Brookdale South Bend

Judy

We toured Brookdale South Bend, and everything was looking good, and then they found my brother had a criminal record, and they refused to take him. But I had a tour, and it was an extremely nice place. I was very impressed with everything they had, how well-maintained it was, and how clean everything was. It was awesome. The staff were great. The rooms were large, and they had call buttons in every room. I was impressed. Their facilities were awesome.

Brent

I visited Brookdale South Bend. I met with Kurt, the director, there, and he's very friendly and very helpful. He gave a lot of information. The place was clean and very friendly. The price was just a little out of my price range right now. Otherwise, my father would be there. I could see nothing wrong. We talked to several residents. Everyone was happy there. It's a nice place. It's just a little pricy for my budget, but for what you're getting, I'm sure it was fine. We looked at a suite and it was very spacious. They had very nice and clean rooms. They do not come furnished though. You have to have your own furnishings, but I would highly recommend the place. They had a garden where they could go out and sit. They said they had several activities. They were all eating lunch and everything looked very good. The residents we talked to said the food was great.

Thomas

My dad moved into Brookdale South Bend last January. They have a very attentive staff and are very helpful with issues that have arisen. They're very pleasant and accommodating. Their food is very good. They have a very good chef preparing the food. Cleanliness is good. There are some maintenance issues because they lost their maintenance person, but they are quickly resolving some of those issues. They're taking care of it, so I'm still pleased with them. I know they have Wii bowling and bingo a lot. My dad personally isn't interested in them, but they do have some nice things that I think other people would appreciate. They're pet friendly.

Judy

My dad moved into Brookdale South Bend. I like the fact that it's open. It's got big hallways. Everyone who works there is so kind. They have pets there, dogs running around, and it's great. My dad's room is a lot bigger than the one he had. It's got a walk-in closet, which I think is great. It's clean, which the other place wasn't. They have an exercise class and bingo games. The facility is modern-looking, clean, and very tidy. The dining room looks clean. They do a good job. They have a barbershop and beauty shop. They have an outdoor patio, but it's surrounded by the building. So people can go out there, but they can't wander away anywhere. They have gardens, and it looks like it's going to be pretty in the spring.

Former-resident's-family

Brookdale South Bend has several staff persons who are truly caring towards residents - examples: David, Kristin, Jonetta, Lisa. Important improvements needed: 1) Have the activities staff schedule weekly visits one-on-one with residents for at 20 minutes each if they regularly see that some residents are not attending group activities that are set up. 2) Do not use the excuse that the resident does not want to bathe or shower as the reason why they are not being washed 3-4 times a week. Get the necessary additional training to identify ways to achieve compliance. 3) Increase staff for 1st and 2nd shifts so that there are 4 aides on duty instead of just doing what the state requires. When it comes to scheduling aides, do more than just the requirement! 4) Provide aides with more than just the state required dementia training. Aides need to be skilled in mastering some more approaches and more techniques.

AM

I didn't care for Brookdale South Bend at all, probably because it's older. The setup in the rooms wasn't good. I didn't like that my loved one's bathroom is in a different area instead of just near her bed. It also looked drabby since it's older.

Provider Response

Corresta

The only problem with Brookdale South Bend is that they're well above our finances. They didn't show me much during my tour. The place was absolutely spotless, and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. The rooms weren't that spacious, but they're adequate. The dining area was very clean and orderly, and the dining staff was wonderful.

Provider Response

Dan110392150

I like that Brookdale South Bend is small, and it looks like it is personal. They have a courtyard where they have barbecues and those types of things. They have a full-time nursing staff. They also have doctors who visit the facility itself, so that is convenient for the patients. It seems like the residents feel comfortable. The place is not cheery, but it's not depressing, either. I get the impression that the residents really like being there.

Anonymous116363950

Sterling House hasn’t much in the way of activities to keep people busy, so there were people sitting in the corner. It wasn’t great. The staff was not really patient nor kind; they were indifferent. It was a depressing facility.

