Brookdale Senior Living Reviews

I would think that a director of a memory care facility would know what’s going on in her building and if she doesn’t know anything I would think the RN would. I’m sure they are both hoping this just gets swept under the rug. Again I say this was just one of the concerns. It was by far the most serious. I am encouraging anyone looking into the facility as a home for your loved one to be very very careful.

This year's notice for the 2022 increase was particularly painful! The staff proved to be not so caring and unreliable. After a fall where my mother-in-law fractured her forearm, she couldn't get staff to come to her room and called us at home two counties away to come help! When she needed their bus to take her for her first follow-up appointment (which was very important as they were to determine at this point if she may need surgery...and we double checked that they had her on their bus schedule for the appropriate day) they DID NOT take her for her appointment!! The doctor's office called and asked why we didn't bring her...shock is not the word to describe how this made us feel. When we asked Brookdale why this happened even after we called them and reminded them of her appointment they said, "The driver forgot..."

For many months after she began residency there, we had to call every single month to straighten out her prescription invoice. It was rarely correct. Such a hassle. To the day we moved her out of this facility, we could not get them to consistently send us an accurate Monthly Resident Form (which we supplied them with) for us to use to file her long term care insurance...the form is one page, front only, with only four questions that require check marks in the boxes, basically.

The last month there it took four attempts back and forth to get it completely filled out and even then they had scratched through the date next to the signature because they put the wrong month. The staff member who kept making these errors seemed unhappy to keep hearing from me about this form. And unapologetic. Believe me, it is no treat for me to have to keep following up on the same problem over and over again. But, the insurance company requires complete accuracy and Brookdale was consistently unable to deliver. These were not the only grievances that we had with Brookdale over those two years, but this review is getting long...

When we informed Brookdale (finally) that we were moving her out, of course they wanted to know why. To be polite, we just cited finances...because the rates had gone up so much since we moved her in there. To which the director replied..."Would you consider letting me see what I can do? I really hate to see Ms. ** move out. She does so well at Brookdale." Well, this is anything but the truth. Later, we found out from a former Brookdale employee that they don't keep the rates the same for every resident. Apparently, they work on a sliding fee scale. They overcharge paying folks like us and use that to offset the costs of those who need Brookdale to "see what they can do" about lower pricing for them. We feel cheated and mistreated. Can't believe we stayed so long. Ms. ** is in a far nicer facility now...and it costs less! We would not recommend.

When we asked about other options for care, none were provided. When I explained that it felt like they were forcing us to move my father, I was rudely told “well he COULD stay if you got a companion.” They had been told countless times before this wasn’t an option not that family members could stay with him 24/7. When I asked about a refund for the remaining time he would not be in the facility, I was informed “this isn’t us not providing care” when it very much is them not providing any other options. Again, my father was there for what will total 6 days and they were not willing to ACTUALLY do the work to help him acclimate or refund the amount for the other 3 weeks. I have already reached out to corporate regarding the request but who knows how long that will take.

Mom went to visit the location with one of her friends and they showed her a room with a full kitchen and stove. She got excited, they baited her with the discount speech and got her to write them a $4400 check. Then I started getting the calls, texts and emails to sign the contracts. Everything is through Docusign and must be done online - mom doesn't have a computer or email - so they emailed the contract to me with instructions to "just sign your mom's name." They were extremely persistent, even when I told them I wasn't signing. They kept up about the discount and how we would lose it. Even when I said stop making this about the money and that we wanted the place that would give the best care they still pushed about sign now or lose the discount. I told them IN WRITING that we were not proceeding and to destroy the check that mom had written.

I got an email from docusign saying the contract had been voided. Next thing we hear is that the contract is signed and they are expecting mom to move in immediately and they cashed the check. Wait, who signed the contract? There were no copies given to my mom. I called the sales rep and asked for copies of the contract and she refused to comply, saying that mom was her customer and that I was not part of this. We had discussions with mom about the situation and told her we were going to void the contract. We then overheard a call from the sales rep to my mom telling mom to "just pack up and get out of that house as fast as you can." Rep said things such as this is your life, you make your own choices, your family can't tell you what to do. And we recorded it.

This was around 9pm. I heard that and immediately called the rep and left her a voice mail message and told her that call was extremely inappropriate and again that we were cancelling the contract. I followed up with a text telling her that the real word I should have used was unethical, and that we did record the call. Next day we called the rep (Renee) and the site director (Ralph) to cancel everything and be done with it all. Ralph finally called back and said they would cancel and issue a refund for the check. I went to the site to obtain copies of anything that had been signed and Ralph refused to deal with me.

I happened to bring my POA paperwork and he refused to acknowledge it and said the only way he would give me anything was if I brought a signed note from my mom (note they had no knowledge of the POA when they were asking me to sign my mom's name on the contract) and that they only honored POAs when the person was incapacitated. I go back home, write a note and have mom sign, then go back to the site only to be told that Ralph had just left and would not be back until the following week and NO ONE else on the staff could get the paperwork because it was only on his computer.

Finally had the assistant director come our (she was the only decent person that I dealt with) and she said Ralph would be emailing the docs that evening. I did receive the contract and the discounts they had promised were not included - the room and board was being charged at full price. The sheet that outlined the level of care and the cost for the level of care was missing. Pricing for services listed in the contract were outrageously different than what the sales rep had told us. The contract was nothing like what had been discussed - it is no wonder that they were refusing to give me a copy. They still refused to tell me who actually signed it - my mom didn't sign, yet there is an electronic version of her signature where someone had signed the contracts through Docusign. Dirty, dishonest, unethical and rude is how I would describe them.

Original Review: Nov. 30, 2020

My father needed memory care as his condition worsened. I was not able to personally visit the facility due to COVID lockdown. The sales person showed a video of a representative apartment. Obviously, this was a recipe for disaster. When I moved my parent's belongings into the facility I was heartbroken. The apartment was dark, low celing, disgusting kitchen, smelled foul, there were no updates, and the view to the outdoors featured the huge industrial generator. That was it. The next day I moved their things out. They never stayed at this place.

