Kauhale Health

This was very nice. It was just out of our price range. When we were looking at this we were looking at memory care and we realized she didn't need memory care just yet and could do assisted living.

My mother was a resident at Elmcroft for about a year. We loved the location and the facility was easy to navigate. I especially enjoyed the security offered by the locked doors. The decor is nice, food was great and the new activities coordinator is really trying to offer fun activities for the residents. I would caution anyone looking for a place for their loved one to remember that all facilities are on their best behavior when you visit. This is not my first experience with senior living services. Be sure to read the fine print and ask lots of questions up front. Elmcroft is a great facility, however, they are severely understaffed. Those on duty are multi-tasking and just trying to hold it all together and provide for the needs of the residents. I was in the dining facility one day on a weekend where lunch was served to my mother's table 45 minutes late because they just couldn't physically bring out the food fast enough due to only 2 staff members serving. I liked the direct service staff-RA's and nurses. Leadership for this facility needs to either hire more employees or engage in the direct services. Maintenance issues were slow to be resolved as well.

My Mother has been at Clevland Park Homewood for over two years. In that two years every staff position has changed with the executive director changing at least 4 times ( Ive lost count). The sales manage was the only consistent and he is now gone.The medical care we were promised and have paid extra to receive hs been nonexistent. No Doctor has visited once a week. There is no staff doctor and in emergencies, EMS has been called and she has been shipped off to a hospital. As a dementia patient this constant changing of staff is difficult for my Mother. During the last year, it has been necessary to hire a private caregiver in addition to paying the high monthly charges at Homewood. It is obvious to me that this company is concerned with their bottom line rather than their resident care.

Has some problems but overall it is a good place to live.

Both of my parents are there but we are not pleased with the care they receive. I believe this place is in it for the money not the welfare of the residents. We have seen them forgotten for meals, not checked on, medical supplies not ordered as promised. etc. The list goes on and on. I would find another place if I had a 2nd chance. More than likely I will move them in the next month or so. This place is better for your loved one only if they do not require medical attention. The price you pay is outrageous for the care you receive.

My mom was at Elmcroft for 6 weeks. I moved her here because the last place was getting too expensive. During the interview they said after one month they would have a review to see if it was the right fit. She was there for 6 weeks. For two weeks they were on lock down for stomach virus and she couldn't leave her room. The director went in to her room and mom was just sitting in her room wearing a shirt and her depends but no pants. The director was making a big deal about that even though mom was just sitting in her room. The aids loved my mom but the director was difficult. The director called for a review at 5 weeks instead of 4 which meant they got to keep the community fee because it's only refundable up to 4 weeks. Then she said my mom is not assisted living material, she has to leave. The have a small activities room there. The whole facility is a doughnut shape so if you want to get anywhere fast you have to walk outside through the courtyard or walk around the entire facility. They have a fancy lobby when you walk in but none of the residents ever sit there because they won't put a TV in there. The activities director was difficult too. The residents were bored on Sundays so I offered to go in and call bingo numbers when I could. She wanted me to make a commitment to at the same time every Sunday so she could put it on the activity board. I can't commit to every Sunday. She just made it difficult to help out. I was not too happy with our experience there. The director just put me off from the beginning. She was snotty and there's no reason for it.

Given a hard time about visiting hours. wanted us to stay away for a little bit when she first moved in. Seems like there is not activities although they do have an activities director. seems like activities are not geared toward the people living there. they made bingo difficult it is done so fast that they can't find the pictures before they go to the next one. not the typical bingo that everyone is used to. no card games. food is pretty good but could use more variety. really nice setting they have rocking chairs on the porch to just sit and relax. they have a courtyard but its not shaded so it gets hot. If it’s raining they have to walk around the courtyard to get to the dining room because it’s not covered.

Place is lovely. Not happy with 3 levels for her and her having to use elevator. Dining room on first floor/basement so unless she is on that level she would have to use elevator.

