Fidelis Care V

LDDM

Fidelis House is a hidden gem. After much anguish with 2 other reputable, larger format "assisted living" / "memory care" facilities, we searched long and hard for the right solution for what we were made to believe was a troubled Mom. We were told that our Mom was refusing medication & showers and had become rude with staff. We tried working with them & her, to no resolve. They sent her to Ocean's Behavioral Hospital because the couldn't "handle" her. All while we were researching the behaviors to find that this was all normal Dementia behavior. When we tried to work with the facilities, but they made our Mom out to be troublesome & impossible. We were extremely stressed and distraught. After many attempts to resolve & remedy the issues, we realized that these larger facilities are not properly trained to handle, communicate or care for Dementia residents. It's that simple. They are not properly trained. They are not adequately staffed. Fidelis is run by 3 women (RN's) who have been in the industry for 15-25 years or so, and saw the NEED for a more one-on-one level care for seniors and Dementia residents so they started Fidelis. My Mom was taking her meds on day 1 at Fidelis and has not skipped a beat. Why? Because the person admin'ing the meds takes the time to tell her what she's taking and why. Simple. She has showered regularly, though still with a fuss, the staff is aware of her feelings and find ways to work with her each time to help her feel comfortable and confident. Where we were made to feel like our Mom was a mental case by the other facilities, Fidelis has recognized that its all NORMAL Dementia behaviors, have given my Mom the acceptance and time and care to build trust & let the issues dissipate. The value in that is immeasurable. She's allowed to have the space to be herself at Fidelis instead of being forced to conform to perfection of the schedule in the larger formats.

TS

My father-in-law passed away. He was able to move into Fidelis Care V. It was assisted living, which I guess has a potential to turn into the long-term care. He had Alzheimer's and dementia. I can't say our experience was the greatest under the circumstances with COVID. We could go visit, but we had to sit on the porch, so you truly didn't know how his living conditions were inside. We were only allowed to visit on the porch. On the day we moved him in, there was some construction going on, which they made us aware of it, but even when I went to pick up his items after he passed away, that same construction was still going on, so it wasn't as almost finish as they made us believe when we moved him in. The move in process was pretty good of course; because it's the first time they're moving you in, they're getting your money. The move out process, when I went to pick up his items, she looked at me and she said, "Are you his daughter?" and I said, "Well, I'm his daughter-in-law," and she said, "Oh, OK." And that's all she said. There was no: "I'm so sorry for your loss," nothing like that, just, "Oh, OK, let me go get the stuff." To me that's just common sense. These are your healthcare workers that don't even have the common sense to just say, "Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss, you know, let me help you get his stuff," it was just, "Oh, are you his daughter? Oh, OK." His room was a private room. I had to clean it when I got there, and she kept saying, "Oh no, we will gonna get somebody." He was coming in and it wasn't swept, it wasn't mopped. It was kinda haphazard. The outside of the community was beautiful, it was on a beautiful piece of property. The inside, I could tell they had done some updates to it. The inside was decent, but when I went to put his stuff in the room there were no real locks on the window. Like it's very easy, and I'm like if you're dealing with Alzheimer's and dementia, you would think you would have a better window for security. I opened it up and realized this window just rolled up and down, and there was nothing to hinder it. The value and pricing, that's where they get you, and it's good.