Brookdale refused to refund the $3500 facility fee paid upfront and now they have the nerve to try to charge an additional $490 for what, I don’t know. Even better, they never sent a bill, they just sent it to collections. I don’t even know what the charges were for! How predatory how and disgusting. Plus, dad passed away 5 days later. Please think twice about trusting this organization. I even spoke with the director there, and she told me she would put in a request to stop the collection of these bogus charges but to this day I am still getting collection notice. She did nothing.

I have reached out to Superior court of NJ - family division. I am my Mother’s primary contact with the Somerset County Department of Aging and I am reaching out to them to do an emergency inspection and to give my Mother the capability of speaking with her attorney. I plan on suing this place under criminal code 2C for refusal to return and denying me the right to my property. And for Human rights violations. I am waiting for a Captain and the Mayor of Florham Park to take action. I have informed them if nothing is done they will be sued in Federal Court under U.S. 42 Statue 1983. Under 8 counts and violations against the U.S. Constitution. They under the color of law have an obligation to protect people from abuse, protect property, due process and free speech. All of which have been denied to my Mother. Do Not ever send anyone here; unless you hate them.

My Uncle was only there 2 weeks. He was rushed to the hospital with a urinary tract infection and a viral infection in his lungs. Brookdale didn't call to let us know. We didn't know until the hospital called. The only good things about this place were that some of the staff was very nice - the receptionist, the dining room workers, some of the aides. There wasn't a hand washing protocol. The last time I visited it smelled in his room and the bathroom was a mess - there were no sheets on the bed. He probably got a urinary tract infection because they didn't change his catheter enough. I don't think the medical staff is the problem - they are understaffed and they have too much to do - but they are VERY disorganized.

I don't think the lunch staff received benefits as one woman told me she was on Medicaid. Which of course also means that they were grossly underpaid. I am not sure what 9k a month was paying for. My uncle was quite old. He is dying now. I'm not going to say that he wouldn't be dying if they had taken better care of him but I do think that, perhaps, they sped up the process.

My mother lay there for 17 HOURS, with no help, pain medication or medical attention of any kind. I had to place her on crisis care and she passed away 5 days later. What’s makes this even worse, the same exact thing happened to another resident shortly before this happened to my mother. So this was not an isolated incident. As I said, I reported them to The Department Of Health and Human Services. An investigation followed and my complaint was officially substantiated and they were cited. Please, if you are considering this facility for your loved one, please look elsewhere. You can also look at The Department Of Health and Human Services or D.A.D.S to see the citations this place has received.

*Note = while we were trying to find help we stopped one of the staff who was walking through the facility and asked her for help and were shocked by her response that she was "clocked out". She did not even ask what the problem was or the severity of it. Is this the type of person that should be working at a Senior Home??

When someone did come to our friend's room she informed us it was her first day. She was very friendly - but not trained. My sister, with the help of the new girl were able to get our friend out of the bed so that she could go to the bathroom (which at this point was too late) so it was just a matter of cleaning her up. Due to the time it took to get someone to help her, she was upset and stressed out. She was also concerned about her oxygen tubes coming loose and said she could not breathe.

During this ordeal we noticed how dirty our friend was. Her skin, her hair, nails etc. It was very alarming and concerning that she is not getting the care and attention we were told she would get if she stayed at Brookdale. What would have happened if we HAD NOT SHOWN UP WHEN WE DID? When would someone at Brookdale answered her bell she rang numerous times BEFORE we walked into her room?? The biggest concern we have -- which we have many - is the lack of compassion and care the staff demonstrated today when we did finally get someone to come to her room.

We were also told, by her son, that no one in management works at the facility on the weekends so basically no one is there to assist when something happens to the residents that are staying there. If you are someone that has loved ones that are needing assisted care, I urge you to do your research and read the reviews on Brookdale Beckett Meadows before making a decision.

Sheree, Jerry and Connie **

Then, factor in that everybody seems to have access to his room. He has had money stolen on several different occasions and staff even help themselves to snacks and soda in his refrigerator. He cannot drive so I get groceries for him. When he runs out, he is out until I bring more. These people are capable of driving and getting their own. So disgusting.

Sad thing is - he knows the other residents and likes living in the small town and is afraid to move. Plus the fact that, AFTER he moved in, they informed him there was a $1000 one time non-refundable move-in fee. (We never were told about this when we looked at the establishment.) This is what, I believe, they count on to keep the seniors living there. I don't know how these people can look at themselves in the mirror each morning. Another thing, they give the residents these lovely "life alert" buttons to push to contact the nurses if there's a problem. My dad took a nasty fall a year ago. He pushed and pushed and pushed his button. It took them 30 minutes to respond. Thank God it wasn't a heart attack!

Our father has severe COPD. I explained that he has to walk a little every day for his lung health. He has a wheelchair that is used for appointments and so on. He was in it the whole time he was there!!! He has gone to the hospital about six times. The night staff told him they were not Doctors so what does he expect them to do for him!! He had to phone 911 himself for help. I guess if you're independent that's ok but if you need a little help WATCH OUT!!!!

After the community fee and the 4,190 a month rent a total of 18,760 and 4 months later he is now deceased due to immobility aggravating a severe lung issue. They forward all his mail to a family member without his knowledge, resulting in him not receiving his debit card. He couldn't order anything or even pay his cell phone. They didn't care about him. People please read all the reviews. This is not a isolated incident. Your loved ones are nothing more than a cash cow to Brookdale - BROOKDALE LIVERPOOL NY. PLEASE SHARE.

