St. Mary Center For Rehabilitation & Healthcare

My mother and I went to St. Mary Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Lansdale yesterday. We liked it very much, so we're going to enroll there. It was a very nice place. They have a special dementia section and she's going to move into that part, but the whole place was very nice and very clean. They didn't seem to have a lot of staff. It seems like there's a shortage because of COVID. Patients were walking around and they seemed to be engaged, but not active because the people we saw were dementia patients. The indoors are kind of like a circle and the rooms were arranged that way. They couldn't get lost as long as they were in that memory section, which was the Camilla area. They had an outdoor section for them, a very nice dining room, and they had aquariums to look at. There was a book room in the regular section for the residents who had other issues or maybe were just retired. They have a very nice library there. One man had his toy train set up in one of the lounge areas, so that was nice. They let him continue with his hobby and one can bring possessions from home if they're not too large. The rooms were a nice size. They were a little bit bigger than most hospital rooms. Mom will have an armoire, two dresser drawers, and a table for her television. She'll have an in-room telephone, which is extra. The setup is very nice and they were able to get her in right away so that was great, too. They're having a special right now. The $3500 a month is a special rate and that's for any of their units. We walked through the regular part, too. Everything's on one floor, so it is spread out. It's a big campus, but everything is on one floor, which to me is more of a safety thing, especially with old people, of which I am one, because they said a lot of the people there are in their mid-70s. I looked at it as a place for myself in the future and I would go there. I would live there definitely. The staff during the tour was very good. The nurse who spoke with us, Rebecca, I'd give her a 5 also. The paperwork is not overly onerous. They just want to make sure that we understand the limitations of COVID. They don't know what to expect. They don't know what's going to happen next and we have to be willing to accept the risk of what could happen, including food shortages. They even mentioned that in the paperwork and that's honesty because we don't know what's going to happen. They have outdoor spaces even for dementia patients. There's a small area where they can sit outside and it's fenced in with a nice fence. It's not like a prison fence. For the other people, there are plenty of outdoor areas for them to sit.

My brother is in St. Mary Villa. The admissions people went out of their way to meet with us. It was over a weekend which I know they're usually not there, but they went out of their way to meet us. We toured the whole facility including the memory center which was what we were most interested in because my brother had Alzheimer's. The facility looked well organized and very clean. We liked the location. When my brother first moved in, we tasted the lunch menu and it was very good. They showed us the room that they usually have, all the activities as well as the common area for everybody. They had a room like a kitchen set up for families that wanted to have a large get-together with their loved ones at that facility. They have a lot of property, and they had quite a number of pavilions and areas outside for the residents to enjoy.

St. Mary Center For Rehabilitation & Healthcare seems to be well enough staffed. What I didn't like about the place was it wasn't very clean and the shower. They don't have individual showers in the rooms, and I didn't like that much. I was surprised that the place was not clean as it was, it was not clean. The staff that I dealt with was very thoughtful, she was excellent. It seems that they have a lot of activities going on and so forth, and they go to nice areas outside the city. They also have a salon and a barbershop, and they have exercise classes. The rooms are small and fairly dated. It's located really near the Lansdale Abington Hospital.

My mother-in-law moved into St. Mary Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare. She's in memory care and it's been wonderful. It's clean, the food is good, it's friendly, they offer plenty of activities, and the grounds are beautiful. The staff is amazing, everybody says hi to you, and they take such good care of the residents. I could just go on and on, we're very, very happy there. I didn't think she would be, but she's also very, very happy. She just had a birthday and she's at the very beginning stages of Alzheimer's, but she's very, very happy there. Maybe some things could be updated a little, but I'm sure that's not really important. They look a little dated but who cares. Her room is beautiful. She's got a four-poster, twin-sized bed. She's got a flat-screen TV and a nice little chair where she can sit and read. It's a comfy chair. She's got a big closet and a beautiful bathroom. One thing they have in the bathroom that's really cool is you can pull down a little seat to sit on and put it back up. I wish I had one of them in my bathroom. She's got a great big picture window, and if she wants to go outside, she can go outside and walk outside. They have all different lawn chairs and a little tiny patio. She could get a little tiny lawn set if she wants a chair and a table, it's just beautiful. The grounds are beautiful. Ashley, who is the administrator of memory care, her office is kind of like in the middle of the gardens, so she can watch the patients at all times. My mom's not a wanderer because she's like 99 percent blind, but she does love her walks. She does love sitting outside in the sun. When I called on her birthday, I called her all morning, and there was no answer. The lady said, "Can you call back in an hour? She's got activities." So I called back in an hour and they said, "Oh, she was just sunning herself outside on the park bench." They have things on the wall that you can see when you walk up and down the hallways. It's the menus and the activities they have. If you don't like what's being served, they have another selection down the bottom of the menu; they have four different sandwiches you can select from. I saw her one day having tacos, rice, sour cream, and salsa. She likes a hot cup of tea every night for dinner so they bring a hot cup of tea to her. She said it's very good. They've been wonderful through the whole process. The staff is incredible. My husband had to go there one time at 10:00 at night to get mom to take her to the hospital, and the lady staff stayed right there with her and made sure that everything was taken care of. They're all very kind, and very nice, and very, very patient. I would start to lose my patience when she would ask me something for the 20th time, which is normal, but it doesn't faze them. When you walk in, it's beautiful, and everything's very clean and pristine. The maintenance man is super nice. When they told him that they needed her telephone and her television hooked up, he did it in five minutes. He also took the time to show her how to do the television. They have so many activities and they're very engaging. Not only are the activities engaging the brain, but it's also something that the residents will enjoy doing. It's kind of hard to find an activity that's between something not too hard, but not too childish.