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.... Read more