There is often a disconnect between the management and what goes on day to day in the facility. My Father tested positive for Covid and I was never informed or contacted about it. There is high turnover at this facility (Over 15 people) came and went in 6 months, many in the same positions including the Nurse in charge, 3 cooks, 2 maintenance people and the rest care staff. Level of care was raised and price was increased $[removed] however from my perspective the level of care really didnt' change at all. There were many things I'd warn others to simply be wary of and check things out really well before making any decisions. It wasn't ALL bad, but these comments are all true.

They worked with us very well on the forefront, getting her in under unusual circumstances and Kelly at the Parker was very responsive and understanding. She helped tremendously, and did her best to keep me informed! I'm not sure if that is the standard practice given our circumstances, but she was great to work with.

Six months at Symphony eroded my hubby's fragile self esteem and increased his anxiety. I am resentful and angry at their treatment of him and of me. Despite having multiple traumatic brain injuries, my husband is able to discern when reality doesn't line up with the fiction he's being fed. His so-called “private” room was not private. Aids entered without knocking (until my complaints helped train them). A nurse came into his room one night while he was sleeping and cleaned between his toes! (And then she documented this!) My husband woke up and yelled at her to get the hell out of his room! Another time, an Alzheimer's resident climbed into his bed with him and wouldn't get out of the bed (a nurse confirmed this to me). Alzheimer's patients often wandered in and out of his room (I witnessed this.). My husband's memory problems come from traumatic brain injuries, not Alzheimer's. He cannot always articulate that things upset him. Staff repeatedly put dead hearing aids in his ears although the devices blocked what hearing he does have. I repeatedly told them to change the batteries every two days (this was in their notes). They rarely did. Hubby would later pull the hearing aids out. Workers kept putting them back in without asking if they worked (documented). My opinion is, the staff was creating an adversarial relationship with an impaired person (my husband), making him feel like a sack of potatoes. He acted out – screaming a lot when he had to wait for his (delicious) food. Then he began to fall a lot. Finally Southview Hospital admitted him for a UTI and sepsis. Did Symphony say, “We're sorry – this was bad behavior related to UTI.” No. Staff continued putting his dead hearing aids in and he kept ripping them out. (This is documented.) As he got more frustrated, they asked me what they should do. I said the obvious: “Ask him???” (Also documented.) During my first contact with Symphony, they said, “Our people have been trained to work with the dementia population.” The Ombudsman's office confirmed that other families heard a similar story. I later learned Symphony sometimes (often?) hires untrained workers. The Patients Bill of Rights (a federal document), created so the individual won't feel bullied or violated, says a patient can refuse care. Workers are then supposed to go away and come back. With good care, an aide says, “May I pull this down? Is it okay for me to wipe you?” An aide persisted and persisted in changing my husband. He protested. She “ignored” him (her words). He protested. She persisted. He hit her. She kept chatting with him and later told others she had no need for medical care. When the Director of Nursing learned the aide had been “assaulted,” Symphony brought in the police and filed a police report! Symphony refused to allow me to ask questions of this aide (who I saw at every visit) and they wouldn't show me reports, giving me few details about the event, as if hubby had arbitrarily and spontaneously assaulted this aide. The police report (public document, folks) showed, in her handwriting, he only hit her after repeated protests where she “ignored” his unwillingness and persisted. During a care conference, when I suggested the hearing aid issue may have contributed to what happened, the Executive Director strongly disagreed. He was then put on a psychotropic drug, making him barely see his own feet or string together a paragraph. But he wasn't yelling or screaming! I got him off the drug when I could. I want him human and real. When I asked the Director of Nursing to have aides speak to him more respectfully (“May I...”) or to help him brush his teeth daily, I was informed that it's difficult to get aides to do something if you're not watching them. End of discussion. Hubby was hauled off to the ER repeatedly for so-called “behaviors.” Several Southview ER professionals said Symphony had a pattern of “dumping” dementia patients on the ER for dementia behaviors because they didn't know how to deal with dementia patients. One day after I left my purse in hubby's room, a nurse brought me my wallet with keys and credit cards etc in it. An Alzheimer's resident had had it. No one ever invited me to file a police report. As an assisted living facility, Symphony is not listed at the Medicare.gov website where ratings are assigned to Medicare eligible facilities, and government officials provide reports about the treatment of this fragile population. The website for Milestone, Symphony's parent company, implies that Sunday religious services will be made available to residents. Symphony does not have any kind of religious services on Sundays. About our tab: the law says I have a right to know what I'm paying for. I tried to get an answer about charges for services after they jacked up my monthly bill by $1,200 a day after hubby “assaulted” the aide. Symphony sent me generic information about items listed, using terminology different from item names on my bill, not answering my questions. After repeated attempts at clarifying where my money had gone, I gave up.

