Heritage at Clara Barton

I am a friend or relative of a resident

Overall, the facility is better than most; I have had family members living there for approximately 4 years. They attend to their residents and do the best they can to keep them healthy and occupied. My family member, though easily depressed, believes the staff treats her well and with respect. I haven't observed anything to suggest otherwise. Her only complaints are with the cuisine; she said that it seems that the chefs frequently take the "leftovers" that don't get served throughout the week and make a casserole with them that's served on Fridays. She's described to me some of these casseroles in detail; they do not sound appetizing.There was one particular incident during December 2011 that I believe that they handled poorly. My family member received word shortly before Christmas that the facility suddenly canceled a family holiday party for the residents due to a "tragic death" at the facility. Our family member reported to us that the facility was crawling with law enforcement on the date that they received this announcement. For days, the facility would not release any information about the death to family or residents; while I realize that there are privacy concerns to take into account, it left us (and our family member resident) wondering whether someone had entered the facility and committed a crime or a staff member had committed a crime. We were concerned about everyone's safety, and it was just a few days before Christmas. It turned out that an elderly resident had killed his wife and himself with a gun and had been discovered several hours after it happened; that raised additional questions about why the resident had a firearm and how no staff members had heard a gunshot.