The Philadelphia Protestant Home

My mother is very happy at the Philadelphia, and I’m very pleased with the facility. They’ve taken very good care of her, and I think she’s the healthiest she’s ever been there.

When I was looking for a nursing facility/assisted living, I wanted to know is it clean? How are the aides? How do they treat people like us? Is the food good? And before I came here, I inquired about other facilities and I found that this one had the best reviews. I knew a lady that lived here in independent living and she loved it. I also talked to a friend who is an administrator at another facility, and she gave PPh a high review, so that helped me too.So now that I'm here, I find that security is great. Maintenance, housekeeping, administration are all very kind and pleasant.Some people are very engaging and keep me involved in the processes happening around here, it makes me feel more involved. I am on a floor with a few other residents that have dementia. Though my mind is great and my body not-so-much, I feel the aides handle me like I have dementia too. I do brush it off but it can be annoying sometimes. I do like to surround myself with people who can engage me (good conversation and laughter). Personally I'm quite happy. If I have a bad day, I'll just stay in my room and get over it, then later I'll go out and interact with different people. I would absolutely recommend this place. Compared to the last place I was, this is a 5-star hotel.

My mother-in-law is in the Protestant Home right now. She gets three meals a day, and she gets her rehabilitation there, so it meets her needs. The thing we didn't like about the facility is she doesn't have her own bathroom. She has a communal bathroom, and we don't care for that aspect of the program. The staff seems respondent to her needs. Better communication with the residents is probably one thing they can improve on.

The Protestant House of Philadelphia was where my parents were for 30 days. After that, we felt that this was not a good fit for them. It was a lot bigger, but the rooms were a lot smaller. There was a bathroom. There were no showers so that you're down the hall for a shower. Announcements over the loud speakers just even had an institutional smell. There were people in the hallways and it felt like there was somebody constantly knocking on the door for something. It did feel, from what I had observed, that the people were there because it was a job. They weren't interested in really connecting and taking care of the residents. The food wasn't very good. It seemed to be institutional, overcooked, bland, not very appetizing. There was a sing-along that they went to one time. They have wine tasting, too.

Both my father and mother stayed at the Philadelphia Protestant Home at two different time periods in their life. I found that staff to be indifferent and often unavailable. Nurse stations were often unmanned. Requests for simple items such as towels or toilet paper seemed to be a bother to them. My father was often unkept and dirty. My mother was put in a wheelchair that had dried vomit caked on the side. When I asked another wheelchair they seemed bothered by my request. People were sitting in wheelchairs in hallways asking me to push them to different rooms. Others called out for help but nobody was listening to them. I understand it is not the job of the nursing staff to provide entertainment to the home's lonley residents, it disturbed me to experience the apathy the staff seemed to have. I often questioned why someone would take such a job if they weren't dedicated to it. The only reason I didn't give them 1 star is that neither of my parents were abused physically.