Brookdale East Niskayuna

Please do not put your family member in this place. We believed the lies we were told about the chef that was great(food was uneatable) we eventually started sending food. Some of the staff was ok..others were unkind and yelled at residents...told my Mom she was "a mean old lady" and to "mind her own business" when she questioned treatment of another resident. Most residents are low functioning and not aware of the fact that they are not being bathed or rooms cleaned and that staff is non existent most of the time. My mother went weeks without a shower or bath.PLEASE do not believe the things they tell you ...the lies come from the top and they never stop. We are in a much better place now and this is how I know for sure the difference.

The staff and management here are great. Every time I went to visit they were always smiling and very friendly. The residents always seem very well cared for. I always have a great experience there.

The place seems clean and the staff friendly. The problem is there seems to be a rotating door for staff. Every week I go I see some new faces. They don't give the people enough time to eat. They pull the plates away as quick as they put them down. I see people eating and chewing and pausing, then there goes their plate. No wonder they are all so skinny. Staff doesn't seem to be attentive....especially in the evening hours. Nobody is around. Watching TV and for 20 minutes I never saw a staff member walk by. These people need more attention than they get. I hear staff yelling at residents. Is this really how our elderly are treated! What happened to the TV in Times square? That brought people together instead of sitting on crowded couches where staff never comes by.

Brookdale East Niskayuna has the usual traditional care, activities, and help with medication management. I had to point out to them that someone needed attention, meaning someone was having bowel issues. I didn't see anyone say, "Let's walk you back to your room." I didn't see that intervention. The dining room and bedrooms all seemed fine.

I was disappointed with the level of care my mother received We were so hopeful this facility would provide a loving environment. We realized quickly that what we were told by the executive director, Matt, and what was provided, didn't match. My mother was served food which was specifically on the "do not eat" list (and food was not fresh), activities were canceled at least three times in the two weeks we were there, and staff interactions with residence were questionable. When we communicated our concerns, Matt became defensive and dismissive. We left multiple messages to speak with him. and he never seemed to get the messages. We removed my mother after only two weeks. It was a very difficult decision. We quickly learned there were 5 other families who also left the facility.

I would NEVER STEP FOOT EVER AGAIN in the facility. I was looking for a placement for my mom and dad. I was stiffed by the ED the first time GIVEN A TOUR BY AN AIDE and the second meeting was with the ED and LPN. Place smelled like Urine. The ED promoted himself more than the actual care. Gave me a water bottle and Hat, said he couldnt take care if my mom because they do not have a waiver.

I visited a facility which used to be called Clare Bridge of Niskayuna (Brookdale East Niskayuna). They were very good and very helpful, but they didn't have an opening. They were very helpful in setting up a time to visit the place, and I was very pleased with how quickly they were able to do that.

My mother was at Clare Bridge for five months. At the time she went from the hospital to there, we only had four days to find a facility for her because of insurance. She had to be in memory care as well. Finding a memory care within a 4-day window that had an immediate opening was very difficult. Her insurance wouldn't allow her to stay at the hospital any longer. It is a smaller facility. It had about 40 residents, so there might only 4 or 5 that were higher functioning. Out of those, maybe 2 or 3 either went out with family members or they didn't feel socializing so they're staying in their room some days, so mom started to get isolated. Nobody to chat with. That made a big difference for her. She should be able to have a larger pool of friends that are at her same level. It's nice to have 140 people because she has a bigger bunch of people to choose from, mixed up with and could hang out with friends, so every day isn't the same day all the time. For my mother because she's higher functioning, that’s very good for her. But it really wasn't a matter of anything Clare Bridge did wrong. They did have trips, bingo, regular exercise programs every day, and movies. It just was that she felt she got stagnant with just a group of people. She just needed more socialization. I thought the place was pretty good. But there were a couple of things that I wish that they had done better. Mom had a problem with the heat flowing into her room because the vents were stuck open, and it took them weeks and weeks just to get a vent cover replaced. We kept asking and kept asking. There seems to be a lack of funding. It seems like cleanliness was definitely an issue. They didn't seem to have the money to fix things. They lost their activity director for a while, and it took them quite some time to replace her.