Around Feb 2019 we get a call from medicaid saying that they were going to start processing his medicaid so my husband went to talk to the new director Amanda and all the sudden hes not in a medicaid room and she says that they can't take care of him anymore and that he really needs to go into a nursing home. So that flip flops the whole process with the lawyer and we start searching for a nursing home. So we find a nursing home to take him and we moved him out before the first of May. Now we get a bill today for the first 10 days of May for over a $1000 dollars. How can a company charge someone for time they aren't even there. And supposedly the $2000 deposit doesn't go towards anything and we will still get a bill for the carpet. They Rob the elderly. Stay far away from this company. They are crooks.

Apparently, Medicaid can only pay one place at a time. My husband went through a lawyer so that everything would be legal and the lawyer gave him paperwork to take to Brookdale so they would be sure to get paid but they refused it and said they don't do that. In March Brookdale told us to get her things out of her apartment because she wasn't able to pay her bill. My husband was her attorney in fact and tried to explain she ran out of money but they didn't care. Now, Brookdale says that he signed the paperwork so he is responsible for the bill and have turned us over to collection! We have obtained an attorney to try to straighten this mess out but overall I would avoid this place like the plague.

My family member also contracted c-diff infection among other issues. Unsanitary. They do not offer special diets to Residents and they will not tell you that. If your family member is hospitalized they will not reimburse you for the fees they charge you for care that was never received. You will never get a straight answer from the staff and they change their stories and can't even get on the same page. If you don't have time to call five or six times per day and be there regularly you will never know what is going on.

I feel sorry for the residents who live there that don't have family members doing this. This is a horrible excuse of an assisted living facility. My family member had to pay extra for standby shower assistance yet when I called the apartment the aide who was supposed to be standing by and assisting answered the phone and she was left in the shower alone. Activities are minimal nothing of what they describe. Residents look miserable there. This is why the tours are scheduled. It's all a front. My family member was talked to and reprimanded like a child in her own apartment. Do your research. Also check the BBB website and numerous lawsuits.

When I would call the Director, she never returned my phone calls. I always had to call a second or third time. Besides the "base rate", The director has the authority to decide what to bill for personal care, so be very careful of their billing process. More than once I was able to review the care plan and have the bill reduced or a credit issued. The living expense at this facility for 2018 was $60,000! Room sizes are small and barely navigable for handicap equipment and wheelchairs. And if you want a room with any kind of a view...you'll pay for it. We lost our loved one in January 2019. Not one of the staff attended the funeral, sent a card, or made a donation to the Alzheimer's Association as they said they would. Their main goal is to fill every room and make a PROFIT!

Then I was informed that the state of Colorado allows one to two months for the refund. Also, that the 7 days where standard. How can you bill someone for 7 days when they are not in the facility and no items are left in the facility? We told that 7 days would be allowed to remove items and that the days would be prorated. On January 14, 2019 Angela the regional director stated we bill like the hospital and I informed her the hospital does not count the day of discharge. Why are seniors being financially exploited by these for-profit corporations?

Angela stated, "We treat you like everyone else," and I informed her that is not my agenda and that I do not care how others are treated that I am only concerned with this situation. We submitted a check for 6,788.00 and were initially told they would bill us for 11 days. Now they are charging us for 4 days instead of 3 days. Why do they take your money and you have to fight to receive a refund? They immediately cash the check but you are at their mercy for the refund.

So, after losing my mind trying to find these unicorns that know and treat this condition, (I have to pay more $$ out of pocket now for this) Brookdale is telling me now they don’t want to do the simple velcro wraps that I use between having her in compression which allows her to take a shower, keep an eye on skin condition, etc. This takes no more than a 20 to 25 minutes at best and no more than 8 days max in a month, and they are whining about that now!

I spoke about my frustrations with the administrator and he insinuated I imagined the sales gal telling me they agreed to help care for her leg if I showed them. That infuriated me! I would have never even shown up if they said they would not help with this chronic condition of hers! I finally got him to agree to do the velcro wraps if I got someone to do the compression. Now they are trying to rescind that! They don’t want to do anything more than they absolutely have to and just babysit these mentally compromised adults.

Mom is able to walk on her own, shower herself, dress herself, feed herself, and 3 months later I am still getting calls from them that they don’t want to do this as it takes more time than THEY want to spend on her. I say bull excrement! I WAS a certified caregiver and bathed, dressed, transferred, fed elderly folks and it all took a heck of a lot longer than a half an hour! So, you are to pay thousands a month, (for a shared room mind you) and the care is minimal at best.

I feel like a sucker that was drawn in by all their courting and family like atmosphere, now to have them turn on me when I have the audacity to get upset and call them out on their lies. If you do bring your parent here, get EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING in writing regarding their care. Do NOT sign the waiver saying you will work with them first on any issues instead of your attorney, I tried that and was treated like I was inconveniencing HIM and my complaint was a falsehood in my imagination. Downright insulting!

It is very traumatic moving a parent with dementia and now she is finally adjusting and I feel like they are trying to drive her out of there by refusing the care they initially agreed to. This has been an absolute stressful nightmare. I DREAD going to see her now. I DREAD when I see they are calling me, the thought is... “Oh God, now what?? ?” This is just not right. After 5 long years being the sole caregiver for my Mom, burnt out beyond belief and they have turned this into an unnecessary, ongoing nightmare.

The charge RN demanded I speak to her in the hall. I said she could speak to me in my dad’s room (I wasn’t going to be lectured in the hallway like a child and told to talk to the POA again). She said if I didn’t leave she would call the police. I live over 200 miles away. I said, "Go ahead and call the police." My thought what a waste of police resources in the City of Baltimore. My two young adult children who were home on winter break said, "We better leave mom and grandpa is looking upset." So the police came as we were leaving.

So today, on the way home from a funeral in Virginia I thought I would drive 1.5 hours out of my way to see dad. My daughter was with me. It was Sunday afternoon. They refused to allow us see my father who is still in a lockdown unit. They said the police were involved last time, so I could only see him weekdays (they wanted the police involved so they would be able to refer to it later I guess). I said that wouldn’t work for me and I was here now. They said I was sent a letter about this, and I have received no such letter.

