Harmony at Kent

Harmony at Kent is a visually beautiful community. Mom is a resident of the memory care community there. Several staff members are gracious and caring, which I deeply appreciate. However, I have observed setbacks in Mom’s care, some of which seem to stem from a lack of attention and follow-through. Before the onset of dementia, Mom was one of the most engaging people in her community. When she first arrived at Harmony, she could still walk. Unfortunately, she was quickly transitioned into a transport chair, and edema in her legs soon developed. Regular exercise and occasional walking might have made a significant difference, but those opportunities were missed. Sadly, her current health challenges now make walking impossible. While I am grateful that Mom has made new friends and participates in activities and occasional outings, there are areas where the quality of care could improve. For instance, I have often seen caregivers sitting and using their phones rather than engaging with residents, and this lack of attentiveness is concerning. Management turnover has also introduced challenges, including lapses in communication. Even small details, such as staff not wearing name tags, contribute to an overall sense of disorganization that affects the experience for residents and their families. Despite these concerns, I am thankful that Mom is in a community where she can enjoy social connections, participate in activities, and receive care that meets most of her needs. I hope Harmony at Kent continues to improve, addressing these issues to provide the attentive and proactive care every resident deserves.

It felt like home to my parent. Pricing was reasonable. Staff was helpful and we would definitely recommend this community to other families based on the experience we have had so far.

So my issue is they rarely answered their phone and did not return calls. Also when my uncle needed a catheter we had to move him to a [community removed]. When he was released from the hospital Harmony turned him away at 7pm at night forcing a return to the hospital which then transport was not covered or his stay in the hospital. Truly I would not give them a glowing rating.

The building has major HVAC problems. Many residents had no working air conditioning during summer months. Still no repair. No heat in a few apartments still. Hot water issues. Flooding in apartments related to clogged shower drains ( construction related). And air conditioning units. Very low water pressure on 4th floor apartments elevators are not clean. Lights are out. Carpet in lobby and on floors are stained and filthy. Major food and food service issues. Staffing problems from Administrative dept., Maintenance, Food service and Housekeeping!!!

The activities have no variety especially for independent living. Wine and cheese 3 times a week. Very little human interaction everything is virtual. The person doesn't take suggestions and says she is not from the area. The new member forum was zero. She is never around in late afternoon not on weekends. Very little is planned for weekend. That Chronicle and agenda that comes out daily is a waste of paper and does not say anything with substance. Does not reflect the local news. Most of us are from somewhere else would like to know more about Delaware. When the group goes to the grocery store Walmart and Food Lion she does not give adequate time to shop, as a matter of fact some people have been left at the store. There is no organization or training. There should be static on every activity. If an activity is scheduled and no one shows up, why?? Discussion groups are scheduled for women and men with no topic to discuss. Trivia with 200 year questions. The Arts and Crafts and movies that people like have only been twice since have been here, have only been scheduled 2 times, in 3 months rather than once a week. People are leaving because we are not getting what we were promised. The best feature of the place after living here are the apartments. The Bistro is a good idea but needs to be monitored closely or snacks and drinks need monitored. People come fill their thermoses and coffee pots and leave nothing for others. The director sits and plays games on her phone rather than try to work with residents on activities. The council is a joke all we hear is something we have to live with, nothing is ever resolved so now people stopped coming. The appearance of the lobby and dining room looks 5 star but that is farce, I love my apartment and the appearance but other things need improving. People from assisted living are coming to IL dining room taking our tables and some us have not seat and they sometimes run out if food. No one says anything. They have their dining room and eats 30 minutes before us. No one is in charge of anything. I cannot afford to move nor do I want to. Just give what I was promised. When people are hired they need training working with different levels of seniors, cultures and backgrounds. I see why these facilities get a bad reputation. There are people who may be visual and hearing impaired but may not look like it. They may take longer to read the menu. The activity people needs training and experience working with populations and nothing everyone has dementia. We are mostly intelligent but older. Learn to deal with all kinds of people. The front desk person keeps her head down however we are told to go to the concierge but she knows nothing or pretends she knows nothing. There should be a person available on weekends in case in emergency. Rather than be told to go to your neighbor to use the bathroom. Told to go to your neighbors whom you don't know to take a shower. Ridiculous Someone found someone taking a shower in their apartment. Danger. One person had diarrhea and the toilet would not flush on Friday and told to wait until Monday. There is no one around to take care of emergencies at any time. The members are on their on for these issues. Everyone disappears 3 days at. a time. This is a large facility with no management.

We relocated my mother-in-law from Florida and quickly realized that her memory issues were more than just age related. From start to move in, Harmony at Kent helped ease our minds knowing that she would be safe and cared for. She is very happy with her apartment and enjoys the food and religious service's. She is socializing with other residents and uses the gym and library at her leisure. Harmony is managing her medication which had been a major issue when living independently. We are thankful that we have such an amazing facility so close by.

There have been some growing pains which is to be expected with a new building and general staffing issues in the industry as a whole. However, the activity people are very good and always having something going on for the residents. I would recommend this community to other families based on the experience so far.

