Brookdale Northampton

Brookdale Northampton is a beautiful facility. My answers are based on the Memory Care Unit. The Memory Care Unit is a lot different from the rest of the facility. It smells and it is not clean. We have moved my Mother to a different facility after she fell at Brookdale and broke her hip. The staff at Brookdale changed my mother's medications twice without consulting either me or my siblings. Also, I couldn't answer regarding the food because we were encouraged not to come during meals. The staff was allowing my mother to sleep through breakfast AND lunch. She lost 30 pounds in the 3-4 months she was there. She could have used our help eating her meals. My overall opinion is that it is a beautiful facility, but don't go there for the Memory Care Unit. It is a dump compared to the rest of the building.

The staff at Brookdale is very pleasant and friendly. The sales agent [name removed] with whom we worked to get [name removed] in was great. She was so helpful and patient with him. We had difficulty for several months getting [name removed] a regular shower and I'm not so sure he gets medical check-ups as frequently as he should; then again, it's not clear to me what frequency is typical in such facilities. There don't seem to be many activities offered at Brookdale for the residents, but that may be a function of the profile of residents. Although I've not eaten a meal at Brookdale, I regularly ask [name removed] what he's had for meals. He is not a picky eater and not one to complain, but from what he tells me, the quality and variety of what he is served could use some improvement.

Most of the help is very friendly but they do seem short handed. The laundry has been a constant problem with getting all your clothes back. Overall you could pick everything apart if you wanted too but they do their best. They are nice. They have doctors coming in. Overall no major complaints my sister is taken care of

I would recommend the community, it has been a good experience.

My father has been here for 5 years and it's been a really good place for him. The staff is very nice, courteous and helpful. There is lots of activities for everyone to get involved. The food has been very good. It's nice that they allow family to come and have a meal for a nominal fee. Due to my father's age, he requires assistance getting showers, shaving, getting dressed, etc. The staff has always been very helpful in these areas. I'm glad he's here and I hope he can continue to stay at Brookdale. It's working out very well for him and our family.

There was no odor upon entering the facility. We went in for the interview for my sister-in-law. They had a welcome sign with our names on it. The facility is clean and the residents are clean and appear happy. All of the staff are very friendly. They have very nice activities, every day. Everyone goes down to the Dining Room to eat. The food is very good. For a small fee we can make a reservation to have a meal with her. The only thing we had an issue with is through the night, if she has to use the bathroom, no one comes after she presses her button. She wears adult diapers, so that prevents a mess. They are shorthanded at night.

Staffing was always an issue. Long waits to get assistance. Weekends especially. Often staffed by temps who were not fully capable. Some full time staff were wonderful, but that was not the norm. Sometime showers skipped due to lack of help. Not designed for wheel chair residents. High counters and refrigerator. Curbs in showers. Could not pull up to the sink. Public areas were well maintained, but my mother's room was not cleaned regularly.

The community is very friendly. The reason this was our choice was because my mom was in the hospital and needed additional care. [name removed]went to visit her. Honestly if she hadn't done that she wouldn't have moved to any facility.

I feel that we are really out of the loop with her care. There is definite room for improvement at this community.

When it comes to the meals and dining service this is based on my friend, who resides at Brookdale Northampton has reported to me. For the activities I can't really comment. My friend hasn't participated in anything yet, to my knowledge. I would recommend Brookdale to someone looking for a place that provides a more homey setting with friendly people. I know that my friend seems to have settled in nicely. One qualifier is the food. My friend is not a complainer, but in probing him about the meals, it's my sense that that's one area that could use some improvement. Otherwise, I'm relieved that my friend is safe and sound at Brookdale.

I know that there is a shortage of employees at times, but all facilities seem to have that same problem. Even so, they are very responsive with any and all questions or concerns. The food is very good. And the staff are very friendly and caring.

I would recommend to others , they have very good staff, nursing, and administrative staff. We picked this community, because of the location, value, and the staff were so inviting and friendly.

Pros- Friendly, great care, good food. Cons - Old facility. However we would absolutely recommend this community to other families based on our experience.

The community made this an easy process and explanation due to the fact the person who I spoke to has had their parent here. This is a community I would recommend to others for their loved ones. The communication with the staff is good and they are very understanding.

They are very caring, and hands on. They keep me connected, with what's going on, and I have nothing neagtive to say.

I was displeased with the service received, compared to the meeting with The Sales & Marketing Manager and The Director of the memory care floor. It was all a sales pitch. I don't feel that they, in my opinion, did all they could do. I think they were laxed and it was easy on some days to let my aunt lay in bed, not have a meal, and not save a meal for her if she wasn't out for meals. They would leave her in soiled Depends. I was told one day that the med tech doesn't take care of that and the aide was too busy so it'd have to be that way until they could get to her. I feel they gave me the turnaround when my aunt was sent to the hospital on whether or not she would be accepted back. They wanted more money, but there was no change in the care she was going to need. I was displeased with the fact that they were not willing to renegotiate money. They are looking for money for the 2 months she wasn't there because I didn't give them a 30 days notice. During that time they were not letting me know if she could be accepted back or not. I told them in letter form that I understood they held a bed, but they did not provide any care for the last week of April, May or June. Early on I requested a meeting with The Director of memory care to see what we could do moving forward when she came back from the hospital. They said yes we can meet, but they never scheduled anything with me. I followed up a second time and it was still never scheduled. I don't feel that the care and concern for the person you care about is really of their concern. Some of the staff were nice and treated her nice, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be, so it was a disappointment. I was there as often as possible sometimes everyday of the week. Some days she hadn't eaten breakfast and I asked for a plate like I witnessed them save for other people. They said they didn't have any and they could bring her a piece of toast. I didn't understand some things and I also didn't feel like I should need to walk around to try and speak with The Director of memory care. I had to follow her around to speak with her. I thought I found a nice place that was somewhat local and had been around for a while, but it was a disappointment. They decided that if they were going to take her back, it was going to be [price removed] more per month and I did not dispute that amount. Although, the only change was she was on a Foley that was set to be removed soon and temporary insulin. She wasn't getting insulin when she entered and I get that, but they said because she would need additional care it'd be much more money if they took her back. I saw them feeding people who are laying down in wheelchairs, whereas my aunt could feed herself and had good mobility with some assistance. I didn't understand why that would be so much more; I didn't find that to be a huge detriment for a care facility that has nurses. If she were to come home with me then I'd have to do those things and it'd be ok for me to do it and I'm not a care professional. But when you're in a facility, they want to charge you for it and I was willing to pay it. When they sent her to the hospital they did so because of a potential UTI and/or dehydration, and said she'd be back within the same night. To my knowledge I never confirmed if she ever had either. It all just snowballed from there.

This is a reasonably priced community and it fits the realm of this kind of community where there are a lot of peers there. It gives people the opportunity to have their own place and get involved with the community. They have activities like bingo, exercise and my mother in law seems to enjoy these things. Being in a group has made her want to do more.