They said I would have to talk to the POA (they always fall back to this) and I said ok, call him, because we aren’t able to travel here that often. They said no, they had already talked to the manager and she said no. I asked if my 20 year old daughter could at least go see him and say hi. They said no. I said at least can you tell my dad we were here. Which I doubt they did. He would have loved to have seen his granddaughter. What a shame.

They keep this POA excuse up and I agree with another poster that are happy to collect the money and throw the problem on the family. And they make rules up as they go along. I know I have challenged Brookdale on their mismanagement of my parents' healthcare and they have a bone to pick with me, but they didn’t say they sent my daughter a letter and she was never told she couldn’t see her grandfather. Since when does an elderly man who is alert and oriented and able to visit with his grandchildren, have no say in even this aspect of his lonely life in lockdown. She even said the POA's two daughters are allowed to visit and she’s not. These people are the worst.

Original Review: Update on my parents at Brookdale Towson. My mother passed in late June from “pneumonia”, never having left her bed and no attempts to get her upright in a Gerry chair in 7 months. I imagine if she didn't feel like getting up, no attempts were made. They told me she developed low blood pressure and they wouldn't get her up and even that they didn't have a gerrychair. That's what happens when you lay in bed all day! She was not treated for it. Of course she would die from pneumonia or delirium. My family and I were not told she was dying or dead until I received a text that she was dead from the POA.

My dad is likewise in a bed at Brookdale for 10 months, where no attempts at range of motion or sitting him in a Gerry chair have ever been made. He is on a pureed diet and when I visited tells me immediately to throw it in the trash. He will he will eat with no problem food I bring from a nearby grocery store. They tell me pureed are doctors orders and refuse my request to have him reevaluted. He's gone from a 200 lb man to about 80 lbs while living at Brookdale. He mostly just has Ensure. I live 250 miles away. To maintain communication with my dad, including his grown grandchildren, one of my tech savvy kids set up an Amazon Echo show to talk to him as the POA did not provide him with a phone and the staff does not let help him and said they do not have a phone for him to use.

For 5 weeks we could check in and have short conversations and it reassured us about his condition and alleviated his long lonely days of lying and bed with only the company of CNN. He appeared delighted and when he saw me, immediately would say “hey Cathy” and we would talk a few minutes. He also enjoyed playing Elvis, Johnny Cash and listening to jokes. Then one day it went dark. I then received an e-mail stating they had removed the device from his room and I had to fill out an form I would never sue Brookdale and they would refer it to corporate and if approved I could leave video on but no audio. My brother, the recent POA (after he changed it from me), said I put the device in the room knowing it was illegal. The POA has failed to maintain contact with anyone in my family and is the only person my dad has contact with as he lives 2 miles from Brookdale.

I never ran across any information that Alexa’s were illegal and in fact read some PCH were piloting them for the exact reasons I mentioned. The policy of forbidding them is clearly a Brookdale made up policy. I called a number of state agencies which were useless, including the Ombudsman who won’t do anything unless the resident is actively complaining, and obviously they are not going to in their deconditioned and dependent state. I would like to find out about any advocacy groups or media or anyone that can help me shine a light on the ridiculous policy of Brookdale’s. Isolating seniors should not be their mission. Shameful. Everyone I talk to says can’t you do something about it, and I am trying to, but government agencies are not helpful and uninformed.

Unfortunately...my aunt had to live through 6 months of unsanitary conditions and toxic spraying for bedbugs (ineffective!) plus being uprooted from her room for weeks during fumigation (finally!)...only for her to fall ill and die before she could return to the cleaned facility. Sadly...there is no record of this but word of mouth. No way to look this up! Most of the staff has turned over since 2015 and the upper management has all fled for greener pastures. I may be the only person left, who is not compromised by memory or old age who has experienced this and has full knowledge of what they did! Since then, I have returned on a regular basis to visit some of my aunt's friends -- only one is still alive and she is 95 with dementia. She was moved to the dementia unit this year (Clare Bridge Crossings) this past spring (2018) from Assisted Living.

Frankly, I am shocked at how this facility has gone downhill just in 3 years time! Or just how bad, how inhumane the dementia care is. I regularly see violations of just basic human decency -- sanitation, cleanliness, access to things like health care or housekeeping or even a PHONE. Residents are virtual prisoners, locked-in (even with no history of wandering away). The food is so bad, I would not feed it to my dog.

While residents who are mentally OK in Assisted Living can and do complain...dementia patients, even early stage, have no ability to do so. And not all families can or will do anything. Some are secretly glad to be able to "granny dump". Some are just helpless to assist -- and terrified if they complain...the facility will "get even" with them or the resident. Some residents HAVE no family, or only relatives as old and helpless as they are!

I was threatened back in 2014, that if I kept complaining (about bad food, neglect, etc.)...they would evict my aunt, and then "I would have to care for her in my own home!" In trying, politely, to bring attention to the poor conditions of my 95 yr old friend in the Dementia unit...it's been broadly hinted they will ban me from visiting her there. BANNING VISITORS! Space here is not remotely enough to address every issue, but things I warn others contemplating Brookdale to watch out for:

1. The pricing is deceptive -- they lard on extras. One is "medication management". This can add $900 a month to the "rent". They won't let even AL residents with no dementia take so much as a vitamin on their own. 2. They restrict residents from activities such as leaving the buildings, trips, etc -- they are forbidden even to go to walks around the immediate area or shopping! and I mean regular residents with no mental problems. Many such folks have NO IDEA they have signed themselves into such a restrictive environment.

