The Atrium at Veronica Drive

Caring113269750

The Atrium at Veronica Drive is a lovely place. The staff is wonderful and it's a very caring environment for my parents. They have a studio, which is very large for the two of them. The food is excellent, and the dining facility is great. They offer activities from 10:00 in the morning to 7:00 at night -- exercise, parachute ball, and bingo. Most of the residents in that facility are low functioning and they need to emphasize that when they bring new people in. My father has Alzheimer's, my mother got mild dementia and they're pretty high functioning compared to most of the people in there. They need to be a little forthcoming on the amount of mixture in the place.

Provider Response

Loving Niece1

I like The Atrium the best out of all facilities I toured. Now my aunt is a resident there. They have a secured area for people that wander about. There is a lovely garden outside that residents can walk around anytime they want. The people are very nice there. Their patient to staff ratio is okay. I think it is 4 to 1. In their dining room, everybody has their own place to go. I go there a couple of times a week and have dinner with my aunt and the meals are very good. What I like best about this facility is that they take good care of my aunt. They give her a special treatment because she is a little higher functioning than some of the other residents there. They take her out all the time and involve her in a lot of activities that she normally wouldn't be able to do if she was home by herself. This facility is worth telling others.

Frequent Visitor 7

Atrium is a small facility exclusively devoted to memory care, housing about 50 residents. It's in a somewhat odd location"”easily accessible by major arteries, but it is in a turn off the highway"”and those visiting can easily end up at the nearby Marriott or run-down strip mall. The outside grounds are very pretty and the facility as a whole is well maintained, with nice artwork on the walls inside. A small reception area at the front is nicely furnished and provides coffee and cookies. Also, the reception desk is staffed by lovely, caring, attentive women who know all the residents by name. The dining hall is adequate and the food is excellent, with a good chef who prepares several choices daily. But the service in the dining hall somehow seems chaotic, and there are frequently dishes piled up and left on tables. There seems to be no organized process to how and when people get their food, and residents complain about that. There are several nice touches to the design and detail inside. For one thing, there is a big board with monthly happenings posted on it"”everything from food and activities to awards for staff. The two hallways housing the residents are hung with huge black and white photos of many of the residents, which are absolutely fabulous. When they walk by, they notice them"”and for those who are able, they become talking points. Another nice feature: Little stations are set up in the corridors with sewing machines and clothes, military garb, and a baby doll and changing table. The displays, which are changed frequently, are meant to be evocative and engage residents. They look great and encourage interaction. I see a client who loves hats"”and he often wears those he's picked up around the facility. A woman proudly takes care of the squishy baby doll. Housing is divided into two parts, according to the level of care needed. The rooms, which are of ample size, are all well maintained and residents are encouraged to decorate them with personal items such as family pictures and books. More than most places, you can learn a lot about the residents at Atrium by looking around their environs. Shadowboxes outside each of the rooms also identify their interests and sometimes provide good talking points for visitors, staff and residents. Many residents spend lots of time walking the hallways"”and there is also a lovely secured garden area and yard and path that they can use for walking. There is a TV and music room and activities on both wings include art projects, flower arranging and cooking; there are also some nice outings with van transportation provided, such as forays to a nearby dairy farm for ice cream. The one thing that gets most people involved seems to be any game involving a ball. There is often music playing"”of varying styles and types. As for staff, the admissions staffer and financial officer are terrific, although the director does not seem very hands-on. And there is a new activities director who's dynamite and very experienced"”and very committed, with her heart and soul in the right place. And there are several CNAs who seem to know their stuff; staffing ratio is about 4 or 5 to 1 resident. The staff is unusually diverse"”by race, ethnicity and gender, which is a good thing. But this is the most unclear staffing structure I've ever seen. It is very unclear who's in charge of what. If anything happens, such as a resident falling, they all rush over"”and all other activities stop. It can also be difficult to find a staff member when you need one. There is no social worker, and they could use one. This confused staffing structure leaves some feeling that all of the residents may need more care than they're getting. Recently, Atrium has switched the staff more to work on both sides of the building, so that they know all of the residents; unclear whether this is a good change"”especially for residents who prize routine and prefer to deal only with those they know well.