Edgewood Point Assisted Living

I had not been to this facility in quite some time when I finally returned last week for a much needed follow-up visit. I remember during my first visit I had noticed some things that just didn't sit quite right with me, first off, let me say that the facility is beautiful. It is open, spacious, and there are many areas and common rooms for the residents to explore and enjoy and I made note of how extremely clean the building was, I mean it was pretty much sparkling... it was that clean. However, it unfortunately appeared that the facility was better cared for then the residents themselves. I noticed that the residents were in dirty clothes, some of the clothes were very worn with holes in them. It was obvious that several of the residents had not been assisted with bathing properly or even at all, and there were other hygiene issues as well. One of the residents told me that she is a very picky eater because her stomach becomes upset very easily and that she has been yelled at by the staff several times, she said one staff member told her to "stop being so difficult" she told me that sometimes she will skip meals altogether and snack on things in her room because she does not want to cause trouble. I assured her that the staff have to abide by her dietary needs and that I would take care of it. I also overheard several instances where the staff members were being very rude and disrespectful to the residents. I left Edgewood Point that day feeling like I had been hit by a truck. It can be very difficult for me to walk away and leave residents in a facility where possible neglect and abuse may be happening. I felt awful after seeing and hearing the things I did during that first visit, that it was all I could think about. Before I left the facility after that first visit, I expressed my concerns with the management team. I told them about all I had experienced as well as what I had been told by residents and some of their family members and I deeply hoped that after hearing these concerns that they would take them seriously.

So last week when I was driving back to the facility, I was nervous and excited to see if any positive changes had taken place. I walked in and noticed that the facility was just as clean as the time before, however, the residents seemed a little more relaxed and happy. They all appeared to be bathed, well-cared for, and their clothes were clean, some still looked ratty and had holes, but at least they were clean. The only things that I saw again which disappointed me was I heard a staff member raise their voice to a resident over the resident not wanting to take their medication and there were still some personal hygeine issues. I also heard a couple new complaints from residents. I was, however, very happy to find out that the lady who was having issues getting her dietary needs met was now having those needs met, and had since then not skipped a meal in the dining room. So I was happy to see that management took my concerns seriously, I like surprise visits, so they did not know that I was coming in that day for a follow up visit, so they did not have time to quickly clean up their act. There are still issues that need to be worked on and staff training needed to be had, customer service at Edgewood Point is not the greatest, some of the staff members need to be more patient, friendly, and understanding, they need to learn proper bedside manner. All in all, though, every facility has it's issues and I am so happy that at least at Edgewood Point complaints are taken seriously, that can be the difference between a facility becoming stronger or not. Overall, I am still on the fence. I don't think that the facility should be avoided all together, I just think that there still needs to be some work done. I do not expect a facility to be perfect, but I do expect the staff in a facility to treat each and every resident with respect, friendliness, and dignity. I do recommend a tour of this facility, but I would not make any serious decisions about the facility until the serious issues are rectified.