Brookdale Troy (Memory Care) Troy, MI

My brother just moved to Brookdale Troy. The staff is very friendly and very accommodating. They have things like a sing-along, where they sing really old songs. They have an indoor space like an atrium, and in the front, there are places you could sit around at these little bistro tables. They have an enclosed patio.

My mom moved into Brookdale Troy 2 weeks ago. She's in memory care. It's nice. it was streamlined, and it was easy. They have a hair salon. They have activities, but she has her own therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy; that's pretty much what they're concentrating on since it's a memory here.

My relative was at Brookdale Troy. Everything was excellent, from the staff to the people. They were just so accommodating and let us do whatever we needed to to make it comfortable and cheery, and we appreciated that. The food was great and they had a family day. I had no complaints. They painted their nails and they played Bingo.

Brookdale Troy's memory care has the best feeling of normalcy, better than other memory cares I've been to it. It has a nice little courtyard area in the front. The rooms are smaller, but that's OK. Most of the staff is very accommodating, and my dad has adjusted well. The staff seems to be able to handle things well. They have volleyball, different performers coming in, and trips to a local children's hospital. The dining area is OK. Th food seems OK. They had local kids come in during Valentine's Day, which was neat.

Brookdale Troy, of all the places that we have been to so far, appeared to be the best in terms of memory care and having a stimulating environment. The building was built specifically for this kind of care. When you walk in the front door, there's a two-story atrium lobby and you have to go through two doors. They have to ring you into the facility, and as soon as you get in that door, you’re in this very large room with a sitting area and television. It was before dinner, so people were gathered there before they went to the dining room. When the weather is good, the residents can just walk into the atriums anytime. They don’t have to go there with supervision. It was very neat. There is a conference room where you can meet with somebody, and if it’s not being used, a family could have a family gathering there.

My mother-in-law is at Clare Bridge. Am I thrilled? No. But I've talked to other people and the things that do bother me about it are the same no matter where you go, so I don't regret my decision. A recent situation when I went there was that power had gone out for 2 ½ hours, it was getting rather cold in there, and their backup generator was broken, which really bothered me. That was really surprising because they told me that they were going to be doing all this remodeling and so on and so forth, and I haven't seen any beginnings of any remodeling since she moved in. I sat with her at dinner a couple of times, and the food was just horrid. Then, also when she first went in, there was a doctor that oversees the facility, and I don't know if he was not too well on medications, especially psychotic medications, so I ended up not using that physician they had on staff that comes by once every two weeks, and I took her to her primary care physician. She stopped all medications with the exception of the very low dose anti-depression, and she is doing very well. There are 22 people on the plan that she is in, but they are LPNs not RNs, and they only work Monday through Friday to 5pm, so there are no nurses on the staff during the night. I feel that they do not have enough caregivers; I do believe that they are understaffed. The grounds are well-kept, but there is just a lot of little things. For example, it was summertime when she first went in, and they made it sound like they'll be allowed to go outside anytime they wish in an enclosed environment, but that is not the case. They keep those doors closed at all times, so it's a total lockdown, and if I do take her out, it is only because I've been ringing the buzzer numerous times for them to allow me to take her outside to get some fresh air. So that was a disappointment. I was more of the impression that they would make the effort to take someone outside and let them get fresh air. This was the best of all of them that I saw.

The community that we have my mother in is Clare Bridge of Troy. It’s a Brookdale community. She's received excellent care there. She's had a few health issues since she's been there. She's had a few falls. They worked with us to get her enrolled in hospice. The staff has been very caring. She's still there; she's just enrolled in hospice, and they come to see her there. The staff know each of the residents well, know their likes and dislikes. Even the cook in the kitchen comes out and makes sure my mom's eating. So I would give definite thumbs up to the staff. Their maintenance has been very good. We do not have any issues with that.

I toured Clare Bridge and it was very beautiful and it seemed very clean. But the one thing I felt was that the hallways were a bit difficult to navigate. It would be easy for me to get lost in there.