Cassia

Visited. In the homes the windows are set really high. Without standing, all that I could see is the sky. I need more of a view than that.

This looked like a nice clean community when we visited. The person that took us on tour was nice. This community did seem to have less active residents than what we were looking for. I would say this might be a community to look into for an older resident.

If you are finding yourself in a situation of placing a loved one in a nursing home, please let me recommend Augustana Health Care Center. Many of the workers care for residents beyond it just being a job, and they care about the families. IF there are issues, regardless of how small, it is immediately addressed. The CNA's and the nurses are outstanding. I can't even begin to name all of them who were so caring. We witnessed a nurse and a couple of CNA's who were lacking in really caring about the residents. Those people did not last here, the staff at Augustana really have the ability to hire the best for the residents. Then came the time the Lord decided it was time for Mom to join Him and her husband, in Heaven. During the few days prior to her passing, we (family) were constantly at Mom's side. What we observed during that time left us in awe. The love and compassion shown to Mom and our family was beyond reproach! Janet in Activities even came and sang hymns to Mom, which seemed to relax her. The on site Pastor, (Pastor Gordon), was there with us often. Love and compassion flows from the Lord to all around Pastor Gordon. Again, I cannot recommend Augustana Health Care Center highly enough! Just walk in there - you will see people working, where their job is MUCH more than a job. It is a ministry!! Thank you Augustana for loving our mother / grandmother and caring for her so thoroughly for us. Knowing all of you has changed me personally for the better.

The community at Elim Shores offered a nice tour. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. They were able to address all of my concerns. It is a smaller community and they did not offer as many amenities as others I visited in the area.

Unprepared for us and I was not impressed. After talking to Marcus, i will go back and try again as this is not normal for this place. Most people love it. Will try again.

The staff is really great! I would give them a five plus. This has been a challenging transition for them. They rave about the maintenance and housekeeping. There's always things made available and things going on and the activities director makes an effort to get them to join in. The intamacy of Elim Shores is helpful. When I visit whether I am coming or going, I see the residents smiling and there is always somebody on duty and always things going on. We are very pleased.

Cornerstone has some things that I didn't like, not that the facility wasn't fine. If my mother goes on medical assistance or elderly waver they would put her in a room with someone else. At another place she could stay in her same room and that made a big difference to us because to us, at 96, having to move again would have been too much for her.

This was not one of my favorites, as it was small - 12 residents in each house and the people seemed more advanced, plus it would be about $10,000.

Not a bad place.

Good facility, liked layout. Bathrooms were too small for use with a walker. Checked with EC of Victoria, same layout bathrooms 3 times larger.

good location

Quiet neighborhood surrounded by wetlands. Single bedroom spacious with great view. Activities were pretty generic and only 1 or 2 a day. Residents seemed happy. Larger male population. Didn't see much staff. Independent living w/services or Assisted living can stay in same place. Food choices looked above average.

If you do not need any assistance and are self sufficient, it is a great place. If you need more care they do not seem to be very good about that, at least that is my impression so far. The parking for visitors is virtually non-existent and there is very little parking near by. If you are able to get to them, they seem to have pretty good activities provided. The food also looks to be pretty good as well.

We moved my mom to this facility and was told the cost would go down $400.00 per month if she improved.She did improve which really made our family happy...the caregivers are amazing at this facility.the cost per month never came down. I personally witnessed a male caregiver get rough with my mom...she was never handled by male caregivers again. As moms care needs increased there was talk of moving her to another building according to the Grace Hospice caregivers(we brought them in when mom declined and it was determined she would be kept comfortable).Emerald Crest didn't communicate this to us as a family. At a later meeting when the discussion of moving her came up we were shown another building and were told the room would be less because there was no sun room and the room was smaller.We were told the move would be seamless , that they take pictures,they do it all the time,there would b no confusion for mom.I offered to be there they said it wasn't necessary. When the move occurred I received a call telling me that the room wasn't put together but it was ok. This alarmed me so my wife and i raced over to the room to find pictures piled and disarray.We spent three hours making the room a home.Mom loved it. When the next bill arrived the price didn't come down as we were told it would.I called [name removed](upper management)and had to leave a message.My mom died the next day.I heave never received a call. My point in all of this is the fact that management failed us.Had we known we would have had them put everything in writing. The female caregivers were GREAT!!!