3. Brookdale lies (and lies and lies) about things like activities...bus trips...entertainment. They put things on the website or sign-up sheets, but half or more of the so-called activities never occur. When my aunt was there...the ONE MINI-BUS (for over 100 residents) was broken almost the whole time. Even access to transport to one's doctor visits is very restricted. 4. Staff is extremely rude and evasive, so even reporting problems is useless. I reported burned out light bulbs, and it took FIVE WEEKS for a maintenance man to appear to replace them. 5. Housekeeping (general cleaning) was OK in 2015 (except for a massive bedbug infestation!!! which they hid from staff and families!) but at least in the Clare Bridge Crossings unit is today sadly lacking. It is not clean, and laundry, bed changing, room odors are not addressed regularly. At times, it stinks so bad I felt like fainting.

6. They are badly understaffed and it is often hard to find staff. It is typical to find a living room lounge filled with residents staring at TV set -- sometimes not even a program, just to one of those "upcoming features" channels. The TV set in Clare Bridge Crossings is very small and hard to see for me -- and I have 20/20 vision. 7. I see residents all the time in dirty clothing, even soiled with feces...or the same clothing day after day. I've monitors the bed linens in my friend's suite, and noticed they were not changed once over a 6 week period -- and the sheets themselves were ragged and had holes in them. Some residents actually smell bad, a sign they are not being showered regularly.

8. The food is horrible here -- inexcusably so. Despite resident's complaints in Assisted Living (again, residents with good mental faculties still)...nothing was ever changed nor improved. Food is low quality, tough meats and gloppy noodles and canned veggies. It is impossible, for example, to get a snack or even cup of coffee at resident's request. There are menus, but I have visited at meal times only to hear the aides tell residents "we are out of everything but one entree and hot dogs". (HOT DOGS!) Desserts are typically dry pound cake from a package. The worst: if you order a "fruit plate"...even in summer!...you get a mass of cottage cheese swimming in canned fruit cocktail. Gross. As a result, most residents eat poorly and many plates go back to the kitchen uneaten. I can't believe this is not monitored! I have also witnessed residents seated at meals and FORGOTTEN, getting no food.

And this was in Assisted Living. It is much worse in the dementia unit, as the residents have no ability to speak up or complain, or actively source food of their own. PLEASE do not put your family member or god forbid, yourself into this facility! Read the comments! Most are one-star reviews and say "we wish we could rate this negative 5 stars!"

He had never had any bedsores or any skin problems previously. After several times of notifying management about our concerns we only received one phone call as follow-up and that was to falsely tell us that he had been cleaned when he had not been as evidenced that he was in the same clothing we admitted him with and all his other clothes were untouched in the closet that I put them in.

To demonstrate that my father in law's horrible and careless treatment was not an isolated incident, one day we observed a pile of feces in one of the hallways with only a yellow "caution" sign near it instead of cleaning it up immediately, we observed a patient who had fallen on the floor and no staff was around to help her up or prevent the fall as the entire staff was in a meeting leaving the residents alone to fend for themselves, also at one point when ringing the call button or phone to enter the place a dementia resident kept answering the call button for several minutes. When a staffer finally came to the door she admitted they were all in a meeting and a resident was answering the call button.

Finally, as we knew if we kept him in that place my father in law would deteriorate even more than he already had in those 7 days and we took him out of there. We immediately took him to a dr. who diagnosed that he had indeed developed state 2 pressure ulcers and referred us to a wound care clinic as the sores were that severe.

Instead of providing us with a relief or respite from caring for our loved one Brookdale Meridian staff have caused him harm and increased the stress and care in providing care for my father in law. DO NOT PLACE ANYONE YOU LOVE IN THIS PLACE IF YOU CARE ABOUT THEIR WELL BEING! My family wishes we had never placed my father in law in this facility due to the incompetent, negligent, and careless treatment he received. This all occurred from Sept. 17, 2018 to Sept. 25, 2018.

We needed our mom to be escorted to the dining hall... While being escorted she fell twice, requiring 2 emergency hospital visits (Of course the escort service was an extra charge). On the second trip to the emergency room they sent her without shoes, or winter coat (it was twenty degrees and snowing outside) and the medical information they sent with her was old and never updated. Despite paying extra to have someone get clothes out of the closet for her, they never noticed she would go days without changing clothes and taking a shower. We were spending all that money, yet I had no choice but to go there at least 3 times a week to ensure she was being taken care of. The lights in her bathroom stopped working and despite multiple calls to have them fixed, they didn’t get someone until late the next day to fix it. Thank goodness she did not fall while utilizing the bathroom in the darkness at night.

AND the worst part was that “A PLACE FOR MOM”, a organization that touts help for those people put in similar situations, recommends this place... Oh yeah, it could be because they get paid from Brookdale for recommendations that work into sales!!! We pulled my mom out after 3 and a half months and placed her into a wonderful place that DOES NOT use “A PLACE FOR MOM”. Yes, there are some places out there that really take pride in the quality of care they provide. The residents are treated like family, with kindness and patience. So, look a little harder, and dig a little deeper, when looking for an Assisted Living Facility, and don’t settle for Brookdale. Whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, you/they deserve better. This place is horrible.

Right now, ones who are brought in as assisted living but who can function independently to a great degree, get nothing unless we pay extra. I'm here on long term insurance and medical assistance has to come out of my pocket. Many or most figure that into the cost of room and board so nothing comes out of your pocket. The nationwide lawsuits are justified. We don't get help that is promised. I'm here because I had a stroke and I have Parkinson's. I also have seizures. When I have a seizure, because I didn't sign up and pay for their extra medical charges, I'm on my own. No compassion, no help, no RN on duty half the day, served canned food, spiders, stressful.

Updated on 06/12/2018: Thank God I got out May 31, 2018. This place was a nightmare from the start. I was solicited since 2015 to move in. When my doctor and I decided assisted living would be good for my health, I decided to take advantage of a discounted rate at Brookdale, Oak Ridge. I had been getting home health services. Thinking the discounted rate would stretch my long term care insurance benefits longer, I decided to move in. I took possession of the room, which was assigned to me and it was tiny! I was promised that I could have a larger room. The papers were pushed under my nose with no explanation of anything. I signed papers listening to various people. Later, papers were brought to me to sign in my room, the hallway, the dining room and I finally told them, I would no longer sign anything without looking it over.

