St. Michael's Manor

Kevin

My mom was at St. Michael's Manor in Peoria for a year. It's a very, very, very poor establishment. They're very wicked in that place. The reason I had to take her out of that place is that the manager actually tried to shake me down for some money. I have actual screenshots of him asking me to send him $500 and $4000 because he has things that he needs to take care of in the Philippines. He asked me not to tell my mother. I have actual screenshots of that text he sent me. So, once I said I wasn't able to give him that, he basically told us she had to go out literally the next day; they said she had to get out. She was there for a while, but she just wasn't telling me or any of our family members what was going on. Things just got worse and worse. It got to the point where they were intentionally not talking to her, and she is bedridden. So she would just be in her bed laying in urine. It got to the point where her things were being stolen from her, but she never told the family members. When it got to the point that she just couldn't take it anymore and it was really affecting her, that's when she started telling us. It just so happened that around that time is when the manager actually asked me for money and they told her she had to get out. That's when she told me, because they sent me a text on a Tuesday. I didn't tell her because there was no need for her to know. I didn't want her to get upset or anything. Wednesday morning is when she told me that she had to get out. I'm said, "What's going on? I thought everything was fine." And she replied, "Well, no, it hasn't." She just didn't want to say anything because she likes choosing her battles, and the COVID thing is going on. She was just trying to deal with it because she was somewhere she was actually used to being, even though the treatment was bad. The difficulty of finding a new facility would be too much. There's a shortage of staff everywhere because of this COVID situation. It got to that point where they were refusing her -- like literally the assistant manager was telling caregivers not to change her and that she'd be all right. They were just being mean about things. It just so happened that right before they asked me for the money, I got a call from my family member and she was saying, "They said she has to leave." They kicked her out. They said that they were no longer able to meet her needs. When we -- and other family members -- reached out to the manager and to the owner, we got no response and were completely ignored. Even when we got there, they were totally focused on the money. It's a very bad place, and I definitely want that to be noted because of the people who are in there now. My mom had built relations with other residents there, but the problem was the majority of the residents there had Alzheimer's and dementia. Her only disabilities are physical, and as far as her mental state goes, it's completely up to par. She was the only one who was able to talk; so many of them can't even talk. I would definitely want people to know because I feel sorry for the people who are in there. They're just mean. They have people who are bedridden. They just have them in the bed, and they don't move around. They don't give them any type of therapy unless they have somebody personally able to come in. They feed them frozen fish sticks. Overall, the place is horrible. They're supposed to be offering assisted living. It was very disturbing to actually see elderly people like this. It's a house, basically -- a three- or four-bedroom house. They have six residents there. I don't want to be biased, but to be honest, the place was small. I think it's not big enough because they have people in the living room. They have a hospital bed with a person in the living room. I definitely think it's a little crowded. It's a small house and crowded. But for the most part, every time I went, it was clean. They were cleaning. It’s just everything else about them I don't like, but I would say they were clean, at least as far as what I could see as a visitor. I just don't think the place is big enough to have that many people in there, as far as to have people doubled up in rooms that are small. They're literally right on top of each other. But I've never seen dirt or anything like that on the floor. Every time I went through it always appeared clean. They would have temporary workers, part-time caregivers, who came in. They wouldn't work every day. They work maybe once or twice a week, that type of thing. I was told that these people would do what was required of them, but the management would tell them, "No, don't do that," as a form of punishment or something. It's a family thing; the lady named Tess was the owner, her brother is the manager, and they have another one of their relatives working there as the assistant manager. They are the people who work there full time. The rest come in part-time throughout the week. I would definitely give the full-time people the lowest rating of "one." The food is horrible. They feed them frozen fish sticks. They don't get vegetables. I brought in a lot of my mom's food, because she had a dormitory refrigerator in her room. The majority of the time I would order her food from the grocery store and have it delivered, things like fruits and vegetables. She said the food was always horrible. They took the residents out to the patio, but for the most part, they didn't really do anything there. They take the people who were able to move out to the patio, but as far as activities go, she's never mentioned them doing any. They need a new owner. Her brother is the manager. They are the people who run the facility, so honestly, I can't see it getting any better.