Porter Hills Village Grand Rapids, MI

Porter Hills Presbyterian Village was very nice, and the people were very warm. I have two friends who are there. The amenities were very nice. They had different views out the windows and a very good selection of rooms, but none were available, so they have a waiting list. They have extended care for those who get hurt. I had a very nice lunch. They had a bus to take them shopping. I couldn't find fault in anything. They seemed to have everything.

It’s almost three weeks since I am at Porter Hills, and I am very pleased with the place. The condition that led me here was that I am a fall risk person, and that has had already been corrected through medication. They take care of my medication twice a day. They also have a doctor who sees me and several nurses who oversee my day to day condition. Their dining room is just walking distance from all the apartments. We have three meals a day, and the food is excellent.

Independent living is great, "skilled nursing" is a joke. Beware of "in-house" health care providers. Their medical director ignored my father's need to see a cardiologist until he had to be hospitalized. When he went from the hospital to the nursing center at Porter Hills they did not give him the prescribed Lasix for 4 days! My mother was put on increasing doses of a medication which made her psychotic & resulted in her needing to be hospitalized. In both of these situations it was family members, not the nursing staff, who recognized errors & had to initiate hospitalization. The podiatrist was collecting their money but neglecting their feet & when the executive director was informed, the response was "that's a contract agency, they don't work for us". The skilled nursing center is chronically understaffed & most of the staff are hurried & surly & when one of my parents pressed the call button someone would come in, turn it off & say they would be back later (which was never). This was the norm, it was an exception when they actually got help as a result of pushing a call button. We met several times with administration who offered up nothing but excuses & defense of staff behavior. Caveat Emptor!

My parents have lived here for many years and the staff is nice and attentive. The assisted living area where my mother is now living has lovely rooms and the staff are very friendly and helpful. The food is great considering they have to feed so many people with different needs. There are many activities, a computer room, indoor pool, workout room, library, guest rooms for out of town visitors that are plush. It is a huge place with connecting halls and serves those who very ill to healthy 55 year olds who buy the townhomes. The vesper services on Sunday are nice and the meeting house is used for memorial services. The residents are treated like VIPs and the management is easy to interact with.