Brookdale Mandarin

The services that they offer for my father in law are great. They take care of him and keep good communication with me so that i know he is alright.

I toured this community while looking into care options for a loved one. I just don't think this place would have been a good match for my loved one. The staff seemed nice, and the facility was clean and fairly well kept, but it was an older building and I don't think the high-rise setup would have worked well for my loved one.

While individually most staff members appear to be caring individuals, I have definitely experienced poor/lack of communication between the various levels of service workers. There have been at least three occasions when I have requested a particular service only to discover that it was not told to the person who was responsible for doing the work. I get the impression that this facility is understaffed. In addition, most employees wear the navy blue golf shirt, which makes it difficult to distinguish an RA from a Med Tech from a Nurse from Housekeeping, etc. Good technology is lacking, there is paper everywhere, giving the appearance of poor organization. Overall I have been disappointed in the management of this facility.

Do not put someone you love in this place..... The service is terrible. it sometimes takes hours for them to respond to a resident call. They are not honest about the level or quality of care they provide. No real organized activities for the residents, They park them in front of a TV in the lobby The food is really, really bad, you cant tell from looking or taste what you are eating and it is always served cold. my mom actually got a meal that looked like scrapes pieced together. They have weekly food meetings with the residents and promise it will change and get better but it never does. They do that to try to keep the resident pacified, they have all kinds of excuses for not improving.. I have seem garbage overflowing at the dumpster, old appliances and trash piled up in the rear of the building. No one can use the pool, the door locks you out and gates are always locked. We got nothing we were promised and a lot of excuses why they cant deliver.

Our experience with Brookdale Mandarin was not a good one, and I would not recommend their services. My loved one was here for a brief respite stay, and during that time she fell. I do not think they keep a close eye on the residents, when I visited at one point they told me she was out participating in an activity when she was actually in her room asleep.

Had the appearance of a nursing home. Entrance crowded with residents in wheelchairs or sitting on walkers. Hallways and doors were dirty.

It was not bad. I would use them again if needed. However i'm going to check out other places. I didn't feel comfortable when the staff was passing out medications. They didn't read them correctly. They also didn't bother to fix the TV in my loved one's room. She was there for 2 weeks without a TV. Everybody else was very friendly. It was an okay experience.

So far they are doing an okay job. They were one of the more affordable places around. I do have a few concerns. There don't seem to be a lot of people to socialize in the evening. Everyone seems to go to bed by seven in the evening. They could use a little updating, new wallpaper, or something. The area out near the pool and where the workers sit outside to eat, needs a little cleaning up. The food seems to be okay, and they just got a new chef, which is nice.

The food isnt' that great. It's clean, and the people are really responsive. They do have transportation daily. The rooms are a good size. The doctor comes every tuesday. Everyone is very well taken care of. The marketing lady is just wonderful, the employees are all very nice. It was the most affordable compared to the other places we saw.

They provide meals, transportation, and the cleaning and the laundry. The only complaint she has is about the food, there's not enough fresh vegtables and fresh fruit, and the temperature of the food is cold sometimes, is what I hear. There seems to be more going on than the last place she lived. While we were moving her in, I set off the bell accidentally once, and they were there immediately, and she set it off by accident when she first moved in and they were there very quickly. I kind of wish that the cable was included in the bill, it seems like for the price the cable should be included. The people were the deciding factor here. She has a very nice room a studio very spacious and comfortable, they painted for her, to the color that she wanted. I liked the idea of being able to add the care as she needs it, they have a program now where if all she needs is help with medication, they charge 250 a month for that. They charge the care by the number of minutes required to do that care per day. They have a service where if she is not feeling well they will deliver her meals. She has a full kitchen with a full size stove and everything.

If you said it was a nursing home, I would rate a three or four, but for independent living, it's a two. It depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a nursing home, it's right up your alley. If you're looking for independent living or minimally assisted living, it's not what you want. My mother's fear was that we were going to pick a place that was a holding area for you to die, and that's kind of how Emeritus at Mandarin felt. Most people there were towards the end.

We are doing OK on the the value. By the time I got to Emeritus, it was like walking into heaven. It's more like an apartment in that it feels very independent, even though my mom is in assisted living. You can see the different levels of care available, but not everyone needs a lot of care. They do things like free manicures, swimming, Bingo and rummy, and shopping at Walmart. Each room has a nice size kitchen, and my mom has a two bedroom. In the dining room, you are assigned to a table and they serve you. It is a very good place.

When we moved her in, I would have given them a four, but now I'd give them a two. Everyone in the place is complaining about the food, saying that it is horrible and inedible. I know that stuff has been said to the managers but they think that the residents are all mental and don't take them seriously. A lot of people have dementia, and it seems to me like they really need skilled nursing. There's one lady that doesn't know where she is, and they just leave her slumped over in front of the elevator. She asks everyone that walks by if she can go home. They said they do this so that she can "interact," but they are beyond interacting. They just know that something is not right. They don't have friends. It is very sad. For residents that are still independent, it is very disheartening. The dignity is not there for these people. Mom absolutely loves the girl that comes in and takes care of her room, and she likes nurses and doctor. For some reason she feels that she is unable to use the transportation that they provide. They say that they will take you 20 miles or something, but they only provide transportation on certain days. They won't just take you where you want to go. They can't use the pool, very rarely is it open, and it's usually dirty. The only doors that lead to the pool lock behind you, so you're locked out of the building. Supposedly they have water aerobics, but we've never seen anyone out there doing it. We are really sad about this because the pool was one of the reasons we moved her in! They have had a big change over of staff in serving and maintenance. I don't know what is going on there. Mom is not happy there but doesn't want to move again. To me it is more like they are prisoners. For what she pays we would expect better, better food, better choices.

I think that they could do something more for new residents to introduce them to people and familiarize them with the routines. I think it would have made the transition a lot easier for my mom. She had her own apartment with a small kitchen, but she ate in the dining room. She was at a zero level of assistance, so we didn't have to pay for care, which was nice. There would have been care available if she needed it.

We liked the Emeritus at Mandarin, as an Assisted Living Community. The staff was able to build a rapport with my Father that put him at ease and helped him to open up about his needs. Their flexibility in providing individual assistance was valuable. They were very positive in assuring us that his needs would be taken care of, based on the varied and plentiful medical staff on site. Their ability and willingness to take on the paperwork was a plus. the rooms were a good size, even the Studios. The. Residents and Staff were cheerful. However the prices were higher and would be a stretch for my father's budget. The front entrance was crowded and somewhat dingy. The common areas also seemed crowded. We will include this Community in our search for serious consideration.

We like it and my aunts seems to be okay with it too. I saw the activities when we were checking them in and saw waht they had planned but my aunt's aren't interested in participating in activities, they're adjusting well and they haven't really complained very much but they usually take their food back into their room and stick to each other. When we went and did the tour it seemed like it was a nice facility, clean, they had availability for what we needed and it fit within our budget.

It was clean and the people were nice. We chose another community because of the location, for one. The price was the other factor. It was just more convenient and affordable for us.

Rooms were very nice - especially liked the size of the studio - much bigger than I expected. The one bedroom was very nice and I was advised rooms would get new carpeting (if needed) and paint. Facility seemed well run, residents seemed groomed and happy. The facility itself is under a facelift so hard to tell. Pool in back looked inviting. No memory care which is a little disappointing since dad is exhibiting a little memory loss so I'm concerned about the future. If he needs memory care he'll have to move out of facility.