Symphony wants docile patients. If your loved one is ultra-docile and you like them that way, you'll do okay. Six months mine there eroded my hubby's poor self esteem and increased his anxiety. My husband started out fairly docile. A nurse (who documented this in her nursing notes) came into his room at night while he was sleeping to clean between his toes! When this toe-cleaning woke him up, he only yelled at her to get the hell out of his room! An Alzheimer's resident climbed into his bed with him and wouldn't get out of the bed. My husband only told him he had to leave! Alzheimer's patients often wandered in and out of his room. His so-called “apartment” was never truly private. We had to teach aides to knock so they wouldn't come upon me lying on his bed with him (clothed) having hugs. My husband – whose memory problems come from traumatic brain injuries, not Alzheimer's – started out so docile, staff was able to put dead hearing aids in his ears and he did not complain, although the devices blocked what hearing he does have. He would later pull them out. Workers kept putting the hearing aids back in without asking if the things worked. Staff was creating an adversarial relationship with an impaired person, making him feel like a sack of potatoes. He acted out – screaming a lot when he had to wait for his (delicious) food. Then he began to fall a lot. Finally Southview Hospital admitted him for a UTI and sepsis. Did Symphony say, “We're sorry – this was bad behavior related to UTI.” No. Staff continued putting his dead hearing aids in and he kept ripping them out. As he got more frustrated, they asked me what they should. I said the obvious: “Ask him???” From the beginning I was told, “Our people have been trained to work with the dementia population. They won't have any trouble.” (I later learned they sometimes hire workers off the street.) The Patients Bill of Rights (a federal document), created so the individual won't feel bullied or violated, says a patient can refuse care. Workers are then supposed to go away and come back. With good care, an aide says, “May I pull this down? Is it okay for me to wipe you?” Hubby never knew if his caregiver would be a bully or someone who treated him like his knew his own name, so he just hated all of them – and felt hated. Then he stopped getting along with even the good ones. One aide persisted and persisted in changing him. He protested. She “ignored” him (her words). He protested. She persisted. He hit her. She kept chatting with him and later told others she had no need for medical care. But when the Director of Nursing learned she'd been “assaulted,” Symphony brought in the police and filed a police report. They tried to stop me from learning the details of what had occurred, as if hubby had arbitrarily and spontaneously assaulted this aide. The police report, which I later got, showed, in her handwriting, this occurred after he made it clear he did not want care and she “ignored” his repeated protests. During a care conference, I suggested the hearing aid issue may have contributed to what happened. The administrator roared, “His hearing aids had nothing to do with him 'punching' (the aide)!” They put him on a psychotropic drug. He could barely see his own feet or string together a paragraph, but he wasn't yelling or screaming! I got him off the drug when I could. I want him human and real. I want him to be able to think. When I asked the Director of Nursing to have aides speak to him more respectfully (“May I...”) or to help him brush his teeth daily, I was informed that it's difficult to get aides to do something if you're not watching them. End of discussion. Hubby was hauled off to the ER repeatedly for behaviors. Several Southview ER professionals said Symphony had a pattern of “dumping” dementia patients on the ER for dementia behaviors because they didn't know how to deal with dementia patients. One day after I left my purse in hubby's room, a nurse brought me my wallet – keys and credit cards etc in it. An Alzheimer's resident was found with it. No one ever asked me if I wanted to file a police report. Since Symphony is only an assisted living facility, it is not listed at the Medicare.gov website, where ratings are assigned to Medicare eligible facilities. There is no outside agency monitoring the treatment of this fragile population. The website implies that they have religious services on Sundays. Symphony does not have any kind of religious services on Sundays. About the bill: the law says I have a right to know what I'm paying for. I tried to get an answer about this after they jacked up my bill by $1,200 per month after hubby “assaulted” the aide. They sent me generic information that didn't answer my question. After repeated attempts at clarifying where my money had gone, I gave up. Symphony makes up rules on what they have to do.

