Cascade Living Group

I have a family member with dementia who has been living at Desert Hills Memory Care Facility for three months as of this review. This review is based upon my observations and interactions with staff and residents, and is more of a reflection of the ownership/administration than the quality of the direct services provided. The heart and soul of this facility truly are the caregivers and the nurses (LVNs). The nurses monitor health conditions and administer medications. The caregivers do everything else: clothe, bathe, groom, feed, toilet, monitor, comfort, redirect, lift, and provide activities for the residents. Sometimes the nurses gladly help the caregivers out. I have witnessed the caregivers and nurses having nothing but love, respect, compassion, and patience for the residents. On the flip side, remember, this is a for-profit entity; the facility is largely understaffed. There are not enough caregivers to do all that they must do to keep the residents clean, nourished, hydrated, and safe as well as they should be (and for the high cost being paid). There are not enough custodial workers (or hours provided to them) to keep the facility as clean as it should be. These are ownership/administration issues that really should be looked at for improvement, and as well should be considered when someone is thinking of placing their loved one at Desert Hills.

The biggest adjustment for someone coming out of living in their own home is paying the monthly rent. $2-$3k + and if you don't use the amenities offered, that is costly. Be certain your loved one wants to "socialize", will eat the meals and take advantage of what is offered, including transportation if needed.

This is a beautiful community, it's clean, modern, and the apartments are nice looking and well maintained. The staff and residents are all very friendly and Mom has already made a few new friends. They have a few issues, however. The care itself is a bit disorganized and some of their activities will be cancelled on short notice. The biggest issue I have is the food. It is horrible. As much as we like everything else here the food has made us consider looking in to other options. They've hired a new chef recently, and Mom said things have improved a bit, but it is still not acceptable. The quality of the ingredients purchased by the community is the problem, not the preparation. It appears they do not buy fresh, despite the abundance of produce in our area and the ingredients appear cheap. If they could just do better with the food I wouldn't have any problem recommending this place to anyone.

Chantal was extremely helpful and has always been available to help me with issues. The facility is nice. The people working there are friendly. The techs always let me know how my mother is doing. The daily nurse is very helpful in explaining the disease process of Alzheimer's and watches over mom's care well. Overall I am pleased with the facility. I would like to see more supervision of the Memory Care residents. On two separate occasions, I have assisted wheelchair bound residents because there were no employees around. On both occasions the residents were in the television room with at least 6 residents present. It was during their afternoon TV time. More supervision would be my only request.

The people are nice there but it was more like a nursing home setting where my sister would have been. Also, they didn't want to take her because she might have to use medicaid eventually.

It was just okay. My mom needed a lot of care and they didn't seem to be able to offer that kind of one on one care. It was kind of big. I don't remember how many people they had there but it was not the one on one care that my mom needed.

This facility could be great for some people, it just was not the right fit for my mom. The facility is small, so if your senior is very social and active there is not enough to do there. The bus was broken for the 6 months mom was there so they never went places. I would recommend Magnolia Grand for quiet people who do not need a lot of activity. Staff was very nice!

The staff were friendly. However his room wasn't kept clean, he wore the same clothes 3-4 days in a row. Although telling me his laundry was done, it was not. The chart said it had been washed but the full hamper told a different story. All of his electronics went missing and I had to replace two of the items. 2-3 weeks later I received a call that these things had been found. It seemed best to Find a more suitable arrangement.

As the facility would not make allowances for some dietary needs and had a fixed menu each week. I found that I could not utilize the dining facilities and was preparing my meals in my room. As a result of the Dietary problems and no allowances for not being able to utilize or consume most of the meals in the facility I would rate the Value for myself at at 2 or less. The Staff was very good. Even the administrator was nice. Had they made any allowance/accommodation for my dietary situation, I might still reside there.

The facility was well maintained. The staff was great. Upper management needs to be more engaged with residents. Food needs to be greatly improved.

