Distinctive Living

You walk into the building and sometimes greeted by the front desk sometime not. I never see the Executive Director around. The staff aren’t smiling and they seem as though they don’t want to be there. I see [name removed, the jack of all trades everywhere. He is the sweetest and kindest person there. I also always see Shawna running around. This place really has potential but something needs to change.

It presents well with a very friendly and happy and helpful staff. In my opinion, they are understaffed actually it is a fact, One staff member should not be in charge of over 100 assisted-living clients upstairs. That is unsafe. Also, there are lines to the elevator every meal with clients sitting in the hallway for long periods of time. Again due to being understaffed in my opinion for the amount of money that is handed to them, it would be appreciated if they hired more employees. It presents well during the day at meals, but I would suggest going there a few times unannounced. Again, one of the better places in New Jersey, unfortunately but for the price unrealistic, do not have enough staff at hand it is not fair to the client or employee that is overworked or under cared for.

Assistance to residents at mealtime was not good. Was told they ran out of salad and milk was not available. Clothes were missing even though Labeled them. Staff would gather in hallway and were very loud. Had to request laundry to be done. [community name removed] rated higher but food not tasty and small portions. Use paper plates to serve meals. Care of residents needs improvement. Hair greasy. Clothes soiled, not shaven for days. Several times when I arrived early he was still in bed and brought down smelling of urine. Facility very nice and roomy for the resident activities. Ankle security device not on. Asked multiple times to look into it without results. Like that a floor for memory care is on one level and no other residents from other units are kept separate. Ample space to go outside in a safe environment

There is no alternate meal. Diabetics and normal diets are the same. Most meals consist of rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, some kind of meat, and a roll. If you can’t eat something, you get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There is no dietician, or even a menu for the folks ahead of time. There are no nurses on staff after 4:00 any day, or week ends. The meds are passed by med techs.

Things were going pretty good until [name removed] fell from his wheelchair. Hospice was called and he was admitted to the Hospice facility. Hospice told me that [name removed] needed a facility with skilled nursing, not assisted living and memory care. So [name removed] went to a snf. I asked for a refund for days remaining and was told no. Said I needed 30 day prior notice. How was this suppose to happen? So I did not get a refund. Very disappointing.

1. The physical, occupational, and speech therapy professionals are amazing, thoughtful, and caring. (They are not staff members, they are contracted from Heritage. ) 2. The recently appointed Activities Director is superb, creative, and uses the residents to advise her on possibilities. I have been cleared by [name removed], Wellness Director, to pay rent at a Level one resident since [date removed], but I have continued to be billed and paid $900 more a month at the silver 4 level than the services I have received. The cleaning is way below level.

The facility is nice but what ever air deodorizer they are using affected my asthma as soon as I walked into the building. I wondered how this affects residents with serious respiratory conditions.

The staff here is lovely and welcoming. However, this wasn’t a great fit for my Dad. He really needed a lot of care with everything: toileting, personal care, eating, etc. They just didn’t have enough staff to provide that much care in a timely manner.

The main hallway floors often dirty, streaky. They do well keeping the individual apartments and main entrance clean. Dining area also. The staff are friendly and outgoing for the most part. There have been multiple complaints have been made as my loved one is often left in a wet diaper which causes them to develop sores. Lack of staffing and lack of on-site supervision appear to be the issues. There are a couple of bright stars in the support pool but mostly they cannot seem to get to my dad to get him dressed for the day before 11 am. They are supposed to change him twice during the night and if he is changed once, it is rare and not consistent. When he calls to get changed outside of the normal set times they are to change him, it could be hours for a response. My parents are frustrated because they are paying additional money for the highest level of care and are not receiving the consistent care they are paying for Dining is inconsistent. What they are served is often not what is presented on the menu. Food is tasteless and served cold at times. There have been several occasions where kitchen staff did not even show up. They have had many occasions where my parents have waited for over an hour for food. There are various daily activities and monthly events as well. My parents introduced their favorite game and now have others involved on a weekly basis. My mother has started a knitting/crocheting group and is involved in many of the other activities offered. Both participate in the religious activities. The van that can be used to transport my dad in his wheelchair to outside activities was not working for almost a year but is now operating and my parents participate when they have room for my dad.

