Charter Senior Living

The facility was bright, spacious and clean with a section for more serious care if needed. Initial impressions across the board were favorable. However, I found the level of attention my father needed was not provided as time passed. If you have a loved one there, you must visit everyday to ensure proper care.

Biggest complaint is food. I find staff very helpful and friendly. Facilities are up to date. Lately dinning room seems to be short staffed. There are activities scheduled for most of the day, from exercise to soap making. Choose what and if you like. As I said in prior writeups, food menus seem to be a challenge.

The staff were sometimes lazy and inattentive. Being understaffed is a problem. My loved one was often not clean and they seldom assisted with teeth brushing. (Her tooth brush was usually dry and her dentist said her hygiene was terrible) She also was agitated due to boredom. I saw few activities or enrichment beyond watching TV. She fell out of bed and suffered significant bruises and they did not call hospice or me to notify us. I would not recommend the memory care if you had other alternatives, but unfortunately I think there are not very many alternatives, they are all about the same unless you spend a lot of money at Penwick. My husband is a doctor and we asked around and it seems to be the consensus that they are all about the same (no very good).

My experience at Charter is mixed bag. Starters the location is perfect and common areas are cleaned, but the rooms were not getting cleaned once a week as promised, they still are not. The facility had a great group of people talking care of mom and that was important. However they have issues keeping caregivers and med techs so people are often over worked or not there and then my mom's care suffers. The sales people get people to come, but also make caregivers uncomfortable due to difference yet they have influence with the administration. When I get more time, I may explore other options for my mother unless things change. They are failing at keeping the staff that does a good job..

Charter Senior Living could definitely improve on the food and maintenance. They are "renovating" right now but it's just cosmetic stuff and the building is old. One of the elevators was broken for like 5 days and that to me is just unacceptable. Most of the staff is really friendly and the director works her butt off.

No matter what your family member needs an advocate. The supplies we pay for tend to go missing. My dad has gone several days without being bathed or having his clothes changed. For the most part it's a good facility with good people but it's hard for them to keep the staff. So there is a lot of turn over and the customer suffers.

What i like most is the location and that it's a smaller group of residents than it was at the last place she was at. They could improve on being more organized, more aides to assist residents, and more activities.

Always available to discuss needs. Willing to work with family to ensure patients are cared for. Limited resources for bed ridden patients. Limited resources for transferring patients needing physical assistance (bed to chair, chair to bed). Activities - need to include patients who are not able to physically participate because they are bed ridden. Food - menu options need to be expanded. Need to provide more advanced knowledge of food menu options. Be able to accommodate food restrictions for patients.

Staff are never around, you never see them. Food is not tasty and seems to be cooked elsewhere and ready to heat for serving.

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.

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.