Emerald at St. Paul

Bill1

My friend is in Emerald at St. Paul. It's more of a rehabilitation facility for people recovering from illnesses and surgeries and things like that. There are a lot of people who are somewhat bedridden. Emerald has four floors and one is hospice care, one is for people who are short-termers, and two that are more for long term that would have amputated legs and things like that. He's at the rehab wing. When you step into the lobby, there's a nice receptionist and very friendly people. Three of the levels are mostly hardwood floor, and they keep them clean, but the third floor is all carpeted, and it does have a bit of an odor, kind of a musty smell because of the carpeting. One of the irritating things to me is they have people on that floor who have some mental issues to go along with their physical issues. One person is perfectly capable of getting up and using the bathroom and stuff, but at 6:00 in the morning, instead of hitting the call button to have somebody come and help him get dressed, he starts banging his bed against the wall. They've got another person in another wing that every ten minutes turns on the call alarm, and there's nothing wrong. The person just wants somebody to be in there to respond. That chiming of that alarm goes off for twenty minutes before they finally get down there and turn it off. They turn off the alarm, talk to the person for five minutes, walk down to the nurse's station, and the person turns the alarm back on again. It's hard to get anything done in the building because of the loud atmosphere. Even during the night when people are supposed to be sleeping, somebody will turn on the TV and turn it up really loud. Most of the staff are very friendly. Two people in the office that have been really helpful in helping us fill out paperwork. The people at the receptionist desk are very helpful and very courteous to everybody. There's just one aide on one of the floors that has kind of a crabby attitude, but that's one out of about forty. The dining area is clean. The food is prepared all in an assembly-line type of setup where they put the dishes together and then bring them up in sealed containers to each one of the floors. He requires a special diet, but because they're just slamming meals together, he doesn't get the stuff that is on his diet. He's on absolutely no potato products and no extra sweets because he's fighting with the heart medication and diabetes. They get his meal up there; it's cold, it's got French fries on it, and it's got a cupcake, things that are not on his dietary list. He says the food tastes good, but it's cold, and they don't follow his prescription. They have a smoking area out back. As far as activities go, the only thing they have is a physical therapy room, and the lady in the physical therapy is a five. She's very smart on how to deal with each individual's physical abilities, and the physical therapy room is pretty well equipped. The only activities they have are physical therapy and watching TV. They don't have people come around doing games and stuff like that. They're constantly cleaning. They could probably put on one more nurse's staff for each shift on each floor. They're a little bit understaffed. The cleanliness of their kitchen is great. I used to work for bakeries and I've done a lot of food inspection. I would pass their kitchen for cleanliness, organization, food storage, and preparation. It's just following the directions of the prescription, and the food being cold. I know there are food totes that have heaters in them that could keep the food hot while it's being brought up to the different floors and distributed, but that's a large capital expense, and I don't think Monarch has given them the budget. They're under budget constraints because they're a division of Monarch.

Justice

Family member was provided a juice, milk, coffee & baloney (with sliced cheese) sandwich on white bread for Christmas Dinner. Food quality & quantity needs improvement! Especially, for the benefit of residents requiring specific diets due to their health condition(s). Activities could be offered more often & better reminders given to residents. Unopened games (still in plastic wrapping) sat upon the table & haven't been touched in months (getting dusty). Staff were observed being dishonest to residents & visitors. Facility is old & in need of maintenance. Rodent issues confirmed in both 2024/2025.

momma6

This facility is under new management and they are doing their best to improve the service and care provided. That being said, the building really needs updating and that is being worked on. There is not central air but air conditioners at the end of the hallways. They did give my dad a little portable fan that helped cool his room. There are not any telephones in the residents’ rooms. They have to go to the main desk or have a cordless phone brought to them. There is a main shower area that is quite archaic and the showers can be difficult for the residents. Just noting some of the more difficult parts of being at Bethel. My dad was there for transitional care after surgery for cancer during the summer of 2019. Overall, the staff was very friendly and did their best to care for him. There were times he had to wait longer than he would have liked but that is because they are very busy. My dad’s favorite nurse was Keesha. She was extremely friendly and gave him the best care. This facility does provide activities for the residents such as Bingo, outdoor cookouts, live music and the activities director is super friendly and reaches out to the residents even when they are not friendly back to her. The bathrooms between residents’ rooms are shared. This is something that was very difficult for my dad and I did not realize it when we toured the facility. The security is very good. The backyard is fenced in and has a bench for residents and visitors to sit on. There is a smoking area for smokers. There are sidewalks and a nice neighborhood to take a resident for a stroll in. The front desk operators were always friendly and welcoming. Sue, the manager, always tried to accommodate our needs. Everyone really seemed to care about my dad and that was very helpful to us. Dad could not eat so I cannot rate the food.

Sylvia16

Bethel Care Center was OK -- very institutional. They had a very good staff, but they were very overworked.