Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices

My Dad had major surgery recently. After a 3 week hospitalization he requested to go back to New Albany Otterbein for the 3rd time in 2 years. He is especially fond of [name removed] the afternoon/evening manager in House 5, but there are several others on staff who were very friendly and helpful to my Dad and our family. This particular time, we were blessed to meet the new Social Worker, [name removed]. She quickly assessed a very difficult situation surrounding my parents living situation and was able to get them the help and support we have not been able to implement. Some very hard and emotional conversations occurred. [Name removed] maintained her very calm, loving and professional demeanor. I am thrilled to report we are making great progress toward helping our parents enjoy a safe and happy future.

The concept of Otterbein Senior Living is impressive. It helps patients feel at home or like they have their own apartments. There should be many more to the point where the traditional nursing homes disappear. The environment can help with a patient getting better on all levels. My mom was at this facility for 6.5 days in the short term building. First impressions were great. Michael got my mom a wheel chair, noticed she was cold and gave her a blanket. My sister and I knew she thought we were “dropping her off” in some place that hadn’t been redecorated since 1987. We were very happy to show her that it was light, bright with four windows and she had privacy. The PSA’s were all fabulous. [name removed], [name removed], [name removed], and others that I would remember by face but failed to write down their names. [Name removed] the nurse was great. My mom really liked [name removed] who was the social worker, and the psychiatrist as well as [name removed] was exceptionally helpful with getting her admitted and paperwork. The aforementioned individuals made a great impression on us. My mom had to leave by ambulance and didn’t leave the hospital for 12 days. The first week she was in the hospital a young lady named [name removed] came to see how she was doing. I thought that was very nice. That’s where my positive comments end. The director of Nursing? Never met her and I should have way before her being there 5 days. I was told to always just push the option to speak to her. That was great until I inquired if my mom had fallen. She didn’t call back. I did and no answer all of a sudden. So my sister called and she picked right up. She had conducted interviews and confirmed my had not fallen. That was great, however, I have EVERY right to ask if my mom fell and that is the type of call that warrants a follow up ASAP. [Name removed]? Didn’t need to meet him and after the attitude he displayed while I was cleaning out my mom’s room because she had to return to the hospital; I’m not sorry about not meeting him. He’s arrogant and rude. If he had any questions about what was obviously going on right before his eyes, he needed to use his eyes and make contact with me and speak to me, not yell and demand someone else respond. I wasn't responding because nobody is going to speak AT me and get a response. I didn't care for him interrupting me as I was giving the PSAs an update on my mom, that they had taken care of and had a genuine concern for. There are various ways to have handled that. He handled it wrong. I was told by more than one person; three to be exact that that building rarely is full so it shouldn’t be an issue to get her back after her hospital stay. Granted it was 12 days later, but I still feel like this facility did NOT want my mom back because of the issues she was having. But since it’s a NURSING facility, those are issues each and every person should attend to. It was like they just focused on her PT needs and ignored everything else. They had doctor records so they knew what they were getting with my mom coming on as a patient. The PSAs are pretty much nurses too. They have quite a few duties. Too many to be honest. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, getting vitals, tending to patients and cleaning rooms. This is how you burn out your team. This is how you have turnover. It costs more to replace employees then to keep the ones you have and keep them happy. It’s not really such a feat to show your employees appreciation. We had the social worker at OhioHealth call the location in Gahanna and within seconds advised they had a room available. I found that to be interesting. It’s only day 1.5 but the differences are apparent. Starting with them testing her for TB right off the bat. That wasn’t done at all in New Albany. There’s a different type of “buzz” here and my mom, sister, and I feel it. Stay tuned.

Our first experience a year ago with the Gahanna location was positive. When the Gahanna location was not available this time we choose the New Albany location thinking it would be the same or better quality. I was absolutely wrong! It appears they are way understaffed and at times inattentive to the needs of the residents. Protocols for patient rounds do not appear to be followed with any rigor. Staffing for evening and weekend shifts is a concern. While responsive to calls that should not have to be made in the first place, there is no excuse for the apparent lack of care and attention. I realize patient care especially for the elderly can be a real challenge. However that should not be an excuse when considering the exhorbirant amounts being charged for this care.

Unfortunately, both of my parents came here following their hospital stays. My mother called me in tears the same night she was admitted and we brought her home the next day because of the awful way she was treated. No one would respond to her buzzer because they were all sitting in the lobby playing with their phone in fact when I came to see my mom they also had their friends sitting there with them that did not even work there. The one aide that finally showed up to my moms was rude and told her she'd just have to wait for someone else to fix her TV and walked out. My father was never given a shower, nor did they ever change his clothes in the four days he was there, he developed a rash because his depends were never changed on a regular basis and because of my dad's dementia he was not able to communicate even if someone had asked him questions. There were not even any towels in his bathroom when we came to visit him. I would never recommend this place to anyone for any reason, It was awful.