The Preserve at Clearwater

Kathy Lentine RN BSN CEN

My Mom was a resident at the Preserve for a little over 2 years. She passed recently, but I want to take this time to tell you of my Mom’s and our family’s thoughts about the care she received during time living there. My Mom’s care was exceptional at the Preserve. As a point of reference, I have been a Registered Nurse of 40 years, so I was hesitant to place my Mom in an assisted living facility when the time came. We have all heard the horror stories, and it was a difficult decision. My Mom started out in the assisted living section and progressed to the Memory Care area. She had significant short term memory loss and moderate dementia and could no longer care for herself independently. My brother and I researched several facilities in the Clearwater area prior to choosing a place. We toured several and had it narrowed down to 3 facilities. The Preserve won our vote, hands down. Here’s why. One, the staff is amazing. They are kind, caring, skilled and most importantly, affectionate, and dare I say- loving. The nursing assistance or patient care techs who help the residents with their activities of daily living are exceptional. I would encourage many of them to pursue a profession in nursing. They dealt with my Mom and each resident, for that matter, as an individual. All staff used their interpersonal skills to win her trust and cooperation. They spoiled her with kindness to the point that she had no choice but to cooperate when she was in one of her stubborn moods. They treated her with respect, kindness and humor. That said, their approach to care could be extrapolated to every resident. I never once observed any staff member being rude or unkind to any resident. Two, the activities provided are numerous and appropriately geared for the elderly and infirmed residents. There were field trips for the residents of the Memory care section to the Aquarium and the local outdoor historical sites, museums with picnic lunch to follow...it was amazing to see a van of elders with their walkers and wheelchairs tour around these sites. Prior to COVID, there was almost daily (Many times live musicians!) music entertainment with great songs from every era. There was dancing, staff dancing and laughing right along with the residents. And birthday parties—Actually parties for every occasion! Not only the major holidays, but occasions like Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, the first day of fall, Veteran’s Day—you name it, The Preserve has a gathering/ celebration for it. They involve every resident, from both the assisted and memory care areas. And the food! Three, the food! It’s like a fine restaurant. The chefs (not cooks, they must be chefs), have developed a menu that makes me want to move in there. My only criticism is that sometimes it was a little too salty. Basically healthy food, and the desserts are especially amazing. Four, it’s clean. The common areas, dining rooms, bathrooms, lobby and individual rooms are pretty much spotless. The outdoor areas are pretty and safe. It is to their credit that they have had no COVID cases since the arrival of the virus in the US 6 months ago. The pond in the back with the (ugly!) turtles swimming and the pretty birds provide a relaxing atmosphere. Five, Nursing supervision and administration were available for questions or guidance when needed. The nursing and administrative staff are knowledgeable about what additional services might benefit the residents, for example physical therapy or specific incontinence products and coordinated with the physicians if indicated. Medications are distributed by a “med tech” which is a foreign idea to me (I live in New York State) but it seems efficient. I could go on, but you get the point. My family and I were very pleased with the care my Mom received while living there. In summary, I would highly recommend this facility for anyone who is looking for a secure, safe environment for their loved ones to spend comfortably in warm, caring “family” atmosphere. And no, I have absolutely no vested interest in speaking about The Preserve in this manner. It is just what my family and I observed during my Mom’s last years. Thanks Preserve staff.💕

Evelyn

We chose The Preserve at Clearwater assisted living for my friend. It's beautiful, clean, and nice. The people are nice and the residents loved the place. They got back to me immediately on questions I had so I had no issues with them. The room I saw was beautiful, one-bedroom, one-bath deluxe. The dining area is a beautiful open space. The residents said the food was delicious. They have a pond where the residents can feed the turtles.

Provider Response

ST

We've been living at The Preserve at Clearwater since December. Most of the time, the staff assists us pretty well. My husband and I have a 3-room apartment. There are quite a few activities available and they have some outside activities where they take people shopping, to the museum, or to eat. Sometimes the food is good, and sometimes it's terrible. They have a library and an exercise room.

Provider Response

Thomas

I went to The Preserve at Clearwater and had an excellent visit. I was impressed with the staff, who seemed to know what they were doing. It was a fine, clean community. They had a salon, exercise room, and a pool.

Jeanne

I really liked The Preserve at Clearwater. It was at the top of my list. It's like a spa, and it's beautiful. The room was big and it was a decent one-bedroom. It was very nice and very serene. The member staff seemed very nice and attentive toward you. The cafeteria was very nice. Everybody was nice. There were a lot of activities. They had a pool and a dock where you could sit out. It was perfect. The only thing that I didn't like was that it was so far away, but I would recommend it.

Lorayne

The Preserve at Clearwater was a very nice place. You have to go to a run-down subdivision to get to it, but the facility itself was extremely nice. The lady who did the tour showed us everything, and even showed us where they do the laundry. She did a really good tour, but she's also very pushy, she wanted my mother to give us a check right there on the spot to hold the apartment. And since we've been on the tour, she has called me at least five times if not more about my mom bringing her a check. They have a really nice, big sitting area overlooking the lake. The apartments were really nice, but they were the most expensive of all the places we've looked at.

Owen Linder MD FACP

I have worked with seniors in alfs and nursing homes in Pinellas for 32 years. This is one of the most beautiful, well managed and useful places my mother in law could be lodged in.. We moved her here from up North from a "cold" too large facility. I think transient criticisms ie picayune criticisms by others really do not have perspective. on how bad other ALFs are.nor what to expect. The Inn on the Pond Board is in control and responsive.. In contrast institutional investors who have bought up most ALFs have the dollar first and foremost . Their glib lines are just lip service. Yes changes are happening at Inn on the Pond beccause Managing personnel with adequate pay and workloads is a very tough business, whether the institution is managed and owned locally as a charitable nonprofit or by a large stock corporation. Over our year at Inn on the Pond the gemullicheit, the ambiance, the service, the "warmth" and indeed the competence are all well above the others. I am very familiar having now or formerly active relationships with the institutional "mills." I could write many detailed stories how the corporate Nursing homes and ALFs use their residents for cash cows. I have not seen or heard one such horrible story about Inn on the Pond.

iotprelative

Poor customer service. Dirty rooms. Lack of care from employees. High turnover of management and employees

Roz1

The Inn is brand new. It's very nice, and my mom is happy there. So far so good.

lina2

My mother moved in this week and I can't say enough good things about the care she has received ... from the concierge, to the maintenance director, to the caregivers, and especially from the residents who welcomed her with open arms.