The maintenance workers are working constantly to maintain the yards and are prompt to repair any problems. The kitchen staff are friendly and helpful. It would help if they had a map of all of the Cascade facilities. My cottage neighbors and inhabitants of the assisted living facility are very friendly and seem to care for one another. The food is not very good. I have noticed people leave a lot of food on their plate

1. Day shift was nice and always willing to help but night shift was mean and didn't want to ever help 2. Was actually really clean. 3. Friendly guests staff was half and half. 4. It was self sufficient independent so no care was given. 5. Admin staff was great. 6. Food wasn't that good. 7. Lots of activities. 8. Value was average when compared to others including services and friendlyness.

A couple things that stood out were - the food, she didn't like it. The staff is trying hard to make her feel welcome. We understand they are short on help.

Food is poor and very slow in getting it to you. Head nurse does not follow thru on things, and does not communicate well.

They can improve on the food they serve. They can improve on training and how to handle soiled clothing properly. They can improve on making it less of a hassle to set up a toilet area so it's easier for the resident to use and not soil his clothes every time because of the set up they have right now. I like that we get the door code :) I like how nice it is in there and the heated pool has been a plus for my grandpa when we can get him in it . Most staff are friendly, they could be more helpful with getting residents out of chairs especially the ones who already have a hard time standing up on their own especially in more difficult chairs (dining room chairs)

Very expensive.. care givers are great ... weekend staff is very inconsistent and lacks quality. Rooms are good size but they charge more the bigger the room. Also they charge extra for care levels, med management and everything they possibly can... my mom is only still there because moving her somewhere else will be confusing and stressful for her... I'm always looking for something less expensive with all amenities included.. it's a huge corporation that does not truly care about their clients ... they only care about making money.

Very expensive and every service is “a La carte”. Food is not great, and sometimes doesn’t get to mom’s room at all. Facility needs updating, paint, gutter repairs, etc. We’ve had issues with med changes that Hospice has ordered; issues with caregivers not removing soiled linens, laundry that is marked not coming back, silverware missing; nobody comes back to turn off nebulizer at times. Common excuses for issues is “it’s the weekend, and we’re short staffed”. Nothing that I want to hear for the thousands we are paying each month!

Mom is having a very hard time adjusting to her move to memory care. I feel the facility could make several very simple changes to make her more comfortable. Most of the staff are kind and well intentioned but lack experience. I wonder about the effectiveness of the scheduling. Seems it would be better to be as consistent as possible with who & at what time of day residents see staff. But, the rotation of staff from area to area and shift to shift is significant. I’m sure it is common in memory care but I am very frustrated by how many things have been lost. On the positive side, the facility and grounds are very nice. I think the apartment style is better for her than cottage style.

At this time I can only base my review on the tour, for that is all I have had experience with. The facility looked clean, inviting, and cheery. I was very pleased at how hard the staff worked to get my loved one a private room. The rooms look spacious. It seemed they have lots of inhouse and courtyard freedom to walk around on their own accord. Staff and several of the residence we met or saw in passing seemed very kind and welcoming. I was pleased to see their safety protocol for both residence and staff. My heart and mind feel at ease knowing this will my loved ones new home.

All of the staff but 2 I have had interaction with have been so caring . Honestly care for the residents when you approach them. What I have noticed is low staff. This really is not ok for the residents. Canceled activities because of this . And activities like movie night. Well it was cartoons and obnoxious at that . no organization . And the pie social . Second hand info . No pie no tea or coffee but a cooking show on the big TV. Smh . Residents are paying [fee removed]a month they could at least buy some fruit pies .. I have not yet visited during the week but have heard showers are 2 days a week. Honestly our friends apperceive is not what he would want. No personal care from the staff . He is just a person with dementia wandering the halls. Maybe he has to pay more for thoses services.? In My opinion If at all possible have your loved one stay at home and Pay for care providers . Quality of minutes and moments matter so much to souls waiting to die and happen to have dementia .