The Arbor Company

When we moved mom in the quality of care was exceptional. Over the past 2 months it has gotten worse and worse. Too many staff members leaving, residents are unhappy.

While they have MANY good people working there, who really care about the residents, we were “lied to” and had to move my Mom. I’m sharing this in hopes of preventing others from having to go through the same pains and hassle. Their food and food service was very substandard, which was a BIG misrepresentation, during their sales pitch. Much of it canned and always served on styrofoam with plastic utensils. Their sign in/accountability system is cumbersome and inefficient. And most importantly, they couldn’t seem to pay close enough attention in administering my Mom’s many medicines and because of that, the meds most likely were frequently not working properly. Don’t make the same mistake we made. Look around. There ARE better places in the area.

For me the tour gets a 2 because it was not going to work out for my needs. There are cottages for independent living but they are far away from everything. You have to drive to go eat, to go to activities, etc. It is just far away from everything. They also did not have a lot of handicap parking spaces available.

Arbor Terrace was a very beautiful place, it was all marble and you could eat off the floor. Some may like this, but to me it felt cold and we were looking for something more homey. Also it was empty and I did not see any staff which was something that was important for me.

The management team is very good, but the friendliness of the staff can vary depending on who you talk to. The head nurse is not the most friendliest - doesn't give off that warm and fuzzy feeling. They have recently gone through owner changes so there is some internal communication issues, and because of that their evaluation process might not be the most accurate. At the moment it is not running as smoothly as we would of hoped, but we still are comfortable with our loved ones being there. The place is very clean and well kept, and the receptionist [name removed] is tremendous, she really goes out of her way to make our family feel welcomed.

I changed my review from 5 stars to 2, after contacting corporate and got NO response. The food has gone really, really bad. It improved for a while last year while an executive from corporate worked there, then went down to worse than ever. The residents ALL complain about it to each other, but are sadly too intimidated to complain to the cook and management. And the management takes advantage of their intimidation. What do seniors have to look forward to as much as a tasty meal? Well, not here they don't. When I visit mom end of September I'll take her and her friends to check out better homes for them. They deserve to get what they're paying for, and here they no longer care. Don't move in here.

I changed my review from 5 stars to 2, after contacting corporate and got NO response. The food has gone really, really bad. It improved for a while last year while an executive from corporate worked there, then went down to worse than ever. The residents ALL complain about it to each other, but are sadly too intimidated to complain to the cook and management. And the management takes advantage of their intimidation. What do seniors have to look forward to as much as a tasty meal? Well, not here they don't. When I visit mom end of September I'll take her and her friends to check out better homes for them. They deserve to get what they're paying for, and here they no longer care. Don't move in here.

I just moved my mom in a month ago. It has been a very disappointing experience. They make promises for service but don't keep those promises. I have to go over almost every day to follow up on things they don't take care of. I paid extra for them to take my mom to a doctor's appointment and wait for her. Despite numerous assurances, they did not wait for her. She was very anxious about this. They are very short staffed. But the worst part is that you can not trust them to do what they say.

Prior to COVID we believed this was a really nice community, but about five months after our loved one moved in the staff did not take care of her, she was pushed by another resident and injured herself which ended up leading to her death. This community was clean, bright and cheery. The food seemed to be satisfying. What really stood out to us was the overall cleanliness, the staff and accessibility.

The staff is kind but overwhelmed in the memory care unit - the Arbor model does not permit hiring of more staff, so the residents get short changed by having to wait for assistance with feeding, dressing, etc. Many of these tasks end up being done by family members when they are visiting. Clothing often goes missing, as do linens and towels, even it they are labeled with the resident's name. Arbor also advertises as an "age in place" facility, meaning residents can stay until they pass away. However, be warned that if administration determines your loved one requires too much care, you can receive 30 days notice that you must move them elsewhere. Administration has changed in the last 18 months, which has led to a lot of changeover in staff - it is not the quality place it once was. I would not recommend Arbor Terrace at Crabapple.

I would not recommend The Preserve at Palm Aire for anyone seeking Independent Living arrangements. There are no separate areas for the Independent folks. The management allows the Assisted Living people to come into the supposedly Independent L. areas at will, including the Independent Living dining room, even though they have their own dining room. It is very DEPRESSING to see all these walkers and motorized scooters everywhere and residents being fed by aides that are not supposed to be in the dining room and drooling over their food. The facilities are nice and the price is good but it has the atmosphere of a nursing home not a smart Independent Living facility. Also, the management does nothing about the many legitimate complaints that everyone has. They have excuses for everything. Especially the food! They are serving us cafeteria grade food, not cooked right, cold when served, strange recipes, and running out before the dining time is over. The complainers are labeled "trouble makers." No I would not recommend The Reserve at Palm Aire. Come see for yourself at 4:30 some evening. An independent Living Resident

Legacy Oaks changed ownership a week after we moved my parents in. The change was very noticeable, and not in a positive way. The food went from very good to almost inedible. They began operating on skeleton staffs. My mother consistently waited 15 to 20 minutes for assistance. There are some very caring and kind staff members, but I’m sure the change in ownership and the lack of appropriate staffing has everyone spread too thin. If you can afford it, I would highly recommend looking at other options. This is not the facility we were originally sold on, and have since moved my parents elsewhere.

Why don't you show pictures of any rooms or square footage of same? Why are there no ratings?

