Nhc Healthcare, Sequatchie

Sharon

I've been to NHC Healthcare, Sequatchie three times and I visited a resident there. I'd been into the room, and I had walked the hallways. I met with somebody, she talked with me, and we did a quick tour. During the first visit, I visited a church member there and they have private rooms. It looks like a hospital room a little bit like because my friend had a hospital bed. But they were spacious, and they all had windows and a courtyard. It was a very nice facility, and it was off the main road, like a little side street off in Dunlap. It was a brick building and looked in very good repair. When I went the second time, I walked through the facility and just kind of walked around. They do have some activities, but basically, it's completely locked down. Nobody goes in or goes out without ringing the bell. It's a very secure facility, and you can take your family member out, but there pretty much are times when they have to be in their room. It's a more controlled environment. I don't think it's bad, especially because they have a lot of dementia patients there and incapable of getting around by themselves. When you come out of the hospital, often they will take you in to recover. This is what one lady was doing. She had had surgery in a hospital, and she was there for recovery. I wanted a more extensive tour, so I made another appointment, and I went back. When I got to the door, they wouldn't let me in, and they said, "Well, sorry, ma'am, you have to have a mask on." This was just like a few months ago, and I thought the mask mandate was lifted a long time ago. I said, "I don't have a mask, sorry." Then I looked in and there were not even people in there with a mask on. This lady came to the door with a mask and said, "Sorry, ma'am. You have to have a mask on." There was one lady who was at the front desk with a mask on who said it's mandated again, but I haven't heard that. It's like hospital-clean, there's no carpeting. It's more like a hospital than a nursing home, but I didn't get the grand tour. That was just a bad experience. I plan on sending my father there and I think they are an upscale facility, especially for Dunlap. I think they're $9000 a month, they're very expensive, but most of the people there are on government care. I'm not so happy I had one bad experience, but I don't think it affects my view of them. I think I would still give them a five, I just think they could have handled it better. The lady who stopped me at the door could have gotten the other lady that I was looking at the previous tour with and we could have gone outside. I just felt like I missed that opportunity, and maybe I didn't handle it well and I just left. When I asked for that other lady, the staff at the door said she was on a tour and I said I had an appointment. When somebody else came, they took her first. I'm just thinking, my appointment didn't matter because of that. I just felt like they didn't handle it well, and they could do better. I'm not holding it against them that they have that one person and that they're disorganized a little. Their facility is 15 to 20 minutes from my house, and the facility where my father is right now is 45 minutes away.

not impressed

In my family, there are a handful of women who have been to nursing school and graduated. One of them -my aunt- went on to be a home health aid. She worked mostly with the elderly. One time while I was visiting with her, she had to run by the nursing home for paperwork. She knew quite a few of the patients and they seemed to enjoy a new face. I have to admit, it made me a little nervous. I am not sure if it had anything to do with the people who lived there; however, I do know that I would not want to live there with all those machines and institutional lights. It did not feel like I was walking into a home- and by that I mean more along the lines of 'home sweet' rather than 'old folks' home. No one seemed particularly happy and I guess I can understand why. The staff even gave off a rather lonesome vibe. I wondered if the food was any good. I am positive that a four-star chef was not in the kitchen. I imagined the food to be as equally bland as the staff. I can say I had a mediocre experience. I would not recommend it to a friend.