Westminster Communities

6 years ago, we specifically chose THIS CCRC which provided 24 hour availability of healthcare and related services, daily meals, evacuation/care during a hurricane and a community environment. In the past all these amenities have disappeared. The issues include: - Loss of availability of a 24 hour nurse to assess medical situations when the emergency call button is activated. - AEDs (automatic defibrillators) are forbidden and there is a Corporate Policy against them in Independent Living. - They plan to institute a part C Medicare program where residents will have to turn their Medicare benefit over to them AND pay a monthly fee for services in the health center. - Independent Living residents are now told to “evacuate yourself" during a hurricane. - They have SIGNIFICANT issues with the dining program/quality of food. Residents are paying between [price removed] and [price removed]/month, but are only allowed [price removed] for food per day. We DEFINITELY regret referring our parents to this facility.

The setting is beautiful and I have made many wonderful friends here but I can no longer recommend this community to others. Why? Because of the administration. Promises have been made and since broken. One concern is evacuations in case of a hurricane. We were told we would be evacuated and now we are being told that in the event of a hurricane all independent living residents are on their own! I am signed up to move into the new building that has yet to be completed. For over the last year, residents have been voicing their concerns only to have been ignored and for the most part not even given the courtesy of a response. Just a few of these concerns regard toilets at a comfortable height for seniors, proper doors for walk-in closets, a dining room where residents were promised one meal a day. Westminster Communities of Florida does not care about the residents' opinions or desires.

Mom lived in the Manor for 25 days. She lived in assisted living where I was assured she'd have help with her ADLs. I stayed with her the first week so I saw first hand what happened. Once she was moved in, no one met with her to give her an orientation or even to show her where to go for meals. When I asked for one, I was told by the Nurse Director she was too busy and someone else would come. No one did. We didn't eat there the first two days because we didn't know where or when to go to meals. No caregiver came to her room to help her dress. In the 25 days she was there she wasn't helped to bath once. In 25 days she went to one activity because they didn't have an activity director, so there were few activities and no one came to tell mom about them. She sat in her room alone. After I left, she called me on the phone constantly worrying she'd miss meals because no one could be bothered to help her learn the new schedule of when they were. After she'd been there 20 days the Nurse Director told me she wasn't adjusting to the new environment and told me I had to move her out immediately and provide a private caregiver until I did. My calls to management went unanswered so I moved mom out. (I later found out the director was an interim director). Mom did not 'adjust' because 1) they didn't give her time to adjust and 2) no one made any effort to help her. For whatever reason, the Nurse Director didn't want a resident that actually needed more than 10-20 minutes help a day (she told me no one in assisted living needed more than that. If you need more, you need to be in memory care). The Manor is absolutely lovely and the food is so good I wish I could eat it everyday. I'm 55 and qualify to live in their independent living units and I'd do it in a flash if I was ready to retire. But if your loved one needs assisted living, this place doesn't provide it.

As a resident of Winter Park for nearly fifty years I feel compelled to share the following. If you're considering Senior Living in the Winter Park area please consider avoiding Westminster Winter Park, formerly The Towers. I had an egregious experience there. Misrepresentation by the management was frequent. I am grateful for a number of relationships at the facility but again management was consistently off the mark. I now live in a sensational retirement facility! I love central Florida and wish my fellow citizens a place such as I have found.

My experience with having my mom at westminster health center was not very favorable. We placed her there after a hospital stay as a trial to see if we might consider having there permanently in skilled nursing and have dad move to the assisted living side so they could be together in a facility. But after this trial experience, I would not recommend sending your loved one there. The occupational and physical therapy staff are quite capable and caring, and they should be complimented, but other than that, much needs improvement. In particular, nursing staff and supervision needs improvement. Although I visited practically every day, getting updates on mom's condition and progress was always like pulling teeth. There was always a lot of "it's not my job" or go talk to do and so, who would refer you to someone else. Even the nursing supervisor had similar attitude, so there's a problem for sure. Also, my mother has no use of right arm so needs her food cut for her. On two occasions i visited at mealtime. However no one pair attention or cut her food. I typically don't write reviews but this experience prompted me to do so. The facility also needs a thorough cleaning, as in several occasions, soon as you walk in the door, there is an unappealing smell. The assisted living side of westminster may be good, but I can't recommend their health center if your loved one needs that kind of care.

We had our mother in the Manor for Rehab. It's was aweful!! From the first moment to the last. She ended up being hospitalized. The woman at the front desk was rude. We didn't know where her room was and she couldn't have cared less. The place was dirty and smelled of urine. The night nurse couldn't figure out how to put her bipap on and ended up throwing it at her, walking out and shutting the door. When I complained the following day, nothing was done. She had a special needs diet (renal). The dietary came to me to ask what that was. Are you kidding me? When I asked the nurse if she knew my mother needed help to eat, she looked at me like I had 3 heads. I could go on and on. And, she wasn't even there a week. Aweful!!!

If I could give a zero I would. Horrible! My mother was transferred here for rehab after a stroke. Your eyes water and nose burns from the urine smell the minute you walk thru the door. The staff must be nose blind. Rehab is mixed with long term nursing care patients which certainly is NOT an encouraging atmosphere for rehab patients. My mother asked several times if this was where she would be staying. We said NO and she replied.. Oh Thank God! We never knew who her doctor was. What her care plan was. Who her social worker was etc. We started working on getting her out as soon as we could. By the way-- when we asked to tour the place prior to her transfer--- we were NEVER shown THIS area of facility. Run-- do not walk--away from this place. I have much more to say and many more examples (with documentation AND videos). Just ask...

My grandmother has had a poor experience during her stay at Westminister. We have experience with other properties that provide excellent service with my Mother-in-Law. So, we have a frame of reference as to what services and benefits assisted living properties should provide.

The community may appear to be a high end living experience on the surface, but the truth is that you will be paying a substantial sum for limited returns. The administration is absolutely disorganized and uncaring. Policies will change without notice and the bottom dollar and profits are given priority to resident well being and needs. If you plan on moving to the community, be prepared to be bombarded with empty and false promises and expect to pay for something which is not worth the lies they feed you in print and shady marketing staff which will sell you the world in order to make the sale. They will typically place you in the inappropriate level of care and later move you around to increase their assisted living and skilled nursing census. Beware, be wise, steer clear.