The Sanctuary at Brooklyn Center

CyJ111

My former wife was at The Sanctuary at Brooklyn Center's memory care facility. She had the beginning of dementia, and we picked that place for her because it was like an apartment. When you are starting with dementia, you're reluctant to make that change, so we thought that was the perfect place. I believe the memory care portion would be beneficial for beginners, but not for the long term. Her room was like an efficiency apartment. Of course, it didn't have a stove, but it had a refrigerator and was carpeted. I think it was a queen-size bed that she had there. One of the reasons we moved her there is that they would open up the resident's door and say 'lunch'. Unfortunately, she was far gone enough that just opening up the door and saying lunch didn't work for her anymore, so I had to eventually come in and take her to the eating area. We moved her from there because she was getting bad enough that she didn't use the bathroom to do her business anymore. For instance, I went in there on a Thursday, and it stunk so bad that it took 40 minutes before my nose had that smell out of it. I went back the next day, and the smell is still there. I don't know if she'd taken another one or not, but they didn't take care of that. It's a good place to go, to begin with, because it looks homey, but it's only good when a person is just getting dementia. Other than that, their dining area was cozy. I also never had any problems finding a parking spot. I saw what she ate, and the food looked pretty good. They have a TV, a fireplace, a sitting room, and that's about it.

Evadne

I moved to The Sanctuary at Brooklyn Center. I have an elderly waiver, and when I looked at the apartment building, they said it was accepting it. The other thing is it's on a bus line, so I'm not limited to waiting for Metro Mobility. The food is good, and they try to put things on the menu that people will like. They even have shrimp once in a while, and even though I can't eat it, there are a lot of other people who want it. If I don't like what they're serving for the main course, they have a good list of alternatives, so I'm happy with the food. They have movies twice a week. You can always go into the movie room and find a movie you'd like to watch and watch it whenever you feel like it. There's a nice library, and they have computer access, and for $20 a month, you can get a premier cable. There's an exercise room, and there's exercise classes. There's a big spacious yard with chairs for sitting, a balcony on the second floor, and a patio on the main floor that you can sit out in spring, summer, and fall. It's a nice place to live, and everyone who works here is so nice to everybody. Every day, there are people here to clean the floors and ensure I get my apartment cleaned once a week.

LM

I currently reside in The Sanctuary at Brooklyn Center. I like the activities that they have planned for the month. And that was one of the reasons that I was encouraged to move to assisted living because they do have those activities. They have bingo twice a week, they have a movie room that they show movies, and travel shows, and things like that. They try at least for once a month, groups to come in and sing for entertainment, some outings here and there. They have something Monday through Friday, usually at least two different activities at two different times. Their dining room is now open Monday through Friday for lunch only, which is a drawback because otherwise, you are eating in your room the rest of the time. You're given menus to fill out throughout the week, usually two days in advance, so you can try to plan. The food arrives, and normally it is lukewarm at best. It's in Styrofoam containers, so you have to put it over something, within your own house though, paper plates or a plate to reheat it. And there are times, especially the weekend, that what was ordered, what was on the menu, is not what you found. The nursing care is extremely poor. I'm supposed to have my TED hose applied daily before I do anything else. And often that is not done promptly, maybe not until halfway after breakfast. I'm missing an activity because I'm not able to get fully dressed. Plus, the staff, especially the nursing staff, the aides are not very nice to you. I have had many several meetings with the director of nursing, and the care has improved for two or three days. The Resident Council meetings have consistently had the same complaints month after month. It's a newer facility, and it's very pretty.