Very bad experience with Symphony. Director and Admissions representative seem kind and caring, but they don't have the staff to back it up and in the end corporate greed wins out.
My stepfather was dropped off as a result of an emergency situation. When Mom visited him the next day, he was in the same clothes, not shaved and sitting alone. He needed the toilet and Mom took him. Found soiled diaper in his trash can and checked him. He had never been wiped. Girl who dressed him stated she didn't know he needed to be wiped. He was in the section of Symphony for the highest level of care. Mom brought all her complaints to management. They assured her the issues would be corrected.
Lunch he was served was a hot dog and chips. No drink. Hot dogs are a known choking hazard and so inappropriate for dementia patients.
The next day, Mom arrived in the morning. Couldn't find my stepdad. Saw his room was locked and had to get someone to open the door. He was laying in bed awake. No one had gotten him up and dressed. Again, there was a soiled diaper in the trash and again, he had not been wiped. We were very upset he was in a locked room. This is a terrible fire hazard.
Mom started mentioning her concerns with his care to friends and learned that they had bad experiences at Symphony too and they had lodged complaints. We found a website called the Agency for Health Care Administration and saw complaints and inspection violations. We removed my stepdad from the facility. He was there just over 48 hours.
Symphony at St Augustine then added insult to injury by billing us over $3400 for two days of poor quality care. The staff doesn't have adequate training and there are far too few of them caring for large numbers of patients. They can't possibly provide proper care. This is a corporate run facility with no heart. Do not use this place.
Provider Response
Good morning, I hope your day is going well. My name is Shawn, and I work at the Milestone Support Center. I want you to know that we do take these reviews very seriously. Because of this, I have shared them with our community and regional leadership team. The doors for our apartments are locked from the outside. This means that our residents can leave their room in case of an emergency. Having apartment doors locked from the outside is a standard set-up for Memory Support communities. The reason for this is to keep our residents safe. Each staff member has a set of keys if they need to enter the apartment. We check on our residents a minimum every two hours, and we encourage them to participate in activities during the day. In regards to meal time, we provide drinks at every meal and our staff continuously refill during meals. We will cut foods into smaller pieces if a doctor prescribes this. There are citations on the Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA), but they been cleared. I have also been assured that your family will not be held accountable to the full 30-day notice per the contract. We know that this a time of crisis for your loved one and family. The Executive Director wants to speak to your family regarding these concerns. You are more than welcome to send a private message to the community and I can set-up a time to have a conversation. You can also call us anytime and ask to speak to the Executive Director. Thank you, and have a great rest of your day. Shawn – Digital Marketing
