!! Being a hospice nurse for over 12 years I would never keep any doors closed; otherwise you are unable to evaluate/assess how they are doing. He could have fallen on the floor and know one would even know! They never turned him and when I asked they didn’t have any pillows to place our dad in a different position (He was so weak he wasn’t able to turn himself.)He was always soiled (the odor was horrendous!). I asked for oxygen to help with is breathing; it never came. Many evenings when the nursing assistance were just sitting on their phones!! Not caring for the….

So the overall experience has been pretty ok. There are glitches that are not Bickford's fault, it's the fault of the care person. Hard to keep good staff like anywhere. When staff is there, dad sometimes waits a long time for someone to come to his aid (changing his brief, etc.). Overall though, my dad is happy there. At least as happy as he can be at this stage.

Right now they are understaffed most of the workers go out of there way but you can only do so much when your short staffed. Some things do not get handled in a timely matter. Hard to get answers to questions from people in charge. When calling the facility a lot of times there is no answer with no way to leave a message.

It's a nice place, we are on the 4th manager since I moved in. The staff is a mixture of good and so so. The housekeeping works hard, but they are made to help out on other things. Communication with the family is okay. Some of the food is good, and some not. I think they are trying to improve. I would recommend this facility to others.

I didn't like the way they handle the memory care. Nobody let us know when our mom had a fall. Nobody's ever around to check on her in the room. When I was visiting her. The price for memory care is outrageous not worth it.

Think twice. Residents coming the food is cold. communicate isn't is best with the staffing, you send laundry to be clean and you don't get your own stuff back.

They didn't have a full time director until recently. Also some things were out of their control, like broken water pipes shutting down the salon. A couple aides quit, one on pregnant leave. Another factor is, CareWell handles their Medicaid waiver but they are 6 to 8 months out. [name removed] is the name of the new Director. I think things will improve if she stays on. Staff turnover is always a challenge. Our biggest issue is the timeline it takes to get an evaluation for Medicaid waiver.

Lost a lot of clothes with name on them. Medication management poor. Increased dose causing combative episode at 1 am, hospital evaluation for 3 weeks, then home. Staff cared less about separating clothes, personal items. Ok if patients wore other people's clothes. Only assisted when I strongly insisted, otherwise no effort or policy changes

After two parents living at Bickford for many many years, I have to say the care staff has generally been wonderful Naturally there are alway as few bad apples but they are usually addressed. On the other hand, their billing department is horrible! coming up on 90 days to be refunded? It takes a day for payments to be deposited. Call upon call goes nowhere which indicated they don't care at corporate. Not to sound petty, but after years and years of on time payments of hundreds of thousands our refund due is nearly $[removed]. You read right, hundreds and hundreds of thousands. It's expensive!

I had to shave my husband every day and make sure his teeth were brushed. He needs to wear compression stockings for his low blood pressure and there were not applied for 5 days. Staff caring for him were very nice. Just a lack of knowledge on staff part and lack of communication from nursing staff.

We picked this community because of the availability, size of apartment, and promise of quality care.

Staff are friendly and they treat residents with kindness and respect. Housekeeping and laundry services are adequate. This is a three story assisted living facility with only one elevator. Elevator has been out of service four days now and resident emergency contacts have not been made aware. Very poor communication from managers. Meals are adequate at best. Chicken is served several times a week and is usually overcooked. There are social activities on a daily basis with a lot of variety. The move in process was excellent.

Our experience was a little different. We were only there for 2 months. There were certain circumstances that lead me to a little bit lower rating, for instance, finding soiled and dirty linens and dad's closet that had been laid on top of his clean linens. I did report that. Also, I had requested assistance to put Dad's photos or framed prints on the walls, because he was wondering when he was going to get out of the hospital. Not realizing this was his forever home, I believe firmly that it was because of the blank walls. Approximately 6 to 7 weeks for Dad's framed prints to be hung in his room. After numerous emails and personal conversations. Also, this facility is truly an assisted living facility. Things did go okay Once dad was placed on hospice I think then he got better care all the way around. But again we were only there for 2 months before Dad passed away. I would not recommend Bickford as a nursing home. However, as an assisted living for an ambulatory/mobile patient, this would be a perfect fit.

There are many amenities at the Bickford, including a variety of tempting meals. But if a loved one needs special care, then it's not good. The staff tends to be negligent in doing things to support a client medically and physically. They say they are not under-staffed, yet trying to get needed attention at times is difficult, especially since it appears there is sometimes a breakdown in communication between shifts.