Brightview Greentree

The reason that we chose Brightview Greentree is because the practice there is very evidence-based treatment for memory care. The staff is extremely well trained. Everything in the memory care unit is geared toward working on functional practices of memory. It's a very home-like environment. The seniors are engaged in meaningful activities that trigger experiences from their past that they can reinforce things like helping to cook and music and they even have pet therapy. It's a very warm environment. It's meticulously clean. Everyone is nurtured and the staff is very responsive and friendly. My stepfather is moving into their assisted care facility, which is beautiful. It's like a resort. It has lovely, spacious common rooms. It has a magnificent library that's run by a librarian. It has rooms for many different purposes. It even has a pub. There are lots of clubs and various rooms for having meals, for people who have different interests and needs, and it provides fantastic social and therapeutic opportunities. The residents came up to us to tell us how happy they were. We visited a lot of places and this was by far the best. I saw people eating beautiful meals and being happy, but I didn't taste anything.

BEWARE! My 88 year old father was admitted to the memory care "Wellness Springs" unit on 2/4/17. On 2/6/17 sometime upon waking that morning he suffered a fall injuring his head, forehead, eye; his eye was swollen shut and horribly bruised black and blue and an open bloody uncovered wound on his elbow.. At no time did I or anyone on my emergency contact list receive a call, nor was 911 ever called. He was given an ice pack and escorted to breakfast, lunch, and a birthday party. There was a notation at 10:45 am in his chart about the incident. Still no call to me or 911. I had him taken to a hospital with a fractured skull!

On the surface, BVGT is head and shoulders above most other Assisted Living facilities. It is clean, brightly lit and attractively decorated. The staff is generally pleasant and helpful so it seems to be a perfect choice for you or your loved one. Looking below the surface to the things that actually matter, there is little significant difference between this facility and many others. BVGT adheres to the minimum requirements outlined by government agencies. They are seriously understaffed when it comes to RAs (residents’ assistants) with only 1.5 aides on duty per floor of approximately 40 apartments. The apartments, while meeting minimum standards, don’t have handicapped toilets with higher seats and elongated bowls instead of merely a grab bar alongside. The sinks in the kitchen and bathroom have handicapped access but are too high for shorter, wheelchair bound residents to reach effectively making personal hygiene and clean up challenging. The refrigerators in Assisted Living are so low to the ground that residents must practically bend in half to access food on the shelves making this a huge fall risk. In fact, one family member chose to purchase a more appropriate refrigerator for their parent to minimize this risk. There is no overnight nurse on the premises and the door to the nurse’s station is almost always closed making it unwelcoming for residents needing to access the nurse. The Director of Nursing seems to have little or no connection to the residents and is generally busy with paper work. In our situation, the aides often placed food trays where our family member couldn’t access them easily and, therefore, compromised the ability to get adequate nutrition. The dining room does not offer specialized meals for residents with specific dietary needs. While most seniors benefit from low salt meals, BV offers only NSA (no salt added) meals which, as with most institutions, are ordered from a supplier and arrive pre-salted. Residents with congestive heart failure, hypertension and other medical conditions have their health decline when healthier options are not made available to them. So don’t be fooled by the superficial appearance of this facility. It may be as good as others but it certainly comes with a high price tag and not much to offer beyond the very basics required by law, despite their claims of going above and beyond to keep their residents safe and well. Plus, there is no further step down from Assisted meaning that residents who continue to decline must move once again to family or skilled nursing facilities.

Brightview Greentree seemed fairly good for somebody who needs some care or predicts something happening with their health in the very near future. One of our problems is that we are perfectly healthy at this point. They do have assisted, and of course they offer to take care of you for the rest of your life when something happens. The services increase, so you can stay there forever. But at this point, we are too active, and I am afraid of committing to something that is going to make me unhappy for a long time. Everything was good, and the people were very nice. Actually, some of the residents were very complementary. They were very good; it was just not for us right now.

Everything was pretty deluxe at Brightview Greentree. The staff was very friendly and they know what they are doing. They even have a movie theatre and library. It was delightful and clean. The rooms looked great, comfortable and has plenty of space.