Charleston House Assisted Living

They have had a lot of issues with the TV/internet and based on the experience we would recommend Charleston House to other families based on the experience we have had so far.

The activities seem to be really good and our loved ones are starting to participate in them. The meals and dining service overall is good but occasionally our loved one might say something negative about it. Based on our experience so far we would recommend Charleston House Assisted Living community to other families.

The community is very good at watching over my loved one and making sure my loved one is receiving their medications. I continue to see the same staff and this is a positive to know there isn't a lot of turnover of care staff. There is variety in the meals and dessert is available for the residents. The value is a good deal for us. The staff does a good job at making sure my loved one's room is kept clean, and they do a good job at not mixing the laundry up for my loved one. The administration took time to come meet my loved one's family and this made a positive impression on the family and my loved one.

Mom and Dad are liking it. They staff are really nice to them. The food is good, and the chef has been able to work with my mom with her dietary restrictions. They activities are good as well. They had some difficulties with the billing, but she was able to talk to them and get it straightened out. Other than that, they seem to be really liking it there and are doing just fine. They finally got everything hung on the walls that I couldn't help them with - Beaver Dam has special staff that help with that. So it feels like their place, and not just a place where they're residing for a bit, which was really important to them.

It's a very nice facility. It's well kept up., and very spacious. They have walk-in showers in every bathroom, and they have a full size refrigerator and microwave in the kitchenette, but no stove. My loved one also has a nice size bedroom and a large living/dining space together. Also, each apartment has a small patio that goes out a back door from their room. The staff seem very friendly. There are a variety of activities that they do. I know there's a group of people who play cards, and they have scheduled activities around birthdays and holidays. Occasionally, I think they take outings to Walmart or places like that.

Even though they say you can pay the greater of two fees and your loved one can live there until end of life, they can come back and give you a 30-day notice to move them because they can't take care of them anymore. Basically my loved one fell, and after that they would only move her with use a Hoyer lift. They wouldn't let her stand up. And they would tell her to poop her pants in her chair. She had to go through that the last 10 days she was there. She went downhill fast there, and as soon as she left, she's been on the uphill side and has improved drastically. There was a lot of turnover in the time that she was at Beaver Dam. The main director turned over within the first month that my loved one was there, and they constantly had staff shortage problems. Externally the facility looks pretty good, but less so on the inside. It wasn't really an issue, but it was neither super clean nor super dirty.

First of all, The managers and financial managers were willing to work with us and laid everything out for us. They told us they that would help us if and when our mom would run out of money. They made us feel comfortable on what to expect and they are really are there to help you. It is a beautiful place. All of the staff are nice and they really understand. There is an RN available everyday. My mom's room is beautiful with a balcony that overlooks a lake. There offer buses to to take my mom to doctors appointments. The food is great and my mom gets to fill out a menu daily with her selections. They offer a variety of choices and my mom says the food is excellent. The staff encourage families to join for meals as well.

Buyer beware. Not as advertised. Food is terrible, repetitive, and lacking in fresh fruits or vegetables. Activities are very limited, despite the fact that Beaver Dam has a lot of cultural events going on. Management is not responsive to concerns or suggestions. Seems to be run by people, who have little interest in or knowledge of the elderly. Nursing assistants are kind and helpful, but there is an extreme level of turnover, due to poor management.

Upper management is offering a 100$ rent discount for every 5 star review! There are only 4 to 5 staff on duty for 40 memory impaired patients. The food is not the best, whatever is easy ie: hot dogs, ham and cheese sandwiches. Staff turnover is weekly! I would remove my father if I had somewhere else to take him in town!

Things are going very well here and I’m pleased with the care they’re giving my mom. I’ve been very happy with the care there. The staff seems to be very caring and they talk with her very caringly and clearly so she can hear them. I had a chance to try the food and it was very good, she seems to be eating well, and they have her sit at a table with assistants so they can help her eat. The menu seems to have a good variety and their larger meals seem to be at lunch where they have 2 choices. At dinner they’ll have smaller meals like tacos, or soup, or there are sandwiches you can get if you don’t want a full entrée. I don’t know how often housekeeping comes by but it always looks pretty clean and there aren’t any smells that are overpowering. They do provide a few activities like music once a week where either a single person or a couple of musicians will come in and sing, they do a lot of craft things, they have exercise most mornings during the week, and there are card games as well. My dad was in favor of her being here because she really receives the care that she needs. They even have a respite building available and anytime he comes up to visit her, they’ll let him stay there so he can be near her. It is an extra charge but it includes all meals. Everyone that I’ve talked to has said good things about this place and that’s part of why I decided to give it a try. I would recommend them, my family is happy with the care that she’s receiving.

I initially was looking for a place to take my wife to go because she needed round the clock care and observation. One of the biggest things that I noticed about this place is that the training is so much different here than at a normal nursing home as far as handling the patients goes. One of the biggest things, I’ve learned, for Alzheimer patients is that the idea that they can’t go where they want to or that they have to make a decision right then and there sends them automatically into a bad state of mind. The freedom that they give everyone at the Charleston House allows the patients to feel independent but it’s really the facility controlling the situation without creating a problem and observing their behavior from a distance. Every patient has a buzzer necklace that they can use just in case they need help but are otherwise able to roam free. My wife has her own room and privacy and, upon moving her in, I was able to take all of her things from our home and put them in her room to make it feel like home for her. I was able to completely customize it and it’s very spacious. The facility is kept pretty clean. When I walk in, there aren’t any bad smells that are overwhelming and they help keep my wife very clean. I provide the toiletries, laundry soap, all of the bedding and furniture, and nothing is allowed in the room (furniture-wise) that is not covered for safety. There are 4 different wings to the facility, my wife being in wing 2, and the staff is wonderful about working together. There are typically 3 staff members to each wing per shift with 3 shifts per day. I’ve worked with every shift before and they all are extremely cooperative and very good to work with. My wife sometimes has outbursts and they just do an incredible job at helping her calm down. They have little things they do when they’re working with patients to make sure they keep calm, like offering them their favorite snacks. The staff is always friendly and I’ve never seen them doing anything other than smiling while they’re working. They keep me informed about everything involving her and everyone has a phone to reach the head nurse of that particular shift 24hrs a day. The meals are always hot and I’ve noticed that the staff will come around after every meal and notate how much the patient ate, what they had, and how much of it was left over. The only thing I’ve had to furnish for my wife food-wise is lactose free milk and lactose free ice cream so she can be included with the other residents. They have really good activities here too. My wife loves doing crafts; there’s entertainment, they provide calendars for the month with activities that are going on, there are games, movie nights, sitting areas with large screen TVs, and they’ll play music. They’ll typically do activities in the morning or afternoon because by the time evening comes around most people are already in their rooms. They even had a Grandparents’ day recently where they invited the families of the residents and had all of the kids sit with their grandparents to eat some muffins and ice cream. Something to keep in mind, however, is that this is an Alzheimer’s unit, so some of the residents can come off as scared or standoffish with strangers. I’m honestly impressed with this community. If I could be critical, the only thing I would say is that we have long-term care insurance and it feels like the owner won’t work with our insurance. They want their money upfront and they weren’t very clear about that at the beginning of the process. It can put a bit of strain on the wallet if you aren’t prepared but I’m working around that. Otherwise, I’ve already recommended this place to others.

Moved my mom there about three weeks ago. Seems to be a very nice assisted living community.