The Stratford

Betannia

Avoid this place. Bad management that is unresponsive to concerns. My mother is often left with nails not cut for months (unless we do them). She has alzheimers and forgets to wash, hence feces get trapped under her nails and fungal growth sets in. Many residents who defecate are left soiled sitting around in their poop. Laundry room is too small, thus staff cannot keep up with dirty laundry. Memory care patients are in a prison. They never get to leave the building or are taken for walks. They do have a separate enclosed courtyard but that is neglected. Do not be fooled. The plants in that courtyard have been brought in by a volunteers---who also care for them. Ditto for the wall art. Birdfeeders etc. The management only spends money on the areas visitors see. Staff do not encourage memory care patients to at least get to the enclosed courtyard for fresh air. Rather, the staff use it for themselves when they want to smoke. There are some very good staff here, but the good people get demoralized by what they see. Hence, lots of staff turnover. If we could afford it, we would take mom elsewhere.

barbara617384

My father is in The Stratford. They are very upfront about the cost. My father gets three meals a day and has a private room, which I think is good for my dad. They have a doctor on call who comes once a week and checks all of the patients. They have a monthly calendar of activities like bingo games and trips for all of the patients to take advantage of. They have two snacks a day. Some of the staff is informative, and some of the staff does not know much. However, the last time that I visited my dad, there weren't many people watching the patients; I was told that they were having a meeting, which was a really scary thing because when I got into my father's room, the floor was wet. They sent the director over and I talked to her, and she was very nice. Other than that, I think they are doing a great job.

WantTheBestForNCPatients

Finding a caring and effective place for a loved one that is elderly or suffering from dementia and who is living on a limited income is difficult. Unfortunately, The Stratford of Chapel Hill is not a place to consider for this type of care. The grounds of The Stratford facility are kept clean and very presentable. Residents who are not in the dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease wing can often be found sitting outside the facility in the front entrance canopy area where there are flowers and some scenery. There is adequate free parking available for family and guests. Inside The Stratford, the facility is split between two distinct sections. The first section contains the lobby, administrative offices, and assisted living areas for senior who are at various stages of independence. The lobby opens into an initial area where there are Administrative Offices and a reception desk area. The staff can be easily contacted in their offices without an appointment. The reception desk is not often in use; however, a staff member in the area monitors residents/guests entry and exits. All areas are kept clean and appear to be well-managed. The second area of the facility is the dementia/Alzheimer’s care wing. It is a restricted area. This wing is where The Stratford’s performance in effectively caring for its patients deteriorates. When approaching the wing, there is an acrid smell. Once in the wing, the smell’s intensity varies while walking past certain rooms. The rooms appear to be clean except for the offending smells. The residents/patients in the first section of The Stratford appear to be in good to reasonable physical shape. The residents/patients in the second section do not appear to be taken care of as well. Patients in the second section can walk freely, but they can be found in soiled clothing that needs to be changed. Some patients have bruises and cuts or appear to be feeble and have lost significant amounts of weight. Others appear to be in reasonable health. Patients confined to their rooms are in varying states of cleanliness hygienically. These patients do not receive the attention they should get. The staff at The Stratford are polite, friendly, professional, and attentive to the requests of the residents and guests when they are made. High staff turnover is a problem in the dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease wing. On the evenings and weekends, the staffing numbers are greatly reduced putting into question the adequacy of care for its residents/patients. A reduction of staff in the first section may make sense; however, a reduced staff in the second wing does not. The meals and snacks at The Stratford appear to be nutritious and are served at regularly scheduled intervals. In the dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease wing, there is no individual assistance for the patients having difficulty eating. Medications are administered according to individual resident/patient requirements. The Stratford provides a van and staff assistance for getting resident/patients to their medical appointments. The Stratford notifies family when their loved one has been taken to the hospital for a health emergency. Doctors and nurses visit the facility at routine times. Family members are notified when medical issues are discovered. The Stratford has the potential to be a great operation, but it needs improvement. Most of the improvements are needed in its dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease wing. For this reason and others listed above, The Stratford can only be given two stars.

Caring111796750

My mother liked Shepherd House because they had a little bathroom in the room. It had a pull chain in case you needed help getting in and out of the shower or in case of emergency. The staff were all very friendly. They remodeled it since I was there, but it looked pretty then.

Hosscollah

My mom is at The Stratford, and their staff has been great. The rooms are kind of ensembles right now, and they are in the process of refurbishing the building inside. With their activities, I know they have bingo, and they do have somebody to come every now and then.