Charter Senior Living

A beautiful picture was painted at the initial meeting. One rarely sees the decision makers and only lower level staff. The worker bees are nice but they are slackers too.You seldom see senior-level staff walking the premises to see what is happening. When one puts in work orders, they are ignored more months and likely perpetuity.

I like the pleasant nature of the helpers. They could improve on actually delivering on what you pay for in regards to assistance. However, we would not recommend this community to other families. If your loved one needs actual assistance they need to be somewhere that will actually get it. This is a corporate facility where the e

What I appreciated most about Charter Senior Living of Towson was the living accommodations. My family member had a one-bedroom apartment, which provided a separate bedroom and living area, along with ample closet storage. The bathroom was spacious enough to accommodate both a walker and a wheelchair. The kitchenette, equipped with a small refrigerator, microwave, and sink, was a nice addition. Since they had a corner unit, the natural lighting was exceptional. I also liked that the floors were not carpeted, making cleaning much easier. I found Charter to be a relatively small community, which made the staff more accessible. If we needed maintenance assistance—whether for repairs or help setting up the cable—I could simply email the maintenance person directly. Similarly, we had email access to the nursing staff, which was a big plus, as some facilities only provide a single point of contact, leading to communication breakdowns. As for the facility itself, the back porch and patio were pleasant spaces, but one side of the building had stairs, making it impossible to walk all the way around with a wheelchair. I was also concerned about the dryers, as the filters were consistently clogged with lint—especially concerning given the frequent elevator malfunctions during our time there. Hopefully, these issues have since been resolved. The dining experience was underwhelming. It’s difficult for me to fully assess, as my family member only ate breakfast and dinner, skipping the main meal served at midday due to the short gap between breakfast and lunch. Dinner options were typically light, such as sandwiches, chicken tenders, and salads. While there were a couple of excellent waitstaff members in the dining room, many were slow and inattentive. Additionally, the facility charged a “tray fee” for in-room meal delivery. I caught staff delivering meals to my family member instead of bringing them to the dining room—charges that should not have been incurred. On one occasion, it seemed like an intentional avoidance of duty; another time, I suspect it was due to understaffing, with the caregiver simply trying to ensure everyone was fed. The activities team made an effort to engage residents, and the more dedicated caregivers encouraged participation. However, caregiving itself was my biggest concern. My family member required assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) but did not need nursing care, making assisted living a suitable choice. Charter seemed committed to fulfilling their responsibilities, but staffing shortages were a persistent issue. And with the staff that were employed, some caregivers were excellent, while others avoided tasks—especially at night when no supervisor was present, which I found concerning. Understaffing at night led to serious problems, such as "double diapering" or caregivers failing to check on my family member, evidenced by dried-on feces in the morning. Knowing mornings were the busiest time for care, we hired a private duty caregiver, who often reported the poor condition my family member was in upon arrival. There were also troubling delays in response times. On multiple occasions, my family member waited for what they thought were hours after pressing their call button at night, though staff later claimed it was no more than 20 minutes. When I requested to see the actual response records from the system, they refused. Many issues went unreported, including missed laundry pickups, uncleaned rooms, and trash cans emptied without replacing the bag. At times, I refrained from complaining about caregiving lapses, understanding the staffing challenges. It was easier to just take care of what I could on my own. However, as my concerns continued to go unheard, I felt increasingly frustrated. In one instance, they even suggested that our private duty caregiver was responsible for an issue I reported, rather than addressing the real problem. Overall, while Charter had positive aspects—particularly the living spaces and accessibility of staff—the inconsistencies in care, especially at night, were deeply concerning. I hope they have since improved their staffing levels and caregiving standards.

[name removed]was on the Memory Care Unit from [date removed]. We had to move him home as he was not thriving in that environment. The Memory Care Director is fabulous, but he needed one on one care. It is best for me to keep him at home and use the help of sitters.

The friend whom we convinced to go to Charter has a lot of anxiety issues, and although the apartment that she has is very similar to the apartment in an independent living facility that she left, there are still issues. Perhaps because of staff turnover, it has been difficult for her to get a regular shower schedule, and to get advance notice of when that will happen. It would be good if they had a resident handbook and suggestions on how to deal with particular problems, or how to better adapt to the facility and communicate with the staff there. It has also been difficult because there are at least three of us who are trying to help her, and perhaps the staff does not know who to contact if there are specific issues. It's tough for everybody, and that is not unique to the situation at Charter.

They are renovating, but facility needs upgrades. Very old. Wish these facilities provided social work services so residents could access needed services better, like medical care, therapies, etc.

The situation: my LO was only there about 10 days. During that time they experienced falling but it took them a day or so to hospitalize them. They had a stroke, that they never recovered from. They were not returned to Charter. Charter asks the families not to visit for 30 days, so we have no idea what day to day activities were like or the meals. Everyone was friendly.

Their call buttons for the residents at the beginning didn't work. So the only way to get help was if someone came and checked on my loved one. The facility was taken care of, except for their outdoor areas. The regular staff have been very friendly and are so helpful and provide great care. The meals are average. In December, policies are changing and there will be charge for residents to eat in their rooms. I think the overall cost is average.