Our mother lived here for almost 3 years. It was fine at first, and she was happy there. As soon as she needed more care and management completely turned over, her experience here declined. She started complaining about things. They were always short staffed, and staffing turnover was high. They did not consistently meet her needs. We received a call one morning that mom was sent to the hospital for a fall. She didn’t break anything, so we arranged transportation back to Elk Run. The head nurse told the hospital they did not want her back. Mom was stranded at the hospital homeless. We had to find another place for her to go in one day. Think twice before considering this place if your loved one needs additional care. The management team here does not care about the residents, they care more about putting in their 9-5 hours and collecting a paycheck. When we communicated with the management team after mom was sent to the hospital, not once did any of them ask how she was doing.

I wasn't happy with them. The food wasn't that great. They didn't have any trained people around. They had activities, but they would just tell them what to do, and then leave them to it. There was a bit of a language barrier. There didn't seem to be a lot of therapy going on.

Cannot get your meds on time! Nobody seems to care if you are in pain. Can not get your pain meds when needed. 4 hours to get pain meds after 2 weeks of post-op surgery is unacceptable. Nursing staff are unknowledgeable. Doctors and patient has informed facility that pain meds are to be given every 3 hours around the clock even during evening sleeping time but that is not happened. It just don't seem to care about the patient here at all.

Go somewhere else!! My father lives here, as well as a former neighbor. Both are leaving soon. They are consistently under staffed and so when residents need help they wait a long time for help and then are rushed when they do get help. My father has also experienced roughness when assisted being dressed because they are in such a rush. The staff is very unfriendly and barely talk to the residents. Some staff are hard to understand because they do not speak clear English which makes it very difficult when a resident is hard of hearing. Cornerstone's food is similar to a bad school cafeteria, everything very over cooked and mushy and they consistently leave the music loud in the dining room which makes it difficult for hearing impaired residents to have a conversation. (even after being asked to turn it down multiple times.) There are people with dementia who live alone in the Assisted Living area who wander around completely confused not knowing where they live or what they are doing there. They should be in a Memory Care unit not in Assisted Living as they could injure themselves and not know how to call for help.

Decided to stay in Des Moines Area and suburbs

I you have people you LOVE do not I repeat DO NOT put them in Augustana Chapel View. I repeat DO NOT go into ACV. If on the other hand you can not stand them, ACG is the place to stuff them!!! I am currently a patient at ACV and have been for 3 weeks, can't wait until discharge. Don't let the reviews about staff fool you. For the most part they all have attitudes and come off as not wanting to be here. They are grouchy, unkind and have a don't give a damn vibe. There are a few exceptions, like in therapy or the housekeeping staff. But Nurses, Nurses Aids and social services should all be let go. If you press your call light you can expect 15-30 minutes before it is answered. I asked for a can of Ginger Ale and it took one person to get the can and a second person to get a cup of ice. It took over and hour. When they do answer your call light they say "What do you want?" not "How can I help you?" I have open wounds on both my lower legs. Prior to being here I went to the Wound Clinic and watched them dress the wounds properly. Now they are trying to take care of them here. When I tell them what part of the dressing they are not doing correctly they get mad and walk out. They don't listen to you. They only hear what they want to hear and make things up that are not true. Don't let the pretty pictures fool you. You are confined to your room/floor. I have talked to patients in the rooms next to me and they all hate it here. I don't know how it got a 5 star rating. Someone is lying. That's it for now. I intend to write more another day or on different sites. THIS PLACE IS BAD