Arden Courts of Glen Ellyn

I had an aunt who was in Arden Courts of Glen Ellyn. It was very clean and seemed to have some organized activities. The security was very tight. It was very nice for the most part. Her one-room apartment was nice and had its own washroom. It always seemed to be clean.

The Executive Director will promise that they can take the most complex patient and turn their symptoms around. This is not true. My relative was not sleeping at all in a bed during the night. That hasn't changed. Has declined since he got there, and can no longer walk much. There are only 2 caregiver's per 16 patients, unless someone calls off. The other night there were 2 caregivers for 60+ patients. The communication between staff doesn't exist. (we had to tell the nursing staff not to crush medication that was a time release medication, something nurses should know). Whenever a new MD order came in, the caregivers (who are not nurses) weren't aware, nor the nurses. The caregiver my relative has, doesn't engage any conversations with the patients, nor even smile. It's the visitors that talk with the patients. My relative has fallen 13 times since being admitted there, with multiple lacerations, bruising, swollen extremities and hospitalizations. Their solution to us is to hire a 24hour caregiver from a home service to stay with the patient all the time. Well, after paying $6,500 a month plus medications and supplies to stay at Arden, who has money for a caregiver from an agency, which cost $20-25/hour in addition.. (The home is not covered by medicare, nor outside caregiver agencies,), it's all out of pocket. The 2 caregivers are supposed to do everything for the patient, but they don't have time, as they also have to do all the laundry and wash the dining room floor and do the dishes. The caregivers complain of the lack of help and lack of raises. They are to check the patients every hour when the resident is inside and every 15minutes when they are outside. This does not occur. They will tell you is absolutely does, but it doesn't. It takes 2 caregivers to give each patient a shower, so during that time, which is longer than 15minutes, the other residents are by themselves. The nurses are unlike hospital nurses. There is no urgency in care here. They take a residents blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate and weigh the patient only once a month. So it is not a daily visit, other than giving them their medications. The family has to point out all the new symptoms, pain, that they should call the MD, what medications they should give them. Initial meeting with the Executive Director make everything sound wonderful. You fill out forms so they can know what is best for your family member and to personalize. But no one knows or looks at this, or follows it to form a plan of care. No one seems to know! Our family even had another family meeting to go over all our complaints and issues, and we were told 'they would handle it', and 1 month later, things still weren't done, and they forgot we had told them. The concept of the memory care being free roaming for the residents and the layout is great, except for the tile floor in the Bistro (too hard for falling patients). They know how to redirect patients while keeping them calm and not elevating they to combativeness. Also, once a resident becomes a 2 person assist on a regular basis, they can no longer stay at Arden. We will be moving my relative out.

My husband is a current resident, and I will soon be moving him due to recent events that effect his care. They are experiencing problems with keeping all caregiving shifts staffed adequately which is the most vexing problem; however, they also are having problems with the loss of several other key employees. The kitchen is not adequently providing fresh and inviting meals. The physical building is in need of upgrading, i, e., carpeting, painting, and repairing windows and doors. The best attribute they have is their programming under the guidance of a very capable director. I like the layout of the building, and the freedom afforded the residents in a secure environment. The people in charge are very aware of all issues and are actively trying to correct. In my opinion their corporate structure has been a stumbling block; but due to more competition particularly in the area, it appears some good changes are in the works--I am just not willing to 'wait it out'. It also is true their cost structure is quite reasonable, but as an old saying goes, maybe you get what you pay for.

One of the reasons that we moved my aunt out of Arden Courts was not only that it seemed a little bit too restrictive, but also because they had a management change. The sanitation -- as far as I could see -- was very good. The social activities and stuff were not very exciting. They kind of geared towards the lowest common denominator, so my aunt was really not happy there. She didn't feel mentally challenged. The old manager addressed that; the manager herself got personally involved with my aunt in conversations with her and so forth to keep her engaged, but when she left that wasn't there anymore.