First off, Arbor Terrace was unaware of the tour I scheduled on this site. [Removed] sat down with me and was very pleasant, speaking about the facility and the continuity of care. Many of the staff have been with Arbor Terrace for years. We discussed pricing and that is when the conversation turned not-so-pleasant. Once she heard my Mom's assets and monthly income, the 'tour' was finished. She told me flat out that my Mom could not afford Arbor Terrace and instead suggested other facilities in the area. This was my first tour and I was devastated. Oh, and I never got to see anything but the front desk.

I am happy with the services my husband has at The Vantage. My only worry is that the food is not hot when reaches the fourth floor

The Harbor is a beautiful facility, and we had high hopes for it being the right place for our loved one. We caution you to stay fully involved in the management and care of your loved one if you choose this facility. We recently moved our loved one from The Harbor for many reasons, but most importantly, over medication issues. Meds were ordered in an eractic way, and I made many calls attempting to understand. Upon moving our loved one, we learned that one of the reasons for a declining attitude was due to not receiving an important medication. Meals were also taking a great deal of time to be served with the order then being cold and many times wrong. Transportation was an issue if you choose not to use the house doctors. The lobby is cold and uninviting. Don't expect a staff member to speak to you. You're paying a great deal and not receiving top dollar care. Our disappointing experience meant we were not getting what felt we were paying for. Know that there will be an annual increase.

Assisted and Independent (2nd/3rd Fl) seems to be very good. If you can walk, take care of yourself and still perform the basic necessities of life that might be the place to be. Memory care on First floor another subject, poor . As nice and loving as the caregivers are in Memory care they are not properly trained in all the different varieties of care needed, especially dementia patients. It's not their fault but corporate that hasn't provided them with the proper training. Would strongly recommend if you are thinking about putting your loved one in the memory section of this facility that you spend 2 or 3 days on different shifts in it to decide for yourself. The staff is hard to keep in memory care and it's a revolving door for getting good employers and keeping them on a long term basis. They also do not have a registered RN on site.

Mom didn't like the area although the people were nice.

It is still a work in progress for us here at this community. My mother for the most part is doing well, but I do have my concerns about this facility. The medical staff needs improvement. They have a doctor onsite, but it seems like he has a lot going on. My mother doesn't seem to get the care she needs. She says the staff is slow to response when she needs help. The staff is very caring, and trying their best.

The CNAs are very good. Unlike many ALF places, they actually pay attention to the assisted living residences. 1 BR apts are available for those who need more space. The memory center residences are kept in their own wing, The ALF and IL residents share activities which is a big plus. Not all places allow this. The CNAs and the LPNs are very attentive and patient. You can take a shower in the morning or evening. Some places have shower-time between 6:45 - 7:45 pm only due to limited CNA staff. Not at the Preserve, tho. Preserve is very flexible. Showers 7 days a week are available depending on the plan. The food for ALF is pretty bad, to say the least. Also, unlike in the IL dining room, you end up eating whatever they throw in front of you. They do give the residences a menu where they circle their choices from the limited list. However, the servers don't always follow what the resident asked for and sometimes bring anything. Also, they take forever to serve. I guess they do their best, but they are not trained as servers and English is not their first language. When I visit, I take my parent to the IL dining room so she can order whatever she wants from the menu and actually get it. Also, she gets good service from professional servers. The one thing, the servers in IL speak English as their first language. While the direct service staff do a reasonably good job, the management need more supervision from their parent company, Life Care Services (LCS). Preserve was recently acquired by LCS so the managers (they call themselves "directors", but that's mostly a form of title inflation) still haven't gotten their act together. Back in July, one of the managers physically accosted a family member of one of the residents and the police had to be called. The family member agreed to leave things as "criminal complaint" and not escalate it to "criminal charge" if he promises to behave himself and not do that kind of thing again. I know that, with the changeover in executive management in Des Moines, IA, the interim management at the Preserve want to make a good impression with their bosses. [removed]. Hopefully, LCS will take some action and prevent this kind of thing from happening too often. Employees should not be physically threatening residents or their family members. My parent's BP went right up when this stuff happened. It's important that my parent lives in safe place where her health is not compromised. The managers do a lot of up-selling. Occassionally my parent needs to go to the toilet when she is returned from a meal or activity. As long as the CNA is there, she can ask if my parent needs to go now. The ALF manager told us we must pay an extra $1000 for that service. We said no, and she didn't push it any further. Most ALF properties let me stay overnight when visiting for a week to 10 days. Preserve wants me to rent a separate room for $150 a night. I just go to a cheap $55/night room up to the road. They didn't like that and called me at the hotel, accused me of staying overnight at their property and insisted I move into a $150 night room or, better yet, rent a more expensive 2-BR apt for my parent for those times I visit. Again, I said no. Nevertheless, they wasted time writing up a lease for the 2-BR in case I changed my mind. I guess their managers have a lot of time on their hands to take work hours out to do this kind of stuff. The physical therapist who comes in twice a week to provide one-on-one rehab is very good. She also runs the 3-day a week senior aerobics class which my parent enjoys going to. It's also a nice way for the ALF and IL residents to socialize and make friends. This is a big plus. She also advises on other rehab such as OT and ST. Very nice. Once the shake-down from the new LCS executive management is settled, and the interim managers are replaced by experienced senior staff, the Preserve should turn out to be a pretty good place. We won't be hasty. We'll give them some time to fix things, which the corporate office tells me they will look into. If they can resolve this, I can see my loved one staying there for a quite a while.