Life Care Services LLC

Corporate facility has a lot of red tape and very little room for individual needs! Food was frequently AWFUL and not what my mother requested. Even while in Hospice, Freedom Square talked the talk, but didn't deliver what they promised. My mother passed away in February and her estate wont get reimbursed until June! She paid over $4,000 a month for service and food and didn't receive her monies worth! Do your homework before going to a Brookdale property! It is FOR PROFIT!

Pros: Nice size rooms. Residents I saw seemed happy. Cons: My guide seemed irritated by residents asking to talk to her. There is no security by the door at night, so no one might notice if a person (personal care level) left, if they were not locked on the memory care unit. Head counts of residents in personal care are not conducted. Multiple floors,with elevator travel necessary to move between recreation areas, etc. Not homey (institutional) eating area.

I was not impressed with my tour of this facility. It was not community I would had felt comfortable moving my parents too.

I didn't really have a good feeling about this community. It was not very clean and my tour was quick. I did get to see everything like the rooms and dinning room. I however , didn't get to see interactions between staff and residents. The activities that were offered and the amenities didn't really meet my expectations. My tour overall could have been a little better.

My dad seems to be happy at this community but I feel that I am not getting the best communication from the staff. They use to call me weekly now they call me every other week. He does not seemed to in harms way but what they tell me does not sound like my father. Overall, I would like more feedback to feel confident about the care because I am in another state.

Our Mother moved in Fall, 2015. When movers arrived at her apartment, it wasn't clean and the model furniture had not been moved out. Things haven't gotten much better, there is no disaster plan in place at this facility. When the weather got bad, she went to my sisters house because she didn't know what she would do. There hasn't been any discussion with the residents as to what they can do in case of a tornado. The food service is extremely poor, they have now switched to some kind of restaurant menu with 2 slices of ham and fries costing $14.00. The one meal my Mother ordered was stuffed peppers and the meat was raw when brought out, not to mention she waited over an hour for service. Lights are out in her apartment and she can't get them fixed. I wouldn't recommend putting a family member in this facility.

I wish my mom loved it and I wished we loved it. But we don't and we are looking for another place. The facilities... this place is a country club... beautifully decorated, great food, clean. They have great activites. It really is beautiful. The care itself is very very poor. They never have enough help. My mom has been there one full year and they have been through three different head RNs (The RN oversees all care--- everyone else does not have any official medical training) My mom is on a lot of medication and is not an easy client but we pay the top level of care... over $[price removed] in addition to the high room and board, and she constantly is running out of her medications-- these should be on autorefill and never be out. There are times when she can't make it to the dinning room because of the medications and they often do not bring her a meal. The companions that come to help you in the morning get your medications, etc., are the same ones that serve the meals so there is NEVER EVER EVER enough help. My family has tried to work with the management team there to address these issues and no solution has worked. I'm talking about emails, meetings, friendly suggestions about how to improve the service... nothing has worked. They don't follow through with the action plan. We are in the process of hiring an outside helper to come in the mornings for a few hours to get her breakfast and lunch and help with her shower and just troubleshooting all the issues. I'm sorry to say we are looking for another place. If your loved one needs a high level of "assistance" for the "assisted living" I would not recommend Sterling. If they are able to live very independently, this would be a great place.

bad management

This week it's okay, but we have had some issues. The attitude of the staff is not very good. The head nurse there, is pretty good, she knows where I am coming from. There have been maintenance issues. The billing has had a few issues as well. The food is about average. They do seem to have a lot of activities.

My mother lived here for over 11 years and was mostly satisfied although her rent was raised each and every year. But after a series of strokes last January, she ended up in CV's Health Center. When her Medicare was about to run out in March, my brother was advised to put her in CV's new Memory Unit despite the fact she seemed to have no memory problems. So he signed the papers and deposited over $7000 for the first month's rent plus a "community fee." But the day our mother was scheduled to move into the Unit she took a turn for the worse and was dead within 48 hours. While she was in Hospice we learned she had been dying for weeks if not months, something we feel the medical staff at CV should have been aware of. Since our mother never moved into the Memory Unit and her rent was paid up for the month of March, we expected a full refund of our money. But CV only refunded a portion of it, keeping over $3700 for the 9 days from when the contract was signed even though NO services were rendered. We are still fighting to get the rest of the money back but CV continues to ignore us. Brookdale Cypress Village is all about the bottom line, especially since merging with Emeritus in August -- now they are the biggest conglomerate providing senior living in the country. Buyers beware!