The only R.N on sta came to my room telling me that they would be giving me my meds. I said, NO! My physician marked on my papers that I was capable of doing that myself. A rough begun with management over this. The costs ($600) would come out of my pocket. We began from there a fight between management and me. The stress and anxiety never stopped. The nurse actually brought new papers for me to sign about using their pharmacy. I thought I would change pharmacies from Cigna Home delivery and get a better price, or so I was told. At the end of the month, my medication came from their pharmacy. EVERYTHING! I told them this was an error, I had all my meds from Cigna and that I would switch when I ran out. A few weeks later, they deliver all my meds again.

Of course, there were hefty bills. Again, I told them to stop. I had no intention of switching now with this mess. I received meds three times which I properly returned. It ended up, today I got a final bill from their pharmacy for $16.60. For what, I don't know. I use an incontinence pad as my Parkinson's affects all my body systems and triggers them. I received a bill from them that they had made an emergency order of pads for me. I had simply said I would buy their pads but I had my supply coming in. The price was ok but I cringe appreciate getting $30 price added as an emergency supply. All in all, $90 was taken off my bill from orders I supposedly ordered.

I was told when I moved in that, “If you are sick and can't get to the dining room, you wouldn't be charged the $5.00 for delivery to your room.” In the end, by the time I got out of there, there were over $140 I was asked to pay. Why? Not the room and board gives us these me is a day, why are we doubled billed? The constant miscommunication there creates tremendous stress and the managers of the place were so rude. The cook assigns seats in the dining room as if we were children and she had stiff rules that had nothing to do with OSHA reg. She was a tyrant. One day, she got angry at me and slammed her hand on my table rattling the dinnerware and it caused me to have a seizure. I was taken to my room and I was comatose and out of for one and a half days. I told my doctor and she said, my seizures would do that.

The food was HORRIBLE. I studied nutrition and biochemistry and I've always been careful of my diet. We were served beans and legumes three times a day, with tons of starchy vegetables, and mac and cheese that had been frozen. Our food came out of cans, almost nothing fresh. I complained that we weren't getting anything fresh, on frozen or canned and fried meat. Very fattening plus bread. I asked for whole wheat toast instead of white and the cook informed me that it all was used the same in our body and is converted into sugar. As a diabetic, I knew that the whole wheat grain has the husk on it so it not only converts slowly not sparking sugar levels, plus the roughage keeps the sugar levels down also. The plastic glasses drank from often had lipstick on them. And complained because several of us had stomachaches and diarrhea.

Mine lasted for six to seven weeks. My tablemate ended up going to his doctor and began taking antibiotics. One waitress said she had it but they went ahead and served without wearing gloves. After I moved in, my house flooded costing me a great deal of money. My insurance company took over and brought in a home renovation company. I told Brookdale immediately that my extra funds were take but my bill had ballooned up with extra charges and I could never get a straight answer of how much I owed. The bill from the in-house business office and the bill from home office were sometimes two thousand different. The accounting system is a nightmare. They actually billed me for four extra days saying that I came in on the 15th of March when I didn't move in until the 19th. My long term care insurance company caught the error because they had paid home health services for my care at home. Stress!

When I moved out, the regional manager removed the charges. I came to Brookdale for rest after a stroke and my Parkinson's. More to come. I wrote this as a response to the company who asked what they could do. The building is old having been an assisted living under four companies. In 2012, the building was investigated by Don Dare a consumer advocate on local television because of water leaks and mold. While I was there, the ceiling ballooned out and water covered the halls and the place was draped with hallways of plastic blocking us from moving around the building. Huge machines were placed around to suck out the water from the carpets and dry them. The smell was bad. They began massive painting and the week after I left, the kitchen ceiling fell through so McDonald's was brought in. Also while I was there, the dishwasher stopped working.

There were few people to help us. There was one maintenance man, one maid to clean all the rooms and few servers in the kitchen. One man took it upon himself to walk on the greasy floor in front of the kitchen and fell and broke his hips. Needless to say, he will probably stay in a nursing home. I spent so much time trying to help some of the old people many in their 90s get around. Some lost and couldn't remember their rooms and shuffling around tired and confused. There weren't enough staff to monitor. One of my blind friends there didn't know to wear her pendant (Many didn't know) so she slipped and fell at night and laid on the floor from 2:00 a.m. till 8:00, said she was freezing. She's blind and 94. Another laid in the shower floor waiting for help (93 year old) and no-one answered her pendant call.

Another resident heard her and got an R.A. to help her. She's now gone to memory care. One resident slumped over in the dining room and I went over to help. She said she was having a heart attack. I called for help and the R.A.s said to forget it that she acted up wanting attention. I was shocked! My room had spiders and whether poisonous or not, I was unhappy to see them crawl up my comforter in bed. I planted a lot of flowers as part of the garden club. If the residents don't bring them or do the work planting and repairing the gardens, it doesn't get done. The above ground closer beds were repaired by the families. I spent some time off and on picking up trash outside also.

This month, the business office billed my LTC insurance incorrectly. It's always something. The corporate office should contact me and let's get this mess straightened out. I'm in home health care right now and will think long and hard before going into assisted living again. Brookdale misrepresented themselves and it's not a place I would wish on anyone. It's sad to see that many residents in their 90s that can't have advocates.

Soon after her fall, I got a call asking when she'd be back, and if I wasn't sure to remove her belongings. No one asked about her condition, how she was doing or showed any compassion. I can't tell you the disappointment I felt with the staff as we moved her belongings back out to her (still owned) condo. They were most concerned with getting all their keys, tv remote and emergency necklace back. They never once asked how she was. It was so obvious that all they cared about was filling the rooms and getting their monthly check. So very disappointed with Brookdale.

