Elmcroft of Saxonburg

I liked Elmcroft of Saxonburg a lot. It was nice looking, and the town itself was very nice. The staff seemed like very good people. The rooms were fine, and Mom would have had a private room in memory care.

We took Mom to Elmcroft of Saxonburg for about a month, and it wasn’t the greatest experience. The place was not really clean, and the rooms were extremely small. Their food was OK and the dining room was just a big room.

We visited Elmcroft of Saxonburg, and the community is very nice. The cleanliness is very, very good.

Elmcroft of Saxonburg provided a studio apartment. On my first visit there, my first impression when I walked in the door was they had a small lobby, and it was very welcoming, and there were no odors that I noticed in other places. It's assisted living, but my aunt is considered independent in that she basically takes care of herself other than they assist with her showers and if she needs help dressing and things, but everything else she does on her own. Unless she needs it, then they're there to help. I'm pleased with the dining setup because they have tablecloths and plate settings and everything for every meal, and all the residents are required to make sure that they're not just staying by themselves. If they're ill and they need a tray, then it's taken to them, but they're kind of required to sit at the table and to socialize. They have activities that are going on daily, and there's a calendar that they give the residents every month of everything for every day of what's going on. And they have a little beauty shop and the person's there twice a week. And the doctors, of course, come to the residents there, so I'm very well pleased with them. She has nieces and nephews all around Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, and I need something that's accessible for them and close enough, but for me because I'm her POA, I needed something that I can get to fast, and it's only 20 miles from me.

I visited Elmcroft of Saxonburg, and they were very friendly and willing to show you around; they were overaccomodating. Whenever I wanted to ask questions, they tried to accomodate everything I asked. They have activities outside of the building with a shuttle bus as transportation, and in the activities room, they had bingo, crafts, cooking, sewing, etc. It was very clean, and they were upgrading. They weren't 100% done with their upgrades, but the upgrades that I did see were very nice: wood baseboards, updated wallpaper, and more flowers. There wasn't a hospital or nursing home smell; it was more like a fresh and clean scent.

Actually initially when we went for the interview, everything seemed to be fine. I was only interested in respite care at the time which they offered that is why I did it. However the things that were promised didn't happen. So I took her out of Elmcroft of Saxonburg. She wasn't there the entire month and was out of there after seven or ten days. I wasn't pleased with the staff's work ethics. The food is fine. The food staff and the food servers were very nice, and they have a lovely menu. It seemed very good. About activities, I don't know because she never got to any. She would ring the buzzer and ask to be taken to them. They came in, gave her directions, and left the room. That is one of my complaints. She's 91 years old and has to go down a hallway, get down an elevator, and find out where the activities where all by herself. They didn't even take her. That was a bad thing. By three o'clock in the afternoon, they haven't even made her bed. They never emptied her trash. She never got a shower in the week. She was supposed to get a shower at least once a week, maybe two. After the week, she had never got a shower. It was like they forgot to put her on the schedule. Their respite care was very expensive. She was there for respite so that I have an opportunity to take the time and go and look for something permanent for her. She was recuperating from a hospital visit, and she did require extra care. So that's why I went there for respite care so that I could find a personal care. I had to go and see her five days out of the seven because something wasn't right. I have to get in the car and drive 35 miles each way. It defeats the purpose of me having time to find a place because it was awful. I walked in, and she would be there sitting there looking in the calendar. She was counting how many days more she has to be there. She would press her button for help, and no one would come. I was very unhappy with them.

My visit at Elmcroft of Saxonburg went very well. The facility was newer and seemed to be cleaner. They had more people there, so they had more staff. In terms of activities, they were having a party of some sort whenever I was there. They had different size rooms. I saw the menu and it looked very good.

Elmcroft is only 5 miles from my house. The staff was very accommodating. They seemed to interact really well with the patients that were walking through the hall. They know everybody's name and everybody seemed very cheerful. They invited us to eat there. They gave mom and dad something to eat. It was just very nice. They also had them interact with some of the other residents there. I was just very impressed with the place. The only problem is it's just an assisted living, so in time mom would have to find another place for skilled nursing.