Birch Patrick Convalescent Center

Debra

My brother was in Birch Patrick Convalescent Center in Chula Vista. He was hospitalized for a couple of days due to a decline in his health, and then he needed physical rehabilitation to regain some strength and some function. He really liked the food, the choices, and the fact that he was actually given choices so he could select what he wanted from the menu offerings. Everything was served warm on time and based on what he requested, and there was plenty to choose from. It's a more modern facility, so it has access, for example, to easy parking and pick up services like van services. It has a day room where people can visit, patios where people can go visit outdoors, it's near a bus route, and it is co-located with a hospital, so it has easy access to a lot of different things that are nearby. Some of the downsides of it were coordinating communication. I think they're trying, but there was a disagreement when my brother had a scheduled appointment that they canceled because he came down with COVID, but they didn't communicate that to him. I was contacted by a supervisor nurse, and I had that discussion with them, so they're aware of how that decision impacted him. I think they have a good number of people, but my brother had to wait for people to respond to calls. It wasn't an unreasonable amount of time, though, and he always got a response. There were just short delays, and it's a recurring thing. You aren't going to get a response in a timely manner, but you will get a response. They have physical therapy that they do in a common day room, but they don't have a room specific just for physical therapy, so they only have limited resources for the types of physical therapies they can offer. My brother was also in a unique situation, in which he actually contracted COVID there. He didn't go in with COVID; he caught COVID from the facility, and that impacted his ability to get his physical therapy because they put him in isolation. It's not an older building and is basically associated with the hospital, so it's like a modern facility. It has plenty of doors and windows, and it's bright and well-lit. There's plenty of open space, too, and it has easy access to the hospital, so for instance, they have a Starbucks in the hospital that you can get to, and there are other things nearby. As a facility, it's very convenient. There's literally just one main entrance, and they have COVID supplies available, so there was ready access to hand sanitizers and face masks if you didn't bring your own. They also had a sign-in sheet so that they knew who was coming and going, but it was based on an honor system. It wasn't like there was anybody actively overseeing that. It also had plenty of bathrooms with handicap access. They had a common game room with snacks available from a vending machine. They have tables, so if family members came to visit, you could sit and play cards or chat. There were plenty of things offered. I will give them accolades, too, because when my brother needed durable medical equipment, they were very good about getting him sorted out through their DME with community contact. He got a hospital bed and a wheelchair based on their specific effort through their durable medical equipment. They also did a good follow-up. There was a weekend when they had a call to family members and with the members of the patient's team. They reach out to me through this scheduled family phone call to tell me how my brother is doing and also give me progress reports. It gave me an opportunity to actually communicate to them our dissatisfaction with them canceling his appointment and with them basically giving him COVID at their facility. I'm sure they didn't care much for my feedback, but at least they allowed me the opportunity to give it.

Anonymous816044

Birch Patrick is closer to where we live. I’d give it a 4 only because my mom has been there 2 or 3 times, and they did cater to her diet. I would go with Birch Patrick if I have to pick among all the 4 facilities she has been. She complained a lot about the beds -- that they were not comfortable. She said that she could not sleep because the bed was too hard.