I have enclosed the business card Brookdale Pinecrest gave her as “Ambassador” and the invitation to the luncheon. This was strictly a volunteer job, she was never compensated for her closing skills. She thoroughly enjoyed promoting Brookdale Pinecrest. This is the same activities director whom I witnessed, give a man beads during a party, then later, physically take them off of his neck. When he asked why he could not keep the beads, she responded that she ran out and other residents needed the beads. He was so sad, I hurt for him. I almost went home and grabbed a bag of beads to give to him.

These are incidents of mental and emotional abuse of Senior Citizens. Some of which are Veterans and all people deserve better treatment. Where is the compassion, Brookdale? I told her not to ride on the bus anymore to Publix. I saw the bus in traffic one day. The driver did not obey traffic laws and drove questionable. I feared for her safety. I made weekly visits to take her to the store, even though she paid for the service.

She avoided me like I was the plague when she knew I wanted to talk to her. Almost $2000 per month extra for personal service and manage her medications which they did very, very poorly or not at all. The food was horrible burned, cold or so tough she couldn’t chew it. Food was never what they have listed on the menu either. After supper they wheel them to their rooms and that's the end of any care for the day until they ready them for bed. No functions unless it's from "volunteers" from the community or friend/relative of a resident. I don't know how these people can sleep at night or live with themselves at all. All for the almighty buck. Lots of omissions and lipstick on the pig when they are "recruiting". You will learn the rest of the "story" when your loved one runs out of money and may need Medicare/Medicaid to take over but only after 2 years of self-pay.

Brookdale has the whole psychology part of this down pat and plays it to the nth degree. I would like to see the management training manual that teaches how to suck the life out of people for the most money while giving the least amount of care in return. I feel the utmost sympathy for those poor people who have no one left in the world to advocate for their care and well being. Do NOT put the care of a loved one in the hands of these people.

After we got home, I called there to see if I could talk to the staff regarding her because she didn't seem to be all there. I was told that the Executive Director was no longer there and the RN was working from home. WHAT? How can a nurse of an assisted living facility work from home? I asked whom I was speaking to and he said he was a salesman? The RN called me the following day and said the man I talked to was wrong and or I had misunderstood him. Okay. We received a call saying that Shirley wasn't herself so they were sending her to the ER. I called my brother and he went to the hospital to check on her. She seemed pretty good, just more demented than usual, he left after. They said they had more tests to run and when they checked back the next day they said she was fine and they sent her home.

No, what they did was dropped her off at the nursing home unable to mobilize herself, in the middle of the night, without speaking to any staff at the assisted living facility, because there was none there. Brookdale called me the next day and said since Shirley was no longer able to be continent it would be another $1000.00 a month for her care. Well, we knew it would be more but knew something was up. The following Friday during a blizzard we drove down to Brookdale without a heads up and walked in on Shirley laying in her bed, feces all over the bathroom, her dirty pants on the floor, the room wreaked of urine and feces and dirty dishes sitting on her bed stand. They had told us that she was not mobile so we thought we could set her up in a wheelchair but there was not one to be found. When we realized that she did not know who we were, we called the ambulance.

I went into the office and there sat the RN and I said, "What about Shirley?" and she said, "Oh we were just getting ready to give her a bath." Really? The ambulance people got there and said what meds is she on and the RN blurted out, "Morphine." Really? For what? My Mother couldn't even lift her head, couldn't lift her arms or legs. The RN said she hadn't drank anything for 3 days and the same for food. The dirty dishes were because they were trying to get her to eat or drink. We took her to the hospital, they said she hasn't had a stroke like the in home doctor had previously said, she had blunt force trauma to the head causing a brain bleed, there was new and old blood on the brain and it was still bleeding, she also had a UTI and AFIB.

They couldn't get her to take the meds and she wouldn't let them put in an IV so they had to send her to ICU to calm down and when she did, they sent her to another Nursing home and soon to follow Hospice because she was dying. This was all within a week. She passed the following Friday. When we returned to Brookdale to get her items, the RN told us that they had a new Executive Director and we said, "So we get a refund for this month right? Knowing the condition we found her in", the RN said yes. During the cleaning of her room we found a Morphine pill in the candy dish. The nurse was like, "Why would that be?" "How would I know, You work here!" A few days after the funeral, we received a phone call from this so called new Executive Director and the RN on speaker phone and when asked about the refund, the RN said "I didn't say that, I didn't have the authorization to say that". "Really? Well that's what you told us."

Then I requested records from the assisted living facility and got an email from the ED stating they needed proof that I was the guardian. I sent it back stating you already have a copy of that. She said that it was from 2 years prior. I sent them proof of court and my mother appointed guardian, conservator and fiduciary and said, "Please send the records." She said she needed all that to make sure I was in charge of the estate and that I wasn't opening up a new estate??? I don't know what on earth that means but I was in charge of my mother and am now in charge of her affairs and they won't give us our money back and they neglected and as far as I'm concerned killed my mother!

She went from 124 to 92 pounds in one year. The place was not being cleaned with food all over the dining room floor and staircases that were never cleaned. Had to get mom out fast in order for her to survive. No caring about having to move her, had to pay for a month of no extra care and for a month of rent for an empty room. She is doing much better now, but I spoke with a few of the residents and heard the same complaints. Look for another place for your loved ones as Brookdale does no updates for resident safety, they just look at the bottom line, money.

There are many complaints about all of the Brookdale facilities across the country online. I have sent a letter to Andrew Smith, CEO/President, and 52 copies to various people, government agencies and organizations, including Adult Protective Services and HHSC. I'm more than happy to send a copy to anyone requesting one, just let me know. This company Apparently is most concerned with money, not health care. They had a 4.6 billion revenue in 2016. Andrew Smith had a salary (according to salary.com) of $6,608,594 in total compensation. I am praying, for the sake of all PEOPLE in these establishments, someone puts a stop to their neglect and/or abuse of our elders. This treatment can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and, even worse, early death from neglect of medications, uncleanliness, among other scenarios.