It was an ok place, my dad was happy there while able to walk independently. Once he needed more advanced care, situation was much trickier. There were occasional issues that were corrected after I would bring attention to them but I was there every single day. Would not recommend leaving a family member there without close supervision, they were very disorganized, would miss room cleanings, forget to do his laundry, or would not put clothes on him after shower. Front desk people were nice and facilities were pretty good. This was the only facility we ever used so can't compare to others.

It is a secure and safe environment and easily accessible from most areas. They strictly adhere to all medication protocols. They know each of the residents and work with the families to accommodate their needs. The administrative staff is knowledgeable, friendly, competent and accessible. The food, according to residents, is awful. Selection, appearance, taste and combination. It appears overcooked and unappetizing. Some are now asking for peanut butter and jelly in lieu of the meal.

Placed my 99 y.o. father there. He needed a smaller facility with more staff than where he had been. Initial impressions from management on down were very good. However, as time passed I found I had to be there to ensure his needs were being met. He was supposed to be on a laundry and shower schedule, but was not given this service untill I insisted they do this. I found him in the common area one time with a swollen arm seeping fluid onto himself, his wheelchair and all over the floor. When I told the duty nurse, her response was "the human body does that sometimes." I was appalled and got the director involved. He was taken to the hospital. Things improved when Hospice got involved. They were amazing. He passed away a few weeks later. Lesson learned: don't ever assume any facility will fulfill their obligations. Your loved one must have an advocate to ensure their care.

If u visit often it can work. People are very nice and caring. It is not one on one which they tell you upfront. Both my parents are here and their needs differ. Difficult situation for staff which they have addressed better as they got to know them. My parents feel taken care of with my prompting staff of their needs.

Staff at Charter Senior Living of Verona are friendly, but a few more activities would be welcome, such as afternoon exercise classes. I will say the food was better before charter senior living took over. It was about a 5 up until April when they replaced Cedarhurst Verona as management. Cedarhurst's restaurant style menu was a big reason to choose them.

Charter has many nice staff. I think most of them care about the residents but the building is old and needs lots of updates and cleaning up. It's a great place if you can stay in Independent Living or even Assisted Living if no dementia. My biggest complaint is not encouraging showers or knowing how to redirect behavior instead of always calling family.

I would recommend this place. Communication with the family is good. I often ask them not to call my son at night. They do as I ask and call him in the morning. Moving in was okay. It was a ton of work for my son, but he made it work. The housekeeping is okay. They have trouble keeping a housekeeper. But most of them have been pretty good. The food is okay, it will be better when they improve it, which they are working on. We have only been under Charter since [date removed]

Could use updating, food experiences were not what we were promised with sample meal.

My Dad is no longer at Cedarhurst. He went back home . Our experience with Cedarhurst was okay . My Dad was there 2 months and they only cleaned his room 2 times. I thought they were supposed to clean his room once a week. Also the nurse that was on call wasn't available when we needed her, she was on vacation. Otherwise, the people there, were very kind and my Dad enjoyed the meals . The building was neat and clean

My loved one is a resident at Charter Senior Living of Orland Park and overall the experience has been good. I feel that the caregivers that I see there when I visit are remarkable. They are so good with the residents, they truly care. I wish they had additional caregivers, though. It seems there are not enough when they have to ready everyone for bed. We have had some laundry and housekeeping issues. My loved one often tells me that the food is not good, which I find ridiculous for the amount of money that they receive. They have also changed ownership back to Autumn Leaves. Not the same availability for questions or just to find out things that are going on. Charter tried to make things easier for working family members to be present for things they celebrated, now they pretty much do it during their office team's working hours which is not convenient for family members. I believe they should be more approachable and accessible than they are. I have mixed feelings on the recommendation of this facility to others, I want to see how these new owners are going to be in a couple more months. They are really not accessible and I don't like that.

The place looks good and has great layout for dementia residents. Most of the staff are very kind, but not all trained well w memory care. There is a HUGE turnover in staff and they are often severely understaffed, esp @ night. If your fam does not sleep at night or seems uncooperative w/meds, they label them belligerent and send them to hospital for "Psychatric" assessment". This will cost you $[removed] plus cost of ambo ride. They will require you to get 24 hr 1:1 private duty care that will cost you $[removed] hour, so they do not have to deal with residents at night. Our family was there for eight months and left based on $[removed] per month facility costs and $[removed] per month costs for 1:1 care. If they prescribe meds, have them ckd by outside med staff -may not be most current meds. They charge you when fam is moved out & in hosp for weeks. Look for a fac w long-term staff and staffed well at night. Pretty & clean is just not enough if you need memory care.

Most of the staff were good, some not so good. Housekeeping was not so good. Communication was just okay. Meals weren't good at all. Moving in and moving out was good, laundry service was awful. They lost so much of my mother's clothes and when you told them it was like no concern of theirs. A few of the ladies were just loving and great. Overall, I wouldn't recommend.