MorningStar Senior Living

The biggest thing to me is the staffing ratio of caregivers to residents. They're short on staff most of the time. I know they have resident vacancies, but they still need more appropriate staffing levels to care for the residents who are there. Also, they don't have a nurse there working every day, only five days a week, which concerns me a little bit.

We chose MorningStar Memory Care at Bear Creek because they were the closest to where I lived and they came with a high rating. They were very good with communication, they had a newsletter to keep families updated and were responsive and always tried to keep us connected with my loved one. I thought they were way overwhelmed with our needs and they did not keep very good control of laundry, some things were missing. Overall, I would recommend to others looking.

Our staff has been relentless in keeping us safe and healthy during this Covid crisis. They have been amazing, all the while maintaining our community.

The office staff is very helpful and very nice. The care giving staff is not that good. Some of the staff do not speak English. It is hard for my mom to communicate with them.My mom is not happy with the food, and the staff is not offering her the other options if she can not eat the main offering. They have a nice courtyard. They have good activities, cards, games, and puzzles. The caregivers are not always wearing the masks when they come to her room she has to ask them to put one on. My mom has asked for a shower chair or to help since the seat they have is not working for her and they have not been helpful. They have done a good job with the Covid virus. They are a newer property so maybe theses are growing pains

We had toured this community and it was very nice. However, the property was not as close to moms doctors offices and the hospital that we would have liked. The price was out of our budget range. However, the community was very clean and well kept and the staff seemed to be friendly and kind.

Clean facility (odor free) except the smell of good food being prepared by Chef [Removed]. The staff is friendly and appears to enjoy what they do. Residents report they are happy and can be found participating in activities and smiling.

They needed new management after senior leadership change. Maybe they have it now.

They don't have enough help for all their residents and the two people in charge of their medical program are worthless. They have to constantly be reminded about prescriptions, about putting residents on the list to see the Dr, and to ensure the medicine is ordered and dispensed properly. They also have a bad habit of misplacing clothes. Things go missing quite often.

Management does not communicate with staff very well. Common areas are clean but rooms are dirty and stuffy. Bathrooms are not cleaned well and complaints are ignored. Staff is so friendly, but the quality of care varies. They don't remind mom to take her teeth out. They let her go days and days without washing her hair. She wears the same clothes for more than one day and I think she's sleeping in them. Food is not good. I think it's better in the non- memory care areas. Administration staff - the sales lady and the director are nice. The nursing manager is unfriendly and doesn't even acknowledge the residents. When I ask for assistance with my mom it mostly gets ignored or does not get communicated to the staff at all. It seems like activities are fun but my mom often doesn't want to participate. Value for the money- wow. Over $[removed] per month. We were quoted $[removed]. Ridiculous.

Not very much of what is promised here is valid. They are continually shot staffed intentionally to have more revenue for the top heavy administrative staff and the individual investors. NM AND TX. THEY DO NOT CATER TO A healing diet, far from it. Their "chefs" are good at cooking frozen, can & package meals, omega rich 6 not 3. They do not deliver what is advertized, I would say that is false advertising. It's sad because there is a small percentage of caregivers [18%] that know how to properly & adequately deliver proper care and are available. The administrative staff in Santa Fe, NM, act with hostility and bad manners when no one is looking. The caregivers appear to truly care for their seniors but there are so short staffed. Tx recovering from lawsuits. Lack of proper care. Why are the residents always left by themselves and falling. The family is actively seeking better alternatives. ###

The location is great in a lovely neighborhood. Beautiful inside. Executive Director is responsive to feedback and concerns however his leadership team is inconsistent. Food in the dining room is average and service is very slow. Community relations started off great but transparency around cost and care planning has not been so far. The care staff and the concierge staff are all very friendly and responsive. Everyone sends to care very much about the residents however getting clear information from mangrove is difficult and not forthcoming.

The hospital chose for us. It was nice and well run.

It appears the assisted living side is running much smoother. I cannot recommend the memory care side. They are understaffed and not trained in dementia care. They keep moving new residents in and keep losing staff. It's very concerning to me. The lease states the apartment will be cleaned weekly but they go WEEKS without cleaning it. Her toilet has been black multiple times and I've had to get angry and be a squeaky wheel to get her apartment cleaned. They can't keep a housekeeping employee. I can't begin to imagine how disgusting other resident's apartments are who do t have someone visiting them frequently to be an advocate for them. If we had options I'd move her.

Initially communication was great. Once we decided to transfer my mom, the communication was concerning. She was at a SNF and insurance was running out so time was of the essence. I called Morning Star many times over many days and was told the person I was asking for was with a client, on a tour, on the phone… finally in one call, someone told me he was out all week! I don’t appreciate being lied to or the fact that knowing he was not in, they didn’t just tell me and transfer me to someone else to finalize the arrangements. She passed away after being there just a few weeks so I don’t know if communication gets better after you’ve been there a while.

There have been a lot of new personnel. Two managers and numerous employees. The care had really gone downhill but now improving in the memory care section where my sister and brother in law now are I would not recommend them quite yet, but it is headed in the right direction!

I would share my experience as well as my mom's and let them decide. It would be a fantastic environment for someone with little medical needs. However, the more care that is needed unfortunately was not held to a standard that I would be boastful about. Many times they were short staffed and my mother would have a dirty face and hands and dirty clothes from after meals.

[name removed] has gotten out of the facility once and the police had to find her and bring her back. The caretakers are kind but disappointed in the staff. I have to cut nails and give her a shower. Management has been a disappointment. She has fallen a few times ending up in the emergency room. I would not recommend them to anyone.

I am thankful for them helping me and my mom and the situation we found ourselves in. Things have just gotten expensive .

Beautifil place for active petson. They promise the world to get you in then don't deliver on promised care. Waaay too expensive for what they give. If loved one is in a wheelchair, the room bathrooms are not set up for it. Too little staff. Hard to talk to management about issues. Promised transportation is unreliable. For the cost of the place, the service should be much better.

Morningstar is a very nice facility. My reason for doing so is they do the best they can. They offer daily activities, they keep the facility clean, employees are friendly and appear to do their jobs well, food is good and has variety. There are two areas that need to be improved: 1) There are two hallways that should have a CNA positioned closer to residents in case a resident needs assistance. There are no emergency pulls or bells, etc in residents' rooms should resident falls or needs help. 2) There needs to be more communication about resident medical needs with medical staff/CNAs and resident family members including an ongoing list of meds prescribed and meds deleted, plus updates from physical therapy.