Brackenville Center

My mother-in-law ended up in the hospital, then rehab, and they sent her to Brackenville Center and that's where she's staying for now. We visited her through the window. She's been there since the beginning of November. Right now, she's in long-term care. It's in a nice area. We haven't really been able to see her, so we can't really tell much about the conditions, but she seems fine. I only see the front desk person. They call my husband once in a while, not me, but we call there because we're trying to find out when they're gonna allow visits, so we communicate with them often. She's been in several different rooms. Basically, there are two beds in a room. I really can't tell what it looks like through the window, but it's a shared room. There's an area outside that they could go, but I don't know how they get there. We're very limited at this point with Covid. She had rehab in the beginning, but they're not really doing much with her now.

My mother was there for 5 days and on the 5th day we had had enough. First night there, we asked for a bed with rails since we were concerned that she would fall out of bed. No one knew if there was any or when we could get one; they suggested fall mats which we had to ask for three times and they finally brought just "one". We had to ask to get her out of bed in the morning and had to ask to put her to bed in the p.m. (only once did we not have to ask). She was in the rehab section of the facility and was suppose to receive physical therapy. She only received one session and one more on the day she left and that was just because we had complained. We were there each day - most of the day from morning to night to take care of her. It scares me to think what would have happened if we weren't there. TVs didn't work well - food was awful - And these are just some of the issues we experienced. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS FACILITY AT ALL!

Rooms are adequate. Majority of the LPNs that give meds are like robots. They hand out medication as they get there. Poor assessment skills and poor interaction with patients. The aides do not check on or turn change patients in a timely manner. Patients need an advocate to check on them very frequently. There is a handful of staff that do show compassion and they need to hire more caring and better staff. Food is institutional

My grandmother was a resident at Brackenville Center for almost 5 years before she passed away. I had the experience of her admission shortly before the transition from a Franciscan center to Genesis Health Care. I've also worked in several long term care facilities. No center is absolutely perfect but I have to give Brackenville a 5 - star rating because the entire staff, from administrators to health care staff to dietary to maintenance, each and every one of them do their best to give some amount of personal attention to each short term guest or long term resident. Are there opportunities for improvement? Absolutely! My grandmother was very vocal about what she did and didn't like. The care conferences were useful to work out some of her personal quirks and of course, her real needs. I would absolutely recommend Brackenville Center to anyone looking for a new "home" for their family.

Brackenville Center is pretty new and in good shape. They have a very nice dining hall and a church. Mom undergoes physical and occupational therapies and was allowed to bring her pet. They have bingo, movie nights, puzzles, and play different games, like Family Feud. Mom is very picky, but she likes the staff.

It used to be run by the Franciscan monks, and one of the reasons I looked at Brackenville Center was because my mother is Catholic, and I thought she would like it. They were in the middle of remodeling, but the quality was very bad. The people I met were wonderful, and it looked like there would be a lot of care, but it definitely needed to be remodeled. They were also very good in giving me ideas and options. I did like them; I liked their philosophy and what they were saying, but it's just the building my mother would have never stayed in. It was a really old building -- all things considering -- and yes they were remodeling, but it just wasn't pleasant. There were a lot of people in wheelchairs just sitting around, and this would really upset her, so I knew it was another thing that was not going to work.

My friend had been sent to Brackenville Center from the hospital and was there for three months. I thought it was extremely unattractive, and the room was not nice at all. They did have some musical programs that she attended. The regular staff was great. The weekend one did not seem to be able to get the pain medicine to my friend. They should get the medicine to the people when they need it.

The family of Mary Jane B. would like to thank the Franciscan Center and their staff for helping our mother and our family through a most difficult time. The staff welcomed us and cared for our mother until the very end. You gave gentle care and hugs when needed. Your part in our situation let our mother die with dignity. We thank you all. I do apologize for not sending our remarks sooner. We did have another death in the family and I'm just catching up.