We have been called away from work on a daily basis to watch our family member. Told they had no staff to cover his care and we needed to get family and friends to cover shifts or because he was on Medicaid he would be forced to leave. This is a billion dollar company for a reason, they do bare minimum for high dollars and spend lots on great attorneys so they can get away with murder. Even if you get everything in writing they won't follow thru and it will cost you tons but it will be too late, so if you want your family member to be dirty, hungry, not get their required meds, and if you want to be lied to, and constantly get calls and threats choose this one.

The only thing that was not cut was getting new residents. New residents was Brookdale first priority. Management would promise just about anything. They would not say no. They would roll the red carpet. Unfortunately after a week management would change the priority from 1st to 3rd. The children or other people would be 2nd priority. Currently the food has diminish, meds are miss, and care overall has gone down. Very sad unfortunately what I said is true.

Food here is terrible, and most of the time we don't get what was on the weekly menu. The menu on the table at each meal doesn't list what was on the menu, and what you get isn't either one of those. They stopped putting out a weekly menu, so I can't compare it to what we get. They do post a weekly list of food items, with no way of telling which meal they are for. It is printed so small, most people here can't see it. At one time I did receive an email from someone at headquarters. The email requested that I call them and "let's talk", no proof of conversation. It was 9 months after we moved in before we got a correct invoice, in spite of repeated input by the ED.

This is what our family is being faced with today. My sister-in-law suffers from Alzheimer's, she lived in Texas and we decided that she would be better off if she lived closer to us here in the Tucson AZ area. We scheduled a number of appointments with local Alzheimer's facilities. We found a Brookdale facility in a very nice area. We met with the Executive Director and were given a price sheet so we would be able to compare them to other locations. The cost was in range we were looking for so we decided to go to the next step which was to have her evaluated by a Brookdale representative in the San Antonio, TX area. They agreed that the Alzheimer's/dementia facility we were interested in would be a good match. Within a month we had moved her into her new home or so we thought.

She was in that location less than 2 weeks before we were told that she would need more care than anticipated, but not to worry they had a Memory Care Facility less than 10 miles from where she was. The catch was that her new care was going to cost almost $1,800 per month more. This new cost was beyond the cost of care she could afford. We were told that Brookdale would honor the original costs for 12 months. We went back to the original contract costs and found that they had a higher amount than what we were prepared to pay and what we were quoted. Their explanation was that corporate had raised the rates but didn't provide their locations with the new pricing. After paying the deposit and rent for the first month we were billed in excess of $13,000 for her next month rent at her new place.

We were also told that there would be a personal care plan and were given a range of what that might entail. From that moment forward we never received a correct bill for her care. The Executive Director at the first location was fired or at least that what we were led to believe, based on their corporate culture she may very well been given a promotion and a raise for successfully doing what she was trained to do. Lie, lie and if questioned lie some more. After being lied to so often my wife started keeping meticulous records, keeping every e-mail about the cost and care for her sister.

This just became too much to handle and we decided that it was time to find another Alzheimer's care facility and move her out. We gave the appropriate notice and moved her to a brand new care facility in Casa Grande, AZ. Again, every bill we got from them was wrong and had my wife spending hours on end trying to clear it all up. We knew we didn't owe any money and hoped that moving her out was going to be the last time we would ever have to deal with them again. Well nice thought but far from the reality we faced.

For months we were getting past due billing notices, this caused my wife to spend even more time trying to settle up her account. When going over what we were charged she found that she was being charged the highest rate in the range for her personal care with absolutely no explanation. Our concerns were sent to the highest levels in their corporate structure that we could. We got a letter stating we had a credit, then sent check with no explanation, and shortly after another past due notice for the same amount of our credit and the check they sent us. We questioned this and were told over and over again that everything had been taken care of.

After everything my wife had to do and all of the time she spent trying to take care of this that just didn't seem like enough to me. During her sister's stay hundreds of dollars in clothes went missing, never to be returned even after she had labeled every single thing as per their requirements. The billing issues from the beginning turned out to be a daily issue my wife had to contend with and it eventually took its toll on her health. That's when I became involved, she just couldn't take it anymore. They are now ignoring my numerous calls asking for an e-mail address so all correspondence can be tracked and that a paper trail has been established. I have even asked to exercise my legal recourse of taking our case to arbitration.

It is not about the money, it is now about protecting others that may become victims. It is about reaching out to others who have gone through similar or worse treatment. I believe that there are many and want to expose them as the predatory thieves they are. If my elderly Mother had my Father in one of their facilities she would have just paid the bills because she could afford to do so. My question is how many like my Mother are out there, those who trust people to be honest and would never imagine that things like what we have gone through could happen to them.

I would love to see a Class Action Law Suit brought against Brookdale for their corrupt billing practices. They have more than 1,100 Senior Living Facilities across the country and bring in over a $1,000,000,000 in revenue, yes that's a BILLION. If they cheat just 3 people per month at each of their facilities for let's say $4,000 per month that comes out to over $13,000,000 per month times 12 months equals $158,400,000 per year. Nothing would make me happier than to see an ad on TV asking have you or a loved one been a victim of Brookdale Senior Living Solutions fraudulent billing practices.

On a personal note, I am 70, IQ 145, post masters education, have several successful businesses, my own successful Radio show, appeared on many national network TV and radio shows, combat medic specialized in psychiatry, had many class AAA clients that I ghost wrote for, raising millions of dollars, and I get marginalized, treated as dumb and I live in one of the largest most "successful" assisted living organization facility.

Value like the characteristics of variety and the rate of satisfaction with an assisted living facility is extremely subjective. Therefore in my opinion, Brookdale met my and my family's expectations of what a quality assisted living facility should entail, encompass or deliver on a daily and continual basis for the amount of money being paid.