The Pines on Carmel Senior Living

I wanted to share my personal experience regarding The Pines on Carmel Assisted Living Facility. I was a very involved son and did significant research prior to choosing this facility. I interviewed, visited, and had my mother’s health assessment conducted by five other facilities in the South Charlotte area prior to making our decision. It was the right one. My mother was a resident here for ten months. The previous Interim Director/Sales Coordinator has since left. She was magnificent. The new director is very good and proactively collaborating to make appropriate improvements and takes personal responsibility for the facility with entrepreneurial ownership. I originally overlooked this facility due to the pictures on the intranet. These are old. The facility is lovely and they continue to make improvements. They were extremely accommodating and offered several room options. Finally, Cynthia (who unfortunately is no longer there, she was amazing) cleared out a storage area so my mother could have one of the best rooms in the facility. A corner room, with two windows, plenty of light, and completed the updated requests as promised. My mother was an 86 year old retired teacher who loved playing the piano and puzzles. They encouraged her to give concerts to the other residents which was wonderful. My mom was not the most social individual, but did make some wonderful friendships. My mother was the highest level of care due to medications and transfer assistance needs. Please note, no facility is perfect. However, this option is a great value and option for your loved ones for the following reasons: o Agreeable/Accommodating – Allowed me to completely furnish the room to my mother’s liking. It was beautiful as it was her new home. Also, accommodating with miscellaneous requests. Ex. My mother didn’t like to wake up to go to breakfast. They let her sleep in. ? Locks were changed and my mother’s locks were never updated/provided with an appropriate key to lock her door even though requested several times. With that said, nothing was ever stolen and she was sometimes gone for a couple of weeks due to hospitalizations. o Cleanliness – overall very clean. Sometimes the rooms themselves required a bit of tidying where cloths were not hung up and placed around the room. The sheets could have been washed more regularly. Otherwise, clean and visually pleasant o Care – The staff went above and beyond to care for my mom. They were friendly, kind, caring, and attentive. They truly cared about their patients and built personal relationships with my mother. A couple of them have been there for many years. Turnover is relatively high, however, the Director is careful to manage the quality of staffing to ensure excellent care is provided. The staff, with the exception of one, consistently went above and beyond providing quality care with integrity. Management does listen and respond to concerns and work to improve on challenges. The Director is a good leader and the Business Manager is phenomenal and both care for the residents above their regular duties. ? The response time frame to call bells could certainly be improved. There were several times when I was there, my mother and I pressed her call bell and it took 10-30 minutes for them to respond regardless of the time of day. Unfortunately, there were a couple of times nobody responded and I had to physically go get somebody. My mother truly needed transfer assistance and often became impatient and took herself to the restroom or to get her cloths resulting in a couple of falls. Keeping in mind that there were times my mother created the opinion that “they don’t come” and helped herself due to impatience. o Medication Disbursement – The med tech’s were well trained and the med supervisor communicated regarding regularly providing scheduled meds. Appropriate policies and procedures are in place and followed. ? Challenges with follow through when med changes were made due to routine doctor visits or hospital discharges. There were occasions I had to follow up with the “nursing coordinator” to learn the changes had not been administered. Reason given, “The discharge paperwork was excessive, and we overlooked the changes.” This was not acceptable and would have been overlooked had I not followed up. o Food Quality – My mother never complained, however, I did eat with her a couple of times. Food is often reused and repetitive, lacking creativity. The flavor was good. Other residents did share quality and choice of food concerns. Meals are served family style with a choice of water of tea. Overall, the food was adequate, however, the director is aware and diligently working on making improvements. o Activities – During my many visits, I observed quality music, games, celebrations, and appropriate and engaging activities for the residents. o Facility – The facility is clean, lovely, and updated. Each room has its own climate control. Cable is included in the monthly rent which is unusual. The do have leak issues sometimes, however, they repair as appropriate and necessary. This facility is a very good value. The atmosphere is one of happiness, quality care, friendliness, camaraderie, individuality, and pleasantness. The patients are very happy, and it shows. Overall, remember every facility is going to have its positives and negatives. The value here is excellent. Rent is a set price depending on the room and then the level of care costs are separate as in most facilities. Their pricing is incredibly fair for the care and facility provided. Cable is provided free of charge. Phones are at the patient’s expense. I was extremely satisfied with the quality of care, the facility, and the atmosphere of the clients here. Although there were some oversights, as long as you serve as an advocate, The Pines On Carmel is an excellent choice and I would highly recommend. Please note, if for any reason, I was not completely satisfied or I thought my mother’s care was inappropriate or unacceptable, I would have pulled her out in a New York minute. Even though I have been extremely open and honest with specifics, remember no place is perfect. I am more concerned with how feedback is handled than the absence of issues. If there aren’t any challenges, one should be more concerned.

The Pines is an excellent place. I highly recommend!