My mother lived here for over 11 years and was mostly satisfied although her rent was raised each and every year. But after a series of strokes last January, she ended up in CV's Health Center. When her Medicare was about to run out in March, my brother was advised to put her in CV's new Memory Unit despite the fact she seemed to have no memory problems. So he signed the papers and deposited over $7000 for the first month's rent plus a "community fee." But the day our mother was scheduled to move into the Unit she took a turn for the worse and was dead within 48 hours. While she was in Hospice we learned she had been exhibiting most of the final signs of dying, something we feel the medical staff at CV should have been aware of. Since our mother never moved into the Memory Unit and her rent was paid up for the month of March, we expected a full refund of our money. But CV only refunded a portion of it, keeping over $3700 for the 9 days from when the contract was signed even though NO services were rendered. We are still fighting to get the rest of our money back. Brookdale Cypress Village is all about the bottom line, especially since merging with Emeritus in August -- now they are the biggest conglomerate providing senior living in the country. The incentive they offer for purchasing one of their apartments is the promise to ultimately use that money toward any Assisted Living needed in the future. But this is also an incentive for Cypress Village to keep your parent in their facility for as long as possible so as not to refund a portion of the purchase price after your parent dies. So my warning to you is this: BUYER BEWARE!

I had a tour here and it was horrible. They have a beautiful facility, but from the time I walked in the door, I was not impressed. The woman behind the desk was too lazy to even get up. She didn't listen to me and thought I wanted to visit a resident. She showed me to a room where the people were all slumped over and half asleep. The woman who was going to tour me wasn't in the right building so I know she wasn't listening when I said I was interested in memory care.

We toured here, and realized this wouldn't work for our loved one. It's a buy in community, meaning that you pay a entrance fee. Also, this is a highrise building in downtown Chicago. It wasn't in a convenient location for my family, since we were looking for something in a more suburban setting.

They were really expensive, I've heard good things about them and I've heard bad things about them. They're spending their monies in the wrong ways. They're building this olympic sized pool and jacking up all the prices people pay. They're building this palacial thing worthy of a gym that 70 year old people don't need so we kind of avoided that.

It's supposed to be rated as one of the better places - I don't think so! It's not nice at all. My mother-in-law was there for rehabilitation and she would say to my yongest son, "Please get me out of here before I go crazy like the other people." It was a very depressing place. There were one or two people that work there that were nice and on the ball but it seemed like there was a lot of turnover. While she was there we had a coupld of things happen that she was not comfortable with. I hate to be negative but it was what it was.

The food could really be improved and just well rounded, more of a variety. More fruit, vegetables, and protein and not just all carbs.

I am not a resident but am a frequent visitor. When my parents entered Blakehurst, I was pleased - I though it the right decision. For the first few years, things went well. Services were provided and the food was typically very good. Care was adequate. There were good attempts in hosting special events. The outdoor grilling was a favorite for many. Fast forward to the last 1-2 years. Food is not edible - really. Anyone want green beans with yellow spots? Food is so bad, the residents are preparing their own meals and throwing out what is provided. This is more stressful in time of COVID. Oh yes, let's talk about that. Residents are free to leave the facility without restriction. BUT, I cannot visit my parents. I cannot enter to even assist them when help is needed. Some residents cannot visit spouses in the medical facilities. How can Blakehurst allow residents to leave and go to dinner, have drinks with friends and interact with the public but then deny family from meeting one and other. The virus will get into Blakehurst from the interaction with the public. Prohibiting family and spouses spending time with one and other is simply heartless. Blakehurst was a good, friendly place that was safe for our aging population. For the initial investment and monthly dues, today it is simply wasteful. Enjoy life. Buy a small home and when care is needed, there are good senior care professionals out there. (Yes, you need to search for the good ones.) Life will be happier, and you can get the care you need. And yes, you can even save a bunch of money!

My relative was there for 2 years; I was very disappointed in the overall level of support; there was a lot of turnover and the billing and business office functions are substandard. They nickel and dime you for everything- make sure you know how to exit without hefty times- no consideration if the resident's condition changes. The assisted living was even worse.

My mom is currently here. If you are in a hurry for help it takes about 35 minutes. When the gal was asked why does it take that long she responded “that’s about right” when hospice came in to put an air mattress on the bed they threw the call light button on the night stand and never gave it to my mom . She got her neck stuck in the pillow and couldn’t call for help. I do not recommend this facility.

Building repairs needed for 1 year. Water goes off 3 times in 4 months. Poor investigation of inappropriate behavior of male staff toward female residents. Until several ladies came forward. Staff was dismissed. On their 3rd chef. However, they catered food until new Chef arrived. Most of staff make great effort. However, management is slow to support changes.