Scriber Gardens

We went to see Gencare Lifestyle Lynnwood at Scriber Gardens about a week and a half ago. It had a gym but we couldn't afford it. It's back to the money thing. It was clean though and they were friendly. They had everything my husband wanted like it was close to stores so he could get on his little scooter and take off. The staff we met seemed like she was more into selling than looking for a place that would make my husband happy. It was the assisted living that we toured that day. My husband tried the food and he liked it. The place was very clean. They have a gym, a salon and they have activities you can do every day. My husband liked where the place was and that there was a Safeway and a dollar store there so he could get to it as much as he needed to.

Staff communication has been very poor. Whenever I call, I'm told people are 'out of the office,' 'just stepped away,' or 'will be right back.' It takes hours or days to get a return call--even during a recent serious situation with a resident's health. My last message requested a call back from the director to talk about the staff person who has been failing to return calls. Instead, the staff person called back (after a week and two messages). She said she'd left a message for me earlier in the week, and when I said I didn't get a message, she said maybe she had the wrong number. (My number is in the file.) Seemed not to care about the potential implications of the resident being off of important medication and said there's nothing they can do until they hear back from the VA--which apparently sent them info a week ago, which they didn't act on for several days before saying it wasn't adequate. Also, their website doesn't seem to have ANY of the current staff on it, in spite of the fact that the director has been there for at least a year and a half.

I thought Gencare was inviting. They had a little garden, and I thought that it could have been a little more accessible. They had a decent dining room. I liked that it felt like everything was on one floor, although it wasn't. I felt like it was somewhat like a home. The staff was very friendly and easy to get a hold of. When I wanted to see a different type of room than they had available, the manager asked a resident if it was okay if we looked at her room, and she just gave this glowing review of the place and the staff there. It made you feel more open to it because someone who lived there was so excited about living there. They said they offered trips out into the world. However, I thought they needed more activities to bring life to the place.

My father in law and mother in law are at Scriber Gardens. It’s small, but it seems to be quite clean. We’re happy with the staff; they seemed to be very good to his parents. They’re attentive, and we liked them because they call us. Dad has fallen a couple of times, and they call us right away. They also communicate with their doctors well. They have a studio apartment. It’s a good sized apartment -- probably about 600 or 700 square foot. The downside of the room is the bathroom. It’s small especially for a wheelchair. We have eaten there, and the food could be better. The dining area is adequate for the size of the place. There’s things going on, but they just won’t join in; they’re fairly new there. My father in law wasn’t able to participate in activities because of his Alzheimer’s. My mother in law is crippled, and she is in a wheel chair. She is able to get out and eat meals with everybody, and they go down to some of the functions, but mostly what they do is they go out and visit with the people in the hall. I really like the staff there. It’s a small facility so you get to know people, they’ve worked with some of the issues we have, and I think the community is smaller and easier to connect with.