We cannot comment on the activities my mother did not really participate in them. That was her choice/level of ability. There always seem to be things going on. I had moved my mother to the Pines On Carmel after she had been at a different assisted-living facility receiving very subpar care. So I certainly had something to compare Pines on Carmel to. I have also visited many many assisted-living and memory care facilities in the Charlotte area. Some of them initially look better, maybe better decor, etc., but for the things that matter to me, Pines delivered! Everyone there was friendly and helpful. They always answered questions and offered tidbits about how my mother was doing without being asked. My mother was always clean and so was the facility. That was not the case at her prior location. As my mother entered the final stage of her life in hospice care the staff went out of their way to give my family privacy and support and comfort. I am so grateful for the staff and how they treated my mother and my family. I have only good things to say.

The staff at The Pines on Carmel Senior Living have been very friendly and helpful. The draw back is too much turnover. I'm not sure why. If it's treatment, pay or just not the right fit. The housekeeping is okay. It took awhile to get a schedule for cleaning and laundry set. You have to be proactive to get results. Overall, communication with the family is good. The move in process went very smooth, thank God. When my dad passed in November of 2023, I had to move mom into a single room. The staff was super accommodating. We are very happy with her new apartment. Unfortunately, the maintenance person left shortly after the move. No reason was given when asked. He was great. Still waiting for a permanent replacement. The meals are good. It is a nice variety. My mom has GIRT and they are working with us for meals. Again, you have to be proactive. Suggestion for improvement: They need to sit with corporate and figure out why the turnover of staff. If they had more consistency, there would be more structure and better care all around. They had a bus and driver to take residents to local doc appointments and stores, which was one of the things that originally helped make our decision. This only lasted a couple of months. No more driver or trips. I spoke with the Director and she said she was going to look into getting it back and running, but nothing in months. I guess I have to follow up. Thank God my wife takes my mom to her appointments. I don't think my mom could handle it if she didn't, but trips to the stores would be great. I would recommend the facility, but be prepared to be an active advocate for your loved one. It takes a few months to get things in place with the staff and payments. And then ... guess what... you still have to constantly keep on top of things. This is our second community (first in NY) before the move to NC. Same advice for both. Pray and communicate.

I did not like the place and their office coordinators. None of the staff had experience in Parkinson . They never cared to see to his need. I was there every other day because I did not trust them

Clean overall, though the floor in my mom's room are sticky sometimes and laundry can get backed up. I love the staff. The nurses and caregivers are kind and personable. [name removed] (front desk) is amazing. Nurses are attentive and take good care of my mom. Mostly good; sometimes repetitive. My mother does not take initiative to participate, but there are lots of activities available. The caretakers often encourage her to participate. The base cost is very affordable. My mother has lots of needs so the add on costs are expensive.

The staff at The Pines on Carmel Senior Living is very friendly and helpful in anything that we've needed. The facility is very clean, no odor etc. The move in process was a breeze. The meals are good / nutritional. Portion size should could be a little larger for a man. Overall, I would highly recommend to others.

I don't know that I would recommend The Pines on Carmel Senior Living to others. The staff is nice, but the facility is very under staffed. This is reflected in housekeeping and the amount of assistance that is provided. My mother requests outside food and snacks because the food is not good. It's been disappointing, to say the least.

What our family likes the most about The Pines on Carmel Senior Living is the Location; vinyl flooring in the room, and the overall brightness in the facility.

The staff and facilities at this are wonderful. Really glad that we found this place that makes us feel comfortable and secure that our loved one will be happy and well taken care of. Highly recommend the"Pines on Carmel"!

My sister in law [name removed]r is a resident at The Pines on Carmel and the staff is great to work with.. I looked a lot of assisted living facilities and was very impressed with The Pines on Carmel.

The Pines on Carmel Senior Living should not send sales people to asses the residents when it comes to their level of care. The people there were very nice but honestly the community was lacking. We have now toured a ton of places in the same price range and that one did not have as much to offer and it wasn't as nice for AL.

Folks there were very helpful and caring after [name removed] passed away and assisted us when [name removed] had to leave after hospital stay. Overall a good community but, you have got to be an active participant in the care of your loved ones. Be visible and stay engaged with the staff. Better than most and the best value for the money. I would recommend to others, but it really depends on the individuals financial circumstances.

We had a very discouraging experience - they could of had more staff members that are knowledgeable and have the training for dementia and Alzheimer's residents. They could of had better communication and been more organized. We had to do a lot of things ourselves and stay on top of things and we felt for the money being spent it was not worth it.

Our experience at The Pines has been wonderful. [Name removed] has been so helpful in transitioning my mother from another facility, finding the perfect room, and getting her settled. The staff and residents here are warm and thoughtful overall and my mom is beginning to feel at home. When we had an issue that needed dealing with, [name removed] acted immediately. The facility is very clean and has a fresh smell, which is often not the case with senior living facilities.

This is an excellent place and has been an excellent experience. The staff and care they have provided my loved one is has been great. We are pleased with the community overall. There are three meals a day served and the residents have choices to choose from. The staff communication has been good and responsive to the family's questions. It would be nice to have a curtain track to close a curtain to provide more privacy for the residents that share a room.

They have been wonderful. It's a very social place, and they seem to be kind. Everyone is very nice, including the staff and residents. I would recommend this community.