My whole family really liked this apartment complex right from the beginning. Unfortunately, a few things have changed throughout this past year, but for right now, we aren't going anywhere, Mom still loves it here! About two months ago, there had been a horrible fight inside the front doors that had led to a tragic death outside of them, on the parking lot. The staff here has always been friendly, but there are always a few bad apples anywhere, and it is not any different here. Our loved one, lives on the independent living floor along with many neighbors. Now, one issue we have is that if our loved one falls, the staff can not help pick her up, and before moving in, I was under the impression they could help to get her up so I didn't need to call for an ambulance. The dining room is beautiful, but in the past, the staff and the food have also been another issue. I just hope they can keep the good employees they have now because they have had some that were extremely rude. It seems like the food is getting better now, and I hope it stays this way because in the past, some meals have been very unusual, served cold, or they had even completely ran out. When it comes to activities, there is plenty to keep our loved ones active. They offer physical therapy, they have bingo, there are crafts and movies, and they even have a beautician available to get her hair done. Value for the cost to live here, I'd say it's fair. However, they just had an increase in rent and several other things to. Right now, it's high to live everywhere, so maybe it's on average?

I would say be careful with the care issue and turnover of staff. Not very stable. I have seen much worse but was hoping for better.

Wonderful facilities, friendly staff, plenty of activities to participate in, and good food

The sales pitch to get family members into there is not the actual way things transpire. Supposed to have a reminder for the first week and escort to and from dining and activities, did not happen, laundry and weekly cleaning service did not happen and bathroom plumbing maintenance was needed and my husband had to fix that since they did not come. And medication service, supposed to be taken care of with blister pack, paying extra for that service and it still is nor being done. My husband has to constantly handle this when we are paying extra for this service. It was a little disappointing. But she is receiving ok care that we know of. She likes the food and she is receiving her medication. Just disappointing that they call us the day her medication runs out and we have to jump through hoops to try to get the prescriptions filled and to them when that should have already been set up. No one can provide an answer as to why this is happening

The food is terrible. Complaints have been registered to no avail I would not recommend them at the prices they charge and the last end of year increase food should be excellent.

My bathroom ceiling is leaking. I know from hearing other residents talk nothing gets fixed around here. I hope tomorrow when I report this something is done to repair it, before it gets worse.I have 4 towels to collect water for the nighttime. Please help me solve this Before it gets worse.

Mom is in Independent Care & very happy with the activities. She is definitely more sociable being there. Her only complaint is the food & food service for dinner. But that could be because they all go down to the dining room at the same time & wonder why they have to wait. All of the staff are friendly, pleasant & attentive. I would recommend Harmony at Kent. We only have experience with the Independent Living but would feel comfortable transferring Mom to Assisted Living when the time comes. Mom has made so many friends & loves the activities.

As a family member we were disappointed to see our beloved ED resigned. She was very accommodation to our complaints and she gets the job done. She is dearly missed. The memory care needs more staff and the maintenance director is of no use. I see him time and time again being aggressive toward the residents/ very argumentative. If the past ED was here she would have certainly address his behavior. We missed [name removed] as well who goes above and beyond. Please bring [name removed] back she was the best. [Name removed] is Awesome. I am happy that she decided to stay. The facility is poor constructed and if the AC is not working, the main toilet next to IL has bet out of service, or the constant fire alarm. I am planning to take my love one out of this place. [Name removed] if you see this review, please reach out to us. We have a few family members will like to follow you. We are pleading for the corporate office to listen and do something.

I highly recommend Harmony at Kent and would encourage others to use their facility and services. I do also highly appreciate and strongly recommend A Place for Mom as a resource that was immensely helpful during the search for an Assisted Living facility.

The staff seems helpful, polite and responsive. I think the key is asking for what they need rather than assuming it's not available. I've reached out to [name removed], marketing director, when there were questions or issues and she took care of it. I think they have had a shortness of waiters in the independent living dining room, but it seems to have been corrected. I want my parents to utilize the transportation for shopping and appointments, but they are hesitant. They had heard drivers were not always available and trios had been canceled, but I don't know the circumstances. Based on the experience so far, I would recommend this facility to others.

Staffing is that the minimum that is required. This makes the aids or CNA's not very personable to the individuals. My loved one was an independent living and assisted-living and is now in memory care staff assumes being where they are that the individuals do not know what is supposed to be done, which leads to not doing what they're supposed to do. The sales pitch was very good but an actuality very few of the things are supposed to do is done by us.The appearance of the place is what sold us but the marketing agent should have been a car salesman.

This is in regards to the Independent Living section: The fall/winter 2023-2024 season began a series of days where the heat and hot water does not work in different apartments. This issue has been going on for months with no resolution. There have been more than 1 maintenance/HVAC personnel attempting to fix the issue permanently, however the repairs only last a few days at best, even when new parts are ordered. The elderly are already at high risk in extreme temperatures but are being exposed to under freezing temps repeatedly. There has been no offers to move residents to empty units if available and residents are prohibited from using space heaters. There has also been an ongoing issues with the showers flooding from construction debris getting into the pipes some kind of way that hasn't been figured out yet. Staff turnover is constant probably as a result of low wages and resident complaints of the building issues. The facilities otherwise look nice because it's new.