The Cottages at Brushy Creek

Relationship: I am/was a resident of this facility Content: I was a resident of the Crepe Myrtle Cottage for 5 days in April 2018 after spinal fusion surgery. I did not research this facility prior to being placed there. Big mistake. The staff at Crepe Myrtle was great. It was obvious they were working short staffed and trying to do the best they could under less than optimal circumstances they had no control over. After I arrived, it took close to 24 hours to get my medicines delivered by the courier coming from Spartanburg. There were several nights when there was one RN in the Cottage and no other staff to assist her in meeting the needs of the 9-12 patients in the building. As a result of the short staffing, meals were late and meds came at inconsistent times.They do not have an EKG machine should a patient be experiencing heart related issues. I would not recommend this place unless the person admitted has a strong advocate to ensure his/her needs are being met. Overall, It was not a good experience for me and had it not been for a great OTA and PTA, I would have asked to go home even sooner than I did.

When this facility was run by Greenville Health Systems it was a high quality care place. This is no longer true since being taken over by Oriana. I have a relative that is a long term patient there that requires skilled nursing and I have watched that care slide dramatically. In the beginning while they still had adequate staff that were assigned to just one cottage and was familiar with the residents and their needs, the care was awesome. As those things changed the care changed with it. Long term quality care is now lacking. Per state codes, there should be 2 cna's, 1 lpn and 1 floating nurse for each cottage. What a joke!! There are huge staffing issues with this facility. Since Oriana took over they have lost the biggest majority of their high quality staff to other facilities. They are hiring just about anyone now and the quality of care shows. If you are not involved on a daily basis with the care of your loved one, then I can assure you, that most of them are not getting what they need. When there are, at times, only 1 cna for 12 rooms (9 being the state standard) how do they think that these people are being properly cared for?? Within the last week I went in at 10 AM and the residents were just being served breakfast, which is normally served around 8:30. Reason?, one CNA for all 12 rooms and not one nurse in sight. This is way too often the norm. They will tell you in the front office that the nurse is counted as a cna and should be helping. Ask a nurse and you will hear the opposite. The door to each cottage is like a revolving one. Staff changes more often that you can imagine. All the goods ones that were left over from the Greenville Health days are long gone, and the few decent ones that are left are overworked and underpaid and are slowly finding better opportunities, and none of the administrative staff seem to care. If I had a choice I would not put my loved one, that requires long term care and has special needs, in any Oriana facility. I'm sure the short term rehab reviews will be more positive, because they are not there long enough to find out differently.

This facility continues to be understaffed at the residents expense. When asking administration about staffing issues, the reply is that they meet DHEC regulations. The staff (CNA's and cottage nurses) also change constantly. The newer CNA's seem to be there for a paycheck and not for the well being of the residents. The family member will need to be constantly involved and be on top of their loved one's care. Food is less than adequate. I would not recommend this facility to anyone that has a family member that would be solely dependent on the CNA staff.

The facility is extremely understaffed and the residents are paying the price. The quality of food is awful. There is a lack of communication. When my mom was a new resident in 2012, I was very pleased. As time passed, you could see frequent changes in staff along with discontent of the staff. There is not enough help for that many residents per cottage. I would not recommend this facility. When an issue is brought to the attention of supervisors, it seems to fall on deaf ears.

My Mom was at the Cottages for over 3 Years and just passed away! My Dad is there now!! The Staff is wonderful and the facility is clean. However since they have collected well over 200,000 thousand dollars you would think they would send someone to attend the service for my Mom!! I remember how Poppy called with Glee about good news for My Mom about a room available after she saw Dad's bank account and a miracle a room available after Dad had a bad fall and needed care!! I feel that they really dI'd not have any physical therapy for Mom and not sure about Dad!! The Decor is Beautiful though!

My grandmother is at The Cottages at Brushy Creek. That's where she is doing her rehab. Her experience has been good, but we have had some issues with them as well, so I'm not 100% with them. It just seemed like they have more turnover, and there needs to be more nurses because I think that they're spread too thin. However, the facility itself is clean and nice, and they are friendly, but I just think that maybe they're spread too thin.

I went there for 3 weeks after a double knee replacement. I was anxious about going there after seeing all the bad and so-so reviews for The Cottages, but that was not my experience at all! I thought they took excellent care of me! Anytime I ran the buzzer, someone was there within 5 minutes or less, and I felt like the staff really did care about the patients. People need to realize that no place is going to be like home. I've visited elderly people in other places, and was often appalled by what I saw. This place is head and shoulders above most of these types of places. The food wasn't the healthiest in the world, but they did try to work with you as best they could, and it was pretty tasty for the most part. I would advise anyone needing pain meds to anticipate the need, and make sure you do not call for meds during the busiest times, like change of shift or meal times; but that is true anywhere. If you have realistic expectations, this is a very good place, with caring staff, and facilities are quite nice. Each individual room has its own 35 inch HDTV. I noticed no odors or negligence of any kind. Maybe some cottages are better than others. I was in the Magnolia Cottage, and can only speak highly of everyone there.

This is a beautiful facility, but my relative is not happy there. She keeps telling me that there is a "skelton" crew or that it is running by itself. That comment worries me. The staff is super nice, kind, and patient. BUT, I do agree with other's observations that, sometimes, there seems to be very few people around (staff). One major deficiency is the quality of food. Our relative does not eat often and she tells us her tables mates refuse to eat often. At the cost charged, this is a travesty. I think the administration could do better.