Gardens at Sumter

Lady Pilot

We got a new executive director in January of this year (2022). Please note that the bad reviews were all written when the former exec director was here. We are blessed to have the new executive director!! There is a night to day difference in EVERY aspect of the facility since she has come. She works hard and is willing to do any job that any other employee does. She has always told us the truth. If there is any issue or concern she will address it and fix it IMMEDIATELY if possible. She listens to all residents and has an "open door" policy for any resident who wants or needs to talk with her for whatever reason. She has overseen the painting of the rooms & hallways & getting new flooring in the whole building. I would choose to live here just because of this outstanding director. The activities director is also the best. She keeps us going here and constantly comes up with activities for us (games, movies, parties, celebrations, crafts, entertainment [live music, church groups, young people dancing] and much, much more.) She is also one who we can count on to tell us the truth & she does what she says she is going to do. The Gardens is now a happy place and "the future's so bright we've got to wear shades!"

So Much Better

Things are so much better now. We have a new executive director. She is always available to hear our concerns. The caregivers really care about us. I am very please to have my aunt at Gardens at Sumter. My family made the best decision.

Provider Response

Linda

My mother has moved into Gardens at Sumter. She's in memory care. Everything is going fine. They seem to be attentive and caring. Her room is alright. She's sharing a room right now and it's the first time we put her in a semi-private room. Everything looks like it's taken care of. The food seems nutritious, and she's eating well. As her stay is extended longer, I probably would recommend it and right now, I would.

Johnette Doe

This place used to be great. The current director is horrible. She lies every day. People run out of meds all the time. We don't know where the money is disappearing to. She talks to us like we are preschoolers. No one can stand her.

upset cousin

The van that takes residents to appointments is not running so appointments are being rescheduled or canceled. It’s ridiculous, they blame “corporate”. They are short on staff, don’t have the Psychiatric care they promise. The medicine is always wrong.. and they blame “changing programs”.

Rosanna

My dad was at Gardens at Sumter and I would not recommend that place at all right now. During the past year, with the coronavirus, of course they didn't have any extra activities at all, no one was able to enter the facility, family or otherwise, you couldn't even go to the window. It was very, very strict. But prior to that they offered bingo, they had a preacher that came in and preached on Sundays, and they had a choir director that came and played the piano, and she was there once a week. They had an activity director that tried to have some kind of interaction with the residents. There was just a small handful of people that actually participated, my dad being one of those because he loved playing hangman. They did that, they always had a movie where they'd pop popcorn and have an old fashioned movie that they all seemed to like. They did things with the residents, but they didn't go out of their way to get the residents involved. They posted it on the board, but most of them didn't read the board, and the print was so small that you couldn't read it, and that was something I brought to the activities director. They were always asking for suggestions. It was almost like they needed it, but they didn't want it. It didn't go any further than putting it in the box. I was able to dine with my dad. I would say that their food was good, it was very healthy and nutritional, and they did a good job with that.

Puzzled and Horrified

I certainly am not starting my review off with negative remarks. The Gardens at Sumter has previously been a place that has given my family peace and comfort knowing our loved one was well taken care of , known by the staff and genuinely had respect for patients there. I could believe anything the employees told me also. Much to my sorrow I don't know what has happened there in the last 1 1/2 years. There is lots of turnover there! The most amazing thing is how a patient doesn't get there medication, not on time NOT AT ALL! My family member has twice not had a certain medicine for 4 days at a time and I was told it hadn't come in from pharmacy,of course I checked with pharmacy and was not true. Now the latest they are not giving our loved one ANY of medication, which her family was not notified by staff ,there is supposedly a paper problem, but the medicine is there and orders for them to give our family member. It does no good to try to talk with management because they are always on the phone, in a meeting and will return my call which I am still waiting. I also left message on line with Corporate and still haven't received a call. I want to know what has happened to the loving, caring, organized, clean,respectful home we started with? In my working years I've always found out (known) it starts at the top. Management needs to care, be honest and respectful and see what can be done to make it better!!

Karen Byrd Parker

My father has been at The Gardens since July. We are very happy with it. It might have all the fancy amenities that the more expense places do, but the staff are excellent to my father. They are extremely friendly when we visit. They also don't nickle and dime every little thing they do for my Dad. The Gardens are much better than the previous assisted living facility he was in.

Harry

I didn't care for Gardens at Sumter. I saw a woman with her head hung down in her wheelchair that nobody seemed to care about and a friend's relative fell out of the wheelchair just a week before my visit. The staff during the tour was very nice and took me around the whole place. It was fairly clean, but it's a little decrepit compared to some of the others. They need to renovate the facility. The dining area was relatively small.

RS

My friend was at Gardens at Sumter. We didn't feel that they were adequate to take care of Alzheimer's patients who have special needs and who are aggressive. They were not allowed to give shots over there. He wasn't getting the care that an Alzheimer's patient needs as they advertised. Because of his aggressiveness, they were going to make him leave unless we provide somebody to sit there with him from 8:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night. They don't have the proper training for their people, and I don't think they care. I would not recommend putting a patient over there. It had assisted living in a separate area and it had four wings, which were nice. I know some people who stay there. The Alzheimer's unit had a fence surrounding it so they can't get out. It's a secured area. It's a very nice facility. They had a common area, a nurse's station, a place where they sit and eat, a little sitting area, and a sun porch. The rooms were nice. Some were single rooms and some were double occupancy. My friend had a single room and it was nice. The rooms go all around this common area and the nurse's station is in the middle. It's set up very nice. They have a place where they bathe him and they have a place where they wash their clothes and bedding. They have a big room where they have chairs and people can go in and have entertainers and speakers. They have beauticians and barbers come over and they have a cafeteria. They have activities in assisted living, but none in the Alzheimer's unit.

cocoa_natta

I just want to say I love this community! My mother is now a resident and I couldn't be more pleased with the service the friendly staff and the sweet ED Ms Clark!

Barbara85360950

I looked at McElveen Manor for my sister. It didn't give me that warm fuzzy feeling like the other facility. It was OK and clean, but the staff was not as friendly as the staff in the other facility. They didn't seem to take a lot of interest in what I was looking for and what I was asking for, so they didn't assist me. Their accommodations were pretty spacious, but it was just one big open space with the exception of the bathroom. The bathroom is the only thing that is separated. Everything else was just altogether, i.e., the bedroom, the little sitting area. It doesn't give you that feel of an apartment-type living.