Phoenix Senior Living

My loved one was previously a resident at The Pearl at Five Forks and the overall experience at this facility was okay. The staff that was there when she first arrived was great. However, there was a lot of turnover and I am unsure why. The cost went up $[removed] a month at the beginning of the year, a steep jump for care etc. Overall, it was fine. With memory issues, I feel that hygiene can be difficult to maintain.

It varies with the staff at The Phoenix at James Creek. During the day the staff was kind, the night shift they were not as attentive and kind. Housekeeping was overall okay. Not super impressive, but not bad. They told us that they would give us a microwave and that never happened. It took a while to get things going like helping my mom shower. Mom loved vegetables and it was always the same canned vegetables, so not much much variety there. She wanted a different kind of juice and it was always the same strawberry kiwi mix, which she got tired of. But overall, the food was good. I would recommend this facility.

Suggestions for improvement: They need to fix their procedures and/or train/hire better aide staff. Medication management needs improvement. I would still recommend them to others, although I'd say the resident's family needs to stay very involved.

The staff seemed very friendly in my experience. Housekeeping seemed to be good in the facility, but I don't know if they spent much time in my mother's room. Communication with the family was good if the facility was trying to contact me, but not always if I was trying to call someone at the facility. Move I process seemed to be fine. The meals were probably the biggest disappointment. I was not impressed by what I heard about the meals.

I would tell them to shop around. Some of the amenities they talk about initially are not as advertised.The staff seems nice but they seemed to be under staffed and they don't have enough security guards.

They are not prepared to care for someone who is SIGHT impaired. Night shift is poorly managed, Staff has tendency to be defensive. No warm water. Med Techs are poorly trained and inconsistent. Don't get me wrong, there are (25 percent) many excellent people there! They need to incorporate activities that would benefit someone with vision problems.

From the start, we had an issue with my mom not being placed on the shower schedule nor was her laundry done for 2 weeks. After we straightened out the oversight, things went smoothly for some months but later we started to notice that on the weekend things went awry! Mom's room was not clean nor was she receiving the care she needed. I brought this to the Director's attention and he assured me it wouldn't happen again, but it continued to occur, mostly on the weekends. We then made the decision to remove my mom from the facility after only 8 months. If Lakeview had put as much effort into taking care of my mom as they did getting my business, they would be spectacular. Kudos to [name removed] for selling me on moving my mom to Lakeview!

He never got a hot meal. You have to hover over the techs to make sure they are doing everything they are supposed to do. "As needed" medications only get dispensed if a patient asks. He wasn't always able to verbally ask, so he didn't get medications.

During the time my family member was there, the staff was wonderful, could not do enough for us. Once they left all the response was different and that the reason the overall experience was not good. Send several email with no response.

Housekeeping is inconsistent, at best. Often rooms aren't cleaned and linens are not changed. In the beginning, laundry was not done but that has gotten a little better. So far every bill has been incorrect and has required me to contact them. Most staff dealing with residents are good, but management is unresponsive and defensive. Communication is essentially non existent. The move in was completely independent, no one welcoming us other than sign at front desk or explaining things to us. Had 2 "outbreaks" so far. 1 was never communicated and the 2nd was communicated long after it had begun. I have to be MUCH more involved after moving her in than I was when she lived independently. I would probably not recommend it highly to anyone.

Most of nurses and kitchen staff was friendly. When my loved one did not feel well and go to the dining room her food was really late coming to her room. It was rarely what she ordered. She does eat red meat and it was usually meat they brought. Meals were not very healthy and lacked variety. My loved one fell the first day she was there. My sister pulled her nurse cord and it took an hour for nurse to come. This happened several times. Pull the nurse cord and takes a while for nurse to respond, Especially at night. Complained to Director and didn't hear any apology. The batteries one time were not working on the pull cord. Her room was supposed to be cleaned once a week sometimes that did not happen. Her laundry was messed up and no one apologized. They washed all her clothes together and her jeans turned all her white clothes blue and messed them up.

My loved one is currently a resident at The Pearl at Five Forks. Overall, her experience at this facility has been pretty good. The cleanliness and friendliness is good. The food and activities are also good. I would recommend this facility to others, but I would also say that it's helpful to visit and be active.

The food is low budget and consistently bad. For [amount removed] rent they should be eating steak not ham and cheese sandwiches. Activities: bingo called by a computer then nothing. Everything they ever schedule is early in the day so after lunch there is nothing. All the residents are bored to tears. Other: They have bad staff turnover and use a lot of agency staff. Changed administrators 3 times in our 4 months there. 3 of those months her shower was out of service and she was not provided or aided with an alternative. 3 falls while there.

The Retreat at Lady's Island appeared to offer much and a resident can age in place there even through hospice, but it's very expensive. The individual who gave tour at the Retreat was a bit too slick for my taste, and I had to push to get answers.

Employees are friendly, but food and care is disappointing at times. Food just needs to be better, no super long waits, and listen to residents requests. At times, caregivers did not listen to my mother's wishes.

The staff were very nice to work with. The community was dated and older.

They are very friendly. The dining room is closed.They are doing the best that they can, with what they have. They are undergoing some challenges. They are good with the communication. We picked this community, becasue of the friendliness of the staff.

Our experience here has not been a good one. The staff are fantastic, friendly people but the job just doesn't get done. Workwise, I'd hire maybe 2 or 3 of them. I don't know if the resident to staff ratio is off or what the root of the problem is, but things aren't getting done. I hate to speak negatively, because they really are nice people. I've spoken to the director about it several times. I've witnessed staff members sitting in the office and visiting instead of doing things that need to be done. They only have 2 attendants to help the Dementia residents from what I've seen. My loved one needs assistance with eating (which was in her care plan), but she wasn't getting it. I had to hire outside help at an additional cost to come help her. It got to the point where my loved one had lost 12 pounds in 4 weeks.....she wasn't eating (wasn't getting help, her meals were just put in front of her), wasn't drinking water, and wasn't mobile/walking on her own like she was before. Since we've hired outside help to come in and assist, my loved one has significantly improved. But we shouldn't have to do that. Also, any activity that they do is inside. The residents don't go outside. The facility itself is beautiful up front (entry and Assisted Living). But when you get to the Memory Care Unit, it's like a mental ward. They opened this place as a business, not a caring facility. The Executive Director is incredibly kind and empathetic, but it stops there at the door. There is no follow through with the staff. The floors and kitchen don't ever seem to be clean. I guess it's gotten better, the floors have been a little more clean recently and the facility doesn't always smell like urine the way it used to. Either way, I wouldn't recommend this place to friends and family. We're looking at moving our loved one.

The communication was terrible. We were not happy with the care or communication. They have updated the decor. The food was mediocore.

The Retreat is doing the best they can with what is available in this area. They need trained dietitian, credentialed geriatric social worker, drivers, and activities. Mom (independent living) is spending top dollar for mediocre to sub-par amenities. We worry for the day she will actual assistance or care. Pay attention to your contract and make sure what you are sold is put down into writing.