MorningStar Senior Living

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.

MorningStar at Golden Ridge is poorly managed, but we have a great casita with an attached garage and the food is mostly good. The employees are stretched thin and over worked, but they mostly get the job done.

The Care Givers are wonderful. Security is an issue which has been improving. Nutrition is beginning to improve. Flavor is frequently lacking.

We toured MorningStar at Mountain Shadows during our search for a Memory Care facility for our loved one. The apartments at this facility were nice. Although, as a stranger to them, they didn't seem very helpful or warm towards us. We decided to keep searching.

I toured MorningStar Senior Living of Sparks during my search for an Independent Living facility for my loved one. I didn't like it as much because it had a large hotel feel to it that didn't seem personalized. Also, while I was waiting for my tour to begin, I watched how the front desk employees interacted with the residents and I wasn't impressed. Many of the residents were ignored when they were waiting to ask questions.

My Mother is not receiving the daily care that she requires even though it's not complicated. She also is eating food that is frozen and inadequate considering what we are paying. This is not expectable and is endangering her wellbeing and safety.

I am currently a resident at MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care of Santa Fe. This facility seemed good to me at first sight, however now I know different and I would not recommend this facility to others. The food here is awful. The staff are too few. The cost of this facility is too high for the value received for the resident. Overall, my experience has been okay but again I would not recommend this facility to others.

Staff members are very kind and engaging with residents and family at MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care at Arrowhead. However, the turnover of employees is concerning. Family and residents get very happy and comfortable with a staff member, then she leaves. The move in process was smooth and good. The cleanliness of the main family room area is very good. Housekeeping of my parents' room is not very good. There is a different cleaning staff every time and they just do basic surface cleaning. I always bring a bag of supplies and clean the toilet, bathroom and floors. Their laundry basket is always full. They often only have one bath towel available. Responsiveness of responsible staff has been poor. Initially, the food was not good quality and my parents were not eating. A few weeks later, the food improved and my parents were very happy. The staff said that a new chef began. I'm happy to see improvement in the food quality. It would be incredible if family can receive a weekly menu and document recommended changes. I've tried a couple times with the menu printed at the front desk and making notations, X's on foods my parents will not eat and then ask staff to provide the document with notations to the cooking staff. It worked twice with requested changes, but that was it. I'm guessing it was confusing for the cooking staff to see the handwritten notations all over their weekly menu. An emailed menu, with change recommendations, might be cleaner and easier for the cooking staff to understand. Activities in Memory Care are very sparse. The residents need to be physically engaged and invited to participate in different activities. Back to routines, musician on Thursdays at certain time, movie Wednesday with old Elvis movies, etc. Routine exercise and fitness is a big favorite, but also very sparse. If someone does not personally go and tell my parents they are invited to join, they will not, due to lack of understanding. The gentleman that did physical therapy with group chair exercises came in and gathered some residents to begin. My mom got very excited and the gentleman said he was sorry, but they did not take my parent's health insurance so he could not work with them. Unbelievable. We pay a high monthly rate for my parents' care. I understand that we moved in during a change of executive staff. I am still hopeful for improvements with structure and consistency.

My biggest concerns center around the cleanliness of the common areas & bedrooms & bathrooms (truly disgusting) and feeling that they are probably understaffed. Most of the staff are very friendly and helpful and nice. Hygiene and cleanliness of the residents can be inconsistent. Family needs to keep an eye on this and possibly follow up with administration if the resident isn't being kept clean. Further evidence that they are probably understaffed.

Staff was very nice. I was not impressed by the medical staff. In the six months my mother was there, there was a lot of turnover. If you or your loved one is self sufficient everything will be fine. If they're at all frail, you might consider a different venue.

They need to improve on the staff training, and following through with patient care.

We were so excited about Bear Creek being the best place for my dad but a few weeks into his stay, his care went downhill. Those who we came in contact with were wonderful. When my mom visited once a week, SHE would have to help my dad get shaved, showered, hair combed, figure out which towels, clothes were clean or dirty. Never ate with him so don't really know. We were told when we signed paperwork that residents were always busy. NOPE! They only had one activities director out 3 positions. That activities director rarely did anything with residents. DEFINITELY not worth the outrageous cost. We moved my dad from Bear Creek after only 2 months

The promise is not living up to the reality. There is consistent staffing issues. I had greater expectations, considering that my loved one is in memory care. The atmosphere and people are nice but they don't offer the quality of care that I need. They need consistent staff who are more well trained, to provide the level of care that my loved one needs.