Manorcare Health Services - Bethesda

ki29

DO NOT RECOMMEND. After speaking to a liaison of Manorcare/Montcare Bethesda and being assured that it is an excellent "4 star" rated facility we ended up choosing it from a list of 25 similar care facilities in the area. My father was in need of physical therapy rehab after a few days at Suburban Hospital (after a series of falls) and had just been discharged and advised to go to rehab straight after- and so he did, only to have my mother promptly take him out in about 2 hours, after they both witnessed enough disturbing moments to cause genuine alarm, between the state of this facility to the capabilities of the support staff. Upon arriving with the ambulance around 3pm on a weekday, they waited for about 25 minutes until they were shown to his room, managing to get him onto a bed that didn't have railings on the side. My mother immediately asks if they have beds with railings for unsteady patients? No. She then asks- "What if he falls off the bed?" The answer from the staff- "We'll put blankets and pillows on the floor in case he falls off." That was the first of many red flags. Soon after, my father needed to use the room's bathroom, which he is required to do with supervision as he is a fall risk- and there was nobody available to help. Again, it was barely 4pm at this point. My father, who was weak and unable to walk on his own, then asked for a walker, only to be told they have no walkers available. And there was nobody available to help him to the bathroom. My mother took it upon herself and walked him carefully to the bathroom, which she shouldn't have had to do and struggled with, hoping he wouldn't fall, both quickly losing confidence that this place was capable of providing decent care. At this point, while in the bathroom, my mother noticed how filthy it was, seeing open and broken drywall, green mildew, dark tile around the toilet that looked slimy and wet, and felt immediately upset and stressed, wondering how my father would safely sleep on a bed with no railing, unassisted a gross bathroom, in an understaffed facility that couldn't be counted on already, leaving her overwhelmed with concern. Please know nobody was expecting The Four Seasons Hotel- but at what point would you worry when a care facility for mostly elderly patients is not able to tend to the most basic consideration and care? Right from the start, there wasn't trustworthy supervision for my father's physical or medical needs. Even his medications, many of which are vital for him to have daily as a former transplant patient, they did not have, but assured my parents they would have the next day, despite my mother explaining why doses can't be missed. So to recap so far: no walkers or wheelchairs for patients. At a physical therapy and rehabilitative facility. Nobody to assist a visit to a bathroom. And this is all just in the first hour or so. My father's own reaction by this point was "If I stay at this place, I'm going to die" and my mother made the immediate decision to pull him out and take him home ASAP. They had such little confidence in this facility, and if anything, felt unnerved and alarmed by everything they saw. Every instinct was telling them both to leave. Next, my mother had to figure out how to even get him to her car, and thankfully one of the staff was able to "borrow a wheelchair from another patient" and helped. Thank you, sincerely, but also again- HOW ARE THERE NO WHEELCHAIRS? We are genuinely suspicious of the good ratings they do have- as the place was well below average by every basic metric. Dirty, stains on the carpet and floors, mangled walls, mildew. Furniture that felt at least five decades old- faded, discolored. The bathroom floor and toilet were stained, there was green mildew in the bath, visible dust in the closet and on counters. And yes, we took some photos to share with Medicare to make sure they do not pay for this facility for the 90 minutes of genuine disgust and shock my family went through. In the end, the staff's main concern was repeatedly asking that we do not complain about them or leave negative reviews. Good to know their priorities. We would suggest that having the safety and accessibility of the patients be their primary priority, alongside giving them some sense of dignity.

Laura

Right now, my father is at ManorCare Health Services-Bethesda because the other facility that we chose didn't have a spot right away, but he's supposedly gonna move over there this week. I think they're doing a good job. I'm not unhappy with them, I just decided I wanted him to be in the other facility, because the other one is kind of surrounded by more nature, wherein ManorCare is right beside on a busy road, Democracy Boulevard. It's sitting right on the highway, so it's gonna be noisy once the good weather happens and you can be outside. That's another reason why I thought, "Oh, let's just move him over since the other facility now have a space available." But I thought Manorcare Bethesda was fine. I thought they were very responsive. The staff there and all the different types of therapists met with him. Then they gave me a call and told me how the evaluation that they had of him and what they thought the kind of treatment he needs, and they did that right away. He was checked in on the 17th, and right away on the 18th, 19th and 20th, people were calling me and giving me updates, so I thought they were quite good actually. So far, I haven't encountered anybody that is unhappy. His dietician called me and asked me what food he likes and dislikes. They definitely take that into consideration when they're planning the meal.

Provider Response

Gplater

This place “lost” our dear grandmother’s belongings and family heirlooms after she passed away. The anger we feel is unmatched. I would advise against anyone leaving their beloved family at this place.

Provider Response

matt1212

Complete nightmare. Unclean, unhealthy, and no staff attention. Please avoid at all costs. We removed our relative within 24 hours. Every aspect of the facility is unclean and unhealthily. The floors and carpets are so filthy that they are sticky. The air is putrid and there is little ventilation. The bathroom in his room had been soiled by another patient and the mess was only cleaned after we complained about it multiple times. I’m shocked they can provide health services a facility as unclean as this. The staff is not responsive. Our relative gave up trying to call them for help, and the only way he received any attention was when we pursued staff members directly. After hours there appeared to be no staff available at all. I’ve seen this noted in other reviews as well. I guess I have to give 1 star to post a review but this objectively a zero start facility in all aspects.

Provider Response

Broadshaw

This facility is ran by three individuals who have little experience in customer service and less in care delivery. Each will cover the mistakes of the other. Turn over is high in nurses and GNA Ratio as high as 20 per GNA. Our love one never knows what to expect and neither do we. Sometimes she's clean when we arrive, most evenings she found in poor condition. They was a recent injury, they did a sham investigation, covered it up, concluded it was the resident's oun fault. Management WILL retaliate on your family member and you. They don't care. The State will do inspection, and on those days, suddenly this facility will have 12 or more trainee GNAS helping out, so as to hide the chronic short staff. Be careful if you must go there, visit often or hire a nurse to check in on your love one. Management lacks credibility.

Provider Response

Not at all satisfied

Don't let anyone you love ever go to this place. They are understaffed, poorly managed and the place is falling apart. Equipment is broken, some with tags on it showing that it should have been checked months ago. Some of the staff are very caring and competent. Others are uncaring and less than competent. You never know what kind of care you're going to receive which makes it a bad place to be. Good luck with ever having clean sheets - this only happened once in a week's stay & then I had to change them myself.. And don't believe what they say about patient to healthcare giver ratio. At night, there's one nurse for the entire floor and only two techs for the floor who say they can't do anything without the nurse's permission which is hard to get as the nurse becomes more invisible as the night goes on. With apologies to the good guys who are trying their best, I have to say that the bad outweighs the good at Bethesda Manorcare and it's a place to avoid even if you're up to do-it-yourself care.