Bickford Senior Living

I would never ever recommend this community to anybody, not even my worst enemy.

Our loved one never had the chance to move in, but we were so excited to get them into Bickford that we paid in advanced to hold a room for them. When it came time for the director of nursing to give our loved one an evaluation and asses their health level, she never showed up. We called the community that day, and they said there had been a covid outbreak and the director of nursing was in quarantine. We asked if they could send someone else, and they never did. Our loved one ended up passing away before moving in, and when we asked for a refund of the money they said the check would get back to us within a week - it took almost 2 months and it ended up only being a portion of the money. Every time we asked questions there was always an excuse regarding covid, they pride themselves on treating families with respect but we did not feel respected, they never returned calls or thoroughly answered our questions. Very unhappy.

I would tell others never to put their loved ones there. It's very disheartening witnessing people not receiving the care that they need and are paying for. The staff is constantly changing. There were so many fired and so many quitting all the time. The staff they had were excellent. They tried hard, and were good workers, but you didn't have the same staff from week to week. We heard from many of them that corporate was horrible to them. The food is horrible, often inedible, and they can't keep a cook. The nurses were having to help serve food because they couldn't keep kitchen staff. And then that took the nurses away from the people they were supposed to be helping. On their website, they say they cater to your dietary needs. They never complied with our loved ones dietary needs one bit. They couldn't keep an activities director. They're trying to do what they can, but with Covid, there wasn't much going on. Basically the director has been having to do pretty much everything because of their staffing issues. The sales person who sold us on Brighton never even spoke to us again after we moved in. She would hide because they did not deliver on anything they promised. She promised everything in the world, and it wasn't even services that they offered. They have owed us money ever since we moved out. Every time I call, each person has a different answer and a different reason that they cannot reimburse us the money that hey owe us.

We would not recommend Bickford. The billing department was not good, I never knew what I was paying each month. It seemed like it was never cleaned. The administrative staff were not responsive and would not return phone calls or emails. My mom was unhappy here and we did not have a good experience.

I would want others to know that we did not have a good experience with Bickford of Midland. Our loved one was a known fall risk, they did not protect her and she passed. Whatever they tell you, it does not seem to be carried through with. They did not give the care that they said they would. The other thing is they weren't washing her or cleaning her after using the restroom. We did her laundry and there was feces all over her clothes.

Terrible Place. Had a family member stay here and it got dirtier and nastier with the current director - she just doesn't care, all she cares about is filling the place. With people that don't belong there - totally unfit for assisted living. She can put a good show on, but don't believe her. And she's totally unqualified to be a manage or care for the elderly dependent on her. The food is terrible. Cold. Burned. Hard. Over-salted. Staff turnaround is terrible. A couple of staff have been there forever and they are wonderful, but they cannot compensate for the lack of quality in all else. Half the time on weekends there is one person running the entire place, both sides Assisted Living and Memory Care. It's a scary place to have someone.

The rooms they show you are clean. The staff is great when a tour comes through, but that's all. Understaffed. Underqualified. Extremely dirty and poorly managed. See if you can get into the kitchen and observe the filth on the cabinets and floor. Check out the staff breakroom. Look at food that's being served and taste it. Check out the residents that belong in a higher level of care but are there instead. Staff turnaround is a revolving door. Five Nursing Directors in 4 years what does that tell you? Management at this Bickford is terrible and uncaring. Don't be fooled. Too many nice close places (Clarendale in Algonquin 5Star and brand new Melody in Lake in the Hills 5-Star ++).

I would avoid this place. They do a good job marketing it as trying to provide a better option that is more caring, but that it not the case. They over promise and under deliver. They say someone will respond within 5 minutes of a request, but that may just be someone saying ,I don't have time to help you now, I'll get to you later. I witnessed this for myself, and I heard about it from my mom. They'll probably label it a "behavioral problem" that a resident presses their call button too much, when it may be because they don't get any help when they ask for it. They also said that my mom could use the bus to be transported to medical appointments if two weeks notice was provided. This almost never was true. My mom missed appointments because of this. In fact, one physician no longer wanted to accept her as a patient because of those last minutes cancellation. Once a staff person did transport her in her own car. I was horrified by the way my mom was treated in the last weeks of her life. She went into hospice care in April 2020 and was given only two weeks to live. The nurse told me I could visit her and other family members without restrictions due to short time left. She abruptly changed her mind after five days. She tried to say that it was a corporate policy, but she made the choice. No one told me that I could take her outside the facility to see her until I discovered it on my own over a week later. After I took my mom out the first time, the next day my mom told me that the nurse there, Jennifer told her that she could never see me again because people were scared. I didn't get to see her that day. Someone from hospice intervened and the following day I did get to take her out. The nurse harassed my mom for leaving the facility to spend time with me. She also tried to convince me that I shouldn't take her out because if I did then my mom couldn't participate in group activities like Bingo!!!! I was horrified. I couldn't believe it. The nurse never apologized. She continued to harass my mom for visiting outside the facility. My mom lived only 22 days after she entered hospice. Even the day before my mom died, when she collapsed at night and I was told a hospice nurse was going to come assess her, but would take a long time to arrive because she needed to stop at the pharmacy to get drugs, the drugs that would make my mom more comfortable if she really was dying, I was told that I couldn't come see her right away. It is terrible to think of other families who have no idea that residents can leave the facility because staff wants to hide that option, even when people are dying with only weeks left to live. The nurse was clueless about my mom's condition. She didn't recognize that she had stopped eating anything at all and drank almost nothing. My mom became extremely week and wanted to just sit outside the facility to visit with me instead of getting in the car to leave. We were told to leave the premise. We were not allowed to sit outside the facility to visit. No reason was provided. On the day that she died, the day after she had collapsed, we were told that only two people could visit at a time, even though before we were told it would be four. We were also told that we could visit once and then leave, not leave and come back. It sucks to be fooled by the nurse and the marketing guy. They seemed like caring people. Their actions say otherwise. The marketing guy is not going to care for your loved one. Marketing is just marketing.