I only had my loved one in Symphony for 7 weeks. In that time, they allowed him to fall twice, self propel in a wheel chair to the point where his hands had open sores that got infected and allowed him to kick his laundry basket down the hallway to the point of large open wounds which became infected and required daily wound care. They even returned the laundry basket to me with his blood all over it!!! They refused to let me pack up my husband's belongings (although they insisted I do all the unpacking upon admission) and as a result, many items were not returned and I believe were stolen (eg. Bed linens, towels, wash clothes, shirts, personal pictures, etc) as replacement items were obviously from another patient and highly used. My husband lost weight and strength as they basically put him in a wheel chair all day (as evidenced by hugely swollen legs). The furniture I moved out, in pristine condition when moved in, had dirt and crusty food on it upon removal. The nurses continual blamed my husband for the outcomes, constantly stating "he is noncompliant", despite their claims to be memory care experts. In short, they do not live up to their mission or policies outlined upon admission. I could go on but I think the reasons I would not recommend this facility are clear. I have a lengthy journal of notes and pictures to back up my claims. Happily, he is now home for 7 weeks today, his wounds nearly healed and back to his prior weight and mobility. I now have home care aides daily and can get much more personalized care for the money spent on a facility. Surprisingly, it is easier on me as I do not have to worry so much about his care and the ability to visit him in a limited capacity. I believe Covid-19 has become an excuse for poor care at most places since they are aware that family cannot closely watch their loved ones.

I would want other families to know when looking into The Parker that this review is for the dementia care part. I would not trust them with anyone like I trusted them with my dad. He came home with bed sores after 30 days that he had never had before. They wouldn't give him food or anything to drink. I would highly recommend that no one put their loved one here.

I would not recommend this facility for several reasons. Not enough staff. The majority of the time only two and sometimes one staff member was available for over 70 residents. If they try to pull records to disprove, it is not true. They are not forthcoming regarding their fees. They will say anything to get you in the facility, then they will increase your care fees astronomically without talking to the resident or family. Our fee went from $4,000 a month to over 10,000 a month in 30 days without any prior warning. Most senior adults are on fixed incomes. Food is often hard and difficult for residents to cut and chew. I had a family member fall in their care and they never acknowledged the incident or checked on their well being. Family member used call button for help and it would take staff over 45 minutes to respond. Residents strayed outside the facility and fell. When taking a family member out, we waited over 30 minutes for someone to open the door when returning. The executive staff does not answer calls or return phone calls. My family was very unhappy with the level of care, professionalism and food served.

We are not happy with this community. The staff is not doing what they are requested for the care that is needed. They do have activities that she does enjoy. The staff is not polite and will not listen to my concerns. I suggest other families consider other options before this community at this time

No medical staff. Med techs are not capable of nursing care. Very unprofessional. Spoke with several residents whom smelled of urine.We chose The Woodland at Furman. The staff is licensed Rns and Lpns. Assistants are Cnas.The meals are the very best. Management is always available.