Brookdale Senior Living Reviews

One of the worst parts about this situation was that 5 or 6 days after the raucous fight, I went in to the Head Nurse's office to discuss it (the one who not only hires these gals, but also supervises and supposedly trains them). This Head Nurse was shocked to hear of that fight episode from me - said she hadn't heard about it, hadn't read about it, and hadn't been told about it. She knew NOTHING about it, and just looked at me like a deer in the headlights. Said she'd get back with me but never did - but I later found out that this "event" was written up in the company event ledger, that the head nurse hadn't read it there either, and that these 2 angels got fired because of the fight. Good riddance.

Not long after first arriving at Brookdale Sugar Land, when 2 of the so-called "care givers" refused (yes, REFUSED) to give showers to my 90-year old Mother? My God, that was part of their job description/duties! Yet they didn't like it and refused to do it. Brookdale is not part of Medicare, it is PRIVATELY funded (we pay for ALL of the services) and at a whopping ~$7,200 per month! How dare they refuse to do work duties of which they were hired! Oh, and BTW, I never got an apology, and never was anything ever said about it again by management - just like it never happened, lol....yeah, right.

How about the very recent time that Mom had fallen on the floor, and only 1 "care giver" responded. This employee sat on the sofa, and wrestled Mom up from the floor pulling (or should I say wrestled) Mom up on top of her, and slid from underneath Mom. When an elder falls onto the floor, protocol is that two (2) caregivers respond and BOTH together lift the resident onto a secure seating area. I happened to log into the security camera installed in her room at that time, and yelled at the "care giver" to stop, that she was doing this improperly, that they are supposed to have TWO C/G's doing that, and that she was going to injure her more. She replied that she "was the only one there". Yet 2 minutes later a second C/G arrived, but after it was too late. You should see the atrocious event and the look on Mom's face.... here... **

Or how about the 3 or 4 rather large and ACTIVE ant hills inside her room, beside the A/C unit that is on the floor? WTH?? Or how about staffing problems (they are terribly short-staffed) - whereby when Mom (or I assume any other resident) calls for help on their call button. They are supposed to respond within 5 minutes, but often times takes up to 30 minutes or more. Just as bad, many times the "C/G's) will arrive, then leave before the requested activity is finished, like when one night I was there, Mom called for help with going to the bathroom, a C/G arrived, walked Mom into the bathroom, said she be "right back", and then NEVER RETURNED! I took care of Mom in the meantime, and then went looking for that C/G. When I found her, I said "I thought you were coming right back?" She didn't know what to say.

Or the time when I was there and taking Mom out for lunch, and I told the C/G that we were going out for a luncheon, and right in front of Mom, as if Mom wasn't even standing there - that C/G said, and I quote "Good! Cause usually the only time a resident gets out of here is on a gurney going to a funeral home". I was outraged! How dare that disgusting, thoughtless, and unsympathetic C/G blurt out such rude, insensitive and mean-spirited things?! The management here hires lots of foreigners, some that speak a little broken English, and some that barely speak English at all. Mom (and I) have a hard time conversing with them....it's hard to both understand them and convey things to them. AND it's not me.... it's them without any doubt. Why doesn't the company draw people from the USA for hire?? People that already speak English? People that know and understand OUR culture?

Shall I go on?? Well, I could, but I have (hopefully) made my point. Bottom line?.... Find another place else for your loved one. Also, search Google for lawsuits against Brookdale. You'll be shocked at how many there are. Also watch the special "Profits over People". It's very insightful, and this type of thing apparently happens FAR more than the rosy and "pretty" ads that you see that are generated from Brookdale. Finally, look up Brookdale on Yahoo Finance.... stock symbol BKD. Look at their negative earnings and poor performance quarter and quarter, year after year. That also should tell you what you need to know.

The unethical salesperson claims they check residents regularly to make sure they are dry & clean. FALSE. FALSE. FALSE, she always claims they clean rooms daily. FALSE. We had to ask to have rooms cleaned, vacuumed, to have resident loved one cleaned. Our loved one got very sick there within 3 weeks from lack of care & neglect & could have died. Total neglect, other families have mentioned how the place has gone downhill majorly with abusive care givers & staff. I hope no one has to experience this horrific experience that our family went through & they don't even care about such negligence.

You trust in them to take care & honor the things they are supposed to provide with a caring place & get nothing but neglect & rough force by caregivers that traumatize your loved one. They also charge a fortune & keep adding extra charges for care & DO NONE OF IT. Please do your family & loved one justice & look elsewhere. Stay away from this facility.

Security and supervision are severely lacking. There is often no one at the front desk, and strangers have been seen entering the building freely—including individuals who previously took advantage of residents. Even after repeated reports and documented warnings, these same individuals have continued visiting the property unchecked. The food quality is poor, and our family member consistently reports that meals are unappetizing and inconsistent with what was promised when she moved in.

What’s most concerning is that the facility appears to interfere in family relationships, sometimes creating tension between the guardian, family, and resident instead of supporting the legal process and protecting the resident’s best interests. We share this review not out of anger but out of a sincere desire to warn others to research carefully before placing a loved one here. A facility charged with protecting vulnerable residents should never enable financial exploitation or allow unrestricted access to those already proven to be harmful.

Over the years neither Emeritus nor Brookdale asked me to sign a new contract so I assumed my original contract was still in effect. They did send a list of "services" and the cost for each which required my signature each year. Thus, I never saw a Brookdale contract. When he died last year, I was not notified I was supposed to remove his items in a certain length of time until after two weeks when they said they would charge rent for his room. He had so few personal items there, I assumed they would set them aside and notify me to pick them up. However, they were now demanding I remove the furniture or pay $1000 for a junk dealer to pick it up and refused to accept my word it was their furniture and it would be illegal for me to remove it until I produced my original contract for a "furnished" room. Once they accepted it was their responsibility they ended up calling a charity that removed it free of charge.

They still refuse to refund my $500 deposit, saying they aren't obligated to abide by the original agreement. Care level can only be rated minimal. For the last two years he was there he had Hospice care for the most part but the cost was not reduced even though Hospice took over much of the care Brookdale should have provided. The billing was different every month and once they debited his account for two months causing an overdraft fee from his bank. When they acknowledged overcharges it took months for them to credit the full amount--the excuse being "Corporate" would not allow the full credit at one time. Overall, in my dealings with them they were a money grabbing business with very little empathy with the residents and their families.

Now, for almost two weeks, she’s been forced to endure painful scrubbing and cleaning of her wounds, all because of Brookdale’s negligence and inaction. Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. So before you consider sending your beloved family member here, ask yourself: Am I willing to ignore these red flags? Food served at scalding, unsafe temperatures. No immediate care or family notification after serious injuries. Basic dignity and personal care neglected. Leadership instability and no accountability. Families deserve more than glossy brochures and staged photos. My grandmother’s burns, and the suffering that followed, are the truth of Brookdale Senior Living. If corporate won’t act, then families like mine will keep telling the truth until someone listens.