I was very hopeful that this was the place for my husband. I started the convo off w/ saying he had medicare & aid. They wasted 2 weeks of my time. Did virtual tour, had nurse access him. They assured me of it would all be fine. THEN they sent me to their financial people (ELDER). Since we had nothing to give up for his stay, now they claim they dont take our insurance. WRONG WAY TO DO BUSINESS. SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME FROM THE START.

I have been really disappointed with the care my mom received here. I would find her soaked/full of poop daily. Sometimes they would forget to bring her to meals. The director has promised a lot but has not delivered. The food is always cold,burnt, or undercooked. I do not like to complain but I’m looking elsewhere for mom. I recommend staying away. The cnas are very understaffed and there’s high turnover with staff. Sometimes there’s no staff on hand. It’s sad but during the tour it looked nice.

I've never been to a place where staff is so unapproachable. Walked in and staff just stare and dont speak or even force a smile. The cosmetic work is nice but the heart of a good facility is staff and administration at this place [name removed] on down to activities person not sure of her name, could use several classes on customer service because its seriously lacking at this place. The attitude seems contagious here because there all the same way.The only person, literally, who initiated a welcoming hello was the receptionist, the older lady with the blonde hair, was very nice, not the short one with black hair. In the future please be more pleasant to everyone who walks in , you never no who's entering your building, i guess they fell asleep during that lesson. But hey, see fir yourself hopefully your experience will be more pleasurable than mine. PS The 1/2 star is for the residents, they were lovely

Terrible place for dementia patients. Almost 2 years at 6800 a month,mind you, and her care was getting really bad. She wasnt getting bathed,her clothes would disappear.The admin.always makes excuses.

Bickford of Spotsylvania is an unfit facility. My wife was there for just over a month. The entire time she was there, the director, [name removed], never once returned a phone call. Even when another employee sent her a text message with my name and number asking her to call me, she did not. I would go in to find my wife standing by a door, crying and upset, setting off the alarm, and nobody paid any attention to her. That happened more than once. In the time she was there, only once did they come to take her to an activity and that was after I complained. When a group went out for the day, and my wife did not go, she was left behind with no activities, no activity personnel to engage my wife in any way. At least once, my wife did not get a shower or change of clothes for an entire week, and then only when I did it. My wife has dementia. She taken in under assisted living at care level 2. That was my thought, and they agreed she should be a good fit in the assisted living side as apposed to the memory care unit. My main concern was that she be kept engaged. They assured me she would. I did not expect one on one care, but I expected her to be taken care of with some dignity. We were told by many, and this was the second facility she was in, that it could take 3-4 months for people to acclimate. After one month, they wanted to move her to the memory care unit. From $5,300 to $6,800. One reason cited was that she has not acclimated. ONE MONTH. They said she would be kept engaged in the memory care unit, but that’s what they said about assisted living. I believe they would have told me anything I wanted to hear just to get her in. It was clear to me that it was bait and switch. If they felt she needed memory care and not assisted living, they should have said so, and only been willing to take her in under memory care. They did not want to take the chance of loosing a potential customer. The facility looks nice, but the care in my opinion is criminal. They to not live up to the required standards of care. It is my understanding that [name removed] is still there, and that just amazes me. Several staff members voiced concerns with me when they found out we were leaving, complaining about her. One told me that it was not the first time they had heard to same complaints from other people, and urged me to be specific when I contacted the main office to complain. It seems painfully obvious that the only thing they are concerned about is the money.

Our experience at Bickford of Spotsylvania was terrible. First of all, my wife was accepted into assisted living for memory care at care level 2. After just over one month, with no change in care level, they tried to move us over to the memory care unit. More importantly, my wife was not properly cared for. With exception of a few times, I visited my wife at least every other day, sometimes two or three days in a row. Not once did I arrive and find my wife engaged in an activity. I told them that if even I was there, don't stop from getting her involved in activities. Only once did someone come to take her to an activity while I was there. That did change after they tried to move her, and I decided to take her to a different facility. I visited my wife on Sunday, January 27th. I visited her again on Tuesday the 29th to find her in the same clothes. No Shower. I changed her clothes. I came back Wednesday and Friday to find her in the same clothes, with no shower. Purely neglect. More than once we found my wife at one of the doors setting off the alarm, upset, confused, and crying. No one was paying any attention. During the entire time my wife was at Bickford, the director of that facility never once returned a call from a voicemail message, or a message left with someone else. In one instance, another employee sent her a text with my name and number letting her know I had a question and to call me. She still did not call me. From the stand point of care, I feel their lack of care rose to the level of abuse.

Staff is very unfriendly! Facility is locked where you have to have a fob to get in or out, making it feel like prison. This is not assisted living! Pricing is very high as well.

The worst customer service ever. I pulled my mother out of there so fast that they didn't know what was happening. I cannot believe the poor care and lack of concern they showed my 98 yr. old mother.

Understaffed and unsafe for residents that need Level 2 and up services

The management was terrible. Moved mom after 7 months. Not enough staff or supervision to take care of residents. Room not cleaned regularly and lapses in daily medications because staff let subscriptions run out before reordering.

Not a good facility. Food and staff are lacking while activities are uneventful and boring.

Staff is very rude and just want your money.