This is a nice facility & it’s taken some time to acclimate my husband to his new surroundings. They are short handed & keep trying to hire more people but they don’t like the work. The caregivers are generally congenial but they are reactive to patient needs instead of proactive as I am when I’m there. I visit almost every day and most days I take his laundry home to wash. He is losing belongings at every turn. Very frustrating for me. They have a very nice garden in back for a little sunshine & fresh air. Rooms are adequate. Food is generally pretty good and served to them at their table. Meals are important for most patients so that’s very good. Physical therapy is available at the facility. Communication with medical personnel is spotty, especially since they only have a PA once a week. Wound care is basically non existent (my husband has taken quite a few falls) so I change bandages & freshen antibiotics. This is a memory care unit so he doesn’t even know to ask for care.

There has been a 100% plus staff turnover in memory care. They have a new memory care director who's fantastic. When we moved in we were supposed to be in a 1 bedroom apartment and we are STILL waiting on the "renovations" to the new unit to be completed. We just went through theft of her soft drinks but that was instantly resolved as soon as we brought it to the director's attention. Nothing about her care is bad but I feel like the community somewhat misrepresented what we were going to get for our money. We have to change trash and clean her bathroom regularly because there isn't enough staff.

Facility is nice but needs updating. Especially in the dining room area. Staff is very friendly but not real responsive in answering questions. Especially for families who live out of the area. I would recommend this facility only if family is local.

My loved one was previously a resident at Inspired Living at Bonita Springs and the overall experience was good. The management and nursing were very responsive, but like every facility they have a couple of excellent caregivers and a majority of paycheck collectors. I moved my loved one to a different facility only because of the distance and I wanted him to be closer to home.

We have already had two price increases. This may be the same with all but her clothes, towels and toiletries are always coming up missing As far as activities they never leave the facility.

ALF cost has continued to increase. Food quality is not consistent, always out of products, few interesting activities - take a long time for staff to respond to urgent needs - home always smells bad. Theft seem to be an issue.

The price was raised by $[name removed] a month in less than a year. The staff though nice and caring are always changing and leaving. The Chelsea was sold to a new company that is taking over next month. I would not recommend to anyone

My loved one is currently a resident at Inspired Living at Ocoee. You get what you pay for.

My loved one was previously a resident at Inspired Living at Kenner. Overall, I am disappointed that the facility would not continue to care for my loved one. He seemed to be well cared for, but the Med Dir seemed to think he was too difficult to care for. They were frequently saying it took 4-6 people to get him into bed or to change his clothes. The staff was always helpful to me, but seemed to have trouble figuring out how to handle my loved one. Administration, caregivers and residents were all very friendly. The cleanliness was okay, but the floor in his room was always sticky. Also, they lost a good vest of his and a sheet and have not been able to find them. The food seemed to be very good and I think he ate well while he was there. The activities were exceptional and I think my loved one enjoyed them and participated in everything that they offered. But he is enjoying being able to go into his room when I come to visit and when he needs to rest during the day where he is now.

The staff members at Inspired Living are nice but the food that is prepared sucks, and the laundry is always mixed up. Our loved ones sheets are not made up properly, no one cleans the room, food is crap

Inspired Living Hidden Lakes is a memory care facility. It is tucked away in Bradenton in a facility identical to the now- closed Sarasota facility, which my father previously lived in. I would recommend it for families who are more local and can visit frequently, not for those at a distance. The reason is simple - all people in Memory Care need more help and family contact than those in independent living or some in assisted living. To deal with this, we have hired a private caregiver. This person has become a part of our family, noticing, caring and engaging with my dad personally. No matter the star ratings, it is rare for these memory care facilities to provide enough personal care, due to staffing shortages, frequent turnover, inadequate state training regs, and low pay. This is the reality of assisted living. So, if you can provide a caregiver or visit several times weekly, I recommend HL.