Provider Response

Caring111895850

Brookdale South Bend (Formerly Sterling House of South Bend) is fine, and everybody there is great. I never tasted the food, but my dad said it's really good. They give him too much; he can't even eat it all. Security is great; you have to punch your code to get in and out. It's just all around a great facility, and everything is working out just fine.

Caring108976650

We have been happy so far with Brookdale South Bend. My grandmother has only been there for a couple of months, so it is kind of early, but we are happy so far for both service and cleanliness. They are very responsible and easy to work with.

Caring45130150

I looked at Sterling House, and I thought that it was a nice place. The staff is very knowledgeable and very helpful. She gave me a lot of different resources to look at and gave me some information about the VA resources.

Theresa19

Sterling House of South Bend is very nice. One of the things I liked about it: it was a locked-down facility. It is one of the few facilities that had a lock down. So if you had a person who has a tendency to wander, you have to swipe a card to get in and out in these places. It was a bit smaller, which, in my mind, I like, and it was just nice. The first thing I noticed when I walked into a place is whether it smelled or not, and that place didn't. It was fresh and nice and clean.

caring7964

I have come across Sterling House through the internet. I was very pleased with it. The marketing manager completed the tour with us and we had a chance to go around the facility. We met with some residents and some of the staff who work there. My father did talk to one of the residents and he felt pretty comfortable there. The room that we saw was a small efficiency room. I would recommend this place.

Jazzy1

Good morning Angel, My husband John and I stopped by for our appointment last night at Sterling House. I was terribly disappointed. When we went to the front door, "someone" opened the door for us. She didn't smile, say Hi, ask who we were here to see, nothing. She just let us in then went back to clearing the tables from dinner. The dinner/cafeteria area is so small, cheap tables, no tablecloths, and very noisy. There were two staff members clearing off the tables asking the residents "Are you done". They looked and dressed like minimum wage, "I don't care if I keep this job or not" people. While we were waiting for someone to acknowledge us, my husband and I looked around the lobby area. Actually, there is no lobby. There were 7 or 8 elderly women sitting in a circle with their heads down. I did not see a smile on anyones face the whole time we were there. I told John that I am not getting a good feeling about this place. I need to leave. The carpets were stained. Chairs in the hallways were stained and looked like someone went to the bathroom on them. Wall paper was peeling off the walls. The courtyard cement was dirty and stained with, what looked like, cigarette ashes. I don't know that for sure, but it was black. Furniture around the area was folding chairs and folding tables. Once Polly arrived she escorted us into a little conference room that had sugar and creamers by the plant in the middle of the table. She was so "I know more than you" attitude and just gave me the creeps. When she finally stopped talking about her qualifications and everything she knows, I asked for a tour. She first showed us the room where physicians work when they visit the facility. OMG, dirty, cluttered, etc. I peeked across the hall to a room that looked like it was a file storage area. The door was wide open, files piled on the desk and very cluttered. The first room Polly showed us was so small and depressing. There was a name plate (which looked tacky) on the door and personal belongings in the room. I asked her if this was someones home. She said Yes. I asked why we were going in someones home. She said she has the families permission to show this room. I would have asked to see that paper work if I had thought about it earlier. I doubt that she would have been able to produce such a document. She then showed us another room that was terribly small as well and said the person in there was moving to Arizona. The carpets were extremely dirty. I thought they provide weekly housekeeping. It sure didn't look like that to me. The hallways were dirty, needed painting, window blinds were broken and hanging from the windows. She showed us a "treatment" room with a soaking bath in it. I walked in to check the cleanliness of the bath. The bath "tub" was OK but the toilet had a black ring around the water line like it hadn't been cleaned in months. There is NO WAY I would put my in-laws in this facility. The costs are crazy expensive for such a terrible place. She was proud of the fact that they put the independent, assisted living, dementia patients, and nursing home patients all in one facility to protect their "dignity".

Provider Response