The Pines of Lapeer

Nancy

My sister was at The Pines of Lapeer. I didn't like the people that were in the management. The man that we would see most often was not the Director. I never met the Director until she had been there a while. I didn't care for him. He didn't seem very professional. They must not have run a very good business there because there was a lot of staff turnover. The staff were not good. There were a few people that I thought did a good job, but there were more that weren't. It seemed like every week there was somebody new. The people that were there last week had quit already, so there was a high turnover. When there's a high turnover, there's got to be something wrong with the way the management is running. They never seemed to have enough staff. They had a memory care unit, and they had an assisted living. Many times there were people from the memory care unit over in the assisted living community. They did not have a full department either. They were actually slightly cheaper, but they still couldn't keep people. The room that my sister had was a rectangle. As far as the room goes, it was all right. She had one window that looked out to a parking lot. It was nothing special. It was just a carpeted rectangular room. They had similar activities. They had some games and some entertainment. My sister did not choose to interact with them. They had things throughout the week. They didn't have something every single day, but many times a week. I tasted their food a couple of times. Apparently, the people that were cooking there were whoever they could get to do it on a given day. They had a couple of designated people. When that designated person wasn't there, it was just whatever nurse they could get to do it. The person that was the designated person was a terrible cook. The way she prepared food was terrible. The meat was always hard and always dry. They seemed to have a lot of cheap, easy foods, like a lot of hotdogs and a lot of baked beans. They would get chicken breasts, but they were dry, hard, and tasteless. Even if they had decent food, they didn't prepare it well. Cleanliness was a problem. They were not very clean. My sister was there for three months, but she never saw them run the vacuum in her room once. When she moved in, the windowsill had dead flies on it. She had to actually come in and tell the housekeeper that it needed to be dusted. It really hadn't been cleaned before she moved in. My sister uses applesauce to take her pills, and there was a small dorm refrigerator in the room. She would spill applesauce on the countertop or in the refrigerator. The housekeeper didn't wipe that up. She never wiped up anything. It was not very good. The thing the housekeeper did do on a daily basis was pick up the trash. As far as really cleaning it, it really was superficial cleaning. My sister was close to one of the exit doors, and they did not lock that door at night. It was the door to the back, and you had to walk around at the back to get in. There was a keypad on that door. I asked the staff, 'If I were to come in the evening and come in that door, at what time is that door locked?' 'Well, we don't lock up.' I said, 'So you're telling me all night long that's not locked?' 'Well, no.' They have several residents that go out and smoke, and they go out there on that back patio. They don't lock that door. I thought that these are vulnerable adults, and they're telling me that that door isn't even locked at night. That really bothered me. Now, granted that Lapeer is not a high crime district, but these are people that couldn't defend themselves if they needed to. They don't even have that facility locked properly at night. It was a big thing to me.

Raymond

The Pines of Lapeer had smaller rooms. They looked more like hotel rooms and they did not have the selection for larger rooms with a dining room and stuff. They supply you with a bed, nightstands, dresser, and other furniture, but you can also bring your own if you want to. They don't allow pets. They have some outdoor spaces for you to go to. They also have an events calendar for all the activities.

C

I wasn't impressed with The Pines of Lapeer. There wasn't very much activity going on. Actually there weren't very many residents there. We saw some stains on the carpets in the one room we visited. The staff was very nice and thorough. They showed an art room, and it was nice. It's just not a place we would consider going to. The layout of the room was a little bit boring. Even coming up to the outside of the building, it didn't look like it was very well maintained. They are in the process of doing a lot of repainting. The rooms were good size, but I wasn't impressed with the staining on the carpet. They need to make the place look a little more well-kept. They need to work on the maintenance.

Christy

The Pines at Lapeer was a bit more cheerful than the other place I went to. It was in the morning, and there were more people out doing things. The people seemed happier, out and about, and the staff was very nice. The dining room was cheerful and nice, but the living room was small. They had an activity director, a beauty shop, place was clean, but they could use a little updating.

Jean

The Pines of Lapeer seemed nice but a little chaotic. We had to wait 20 minutes before somebody acknowledged us. They were decorating and doing Christmas activities, so maybe that's why it seemed a little busier than usual. There was only one room left, and it was in the process of being cleaned. The staff showed it to me, and I thought it would be adequate. The three meals were served in the dining room. We saw what looked like a snack bar, and the residents were loading up their plates and taking it to their spot.

Mat

My mom moved into The Pines for a month and a half. We chose it because the people and facilities were nice. They serve three meals, they manage medication, and they help with every day chores, like showering.