Milestone Senior Living - Eau Claire

I went to Milestone Senior Living-Eau Claire. It was my second choice, the assisted living had some very good security that would allow someone to live in the assisted living portion longer than in other places. They had an alarm system if people started to wander, which is not an issue for my mom right now, but she's so close to needing memory care. Milestone has more beds available for the memory care portion.

The interior of Milestone Senior Living at Eau Claire was dark. They have both just bedrooms and apartments. They let the residents do their own laundry if they want, they have kitchens in them and if they got insurance they can do their own cooking. It's a great place and only 2 blocks from my house. But my mom didn't like that it's dimly lit, and their painting at the time was darker walls. She has very limited sight so it's too dark for her. Their dining area looked institutional. The people that I met there were great. I like it but my mother didn't.

I looked into this facility for my mother. An at home visit had been scheduled with the facility. The appointment was a no show by the facility. I called and I have never dealt with staff as rude, or disorganized anywhere as I did here. I was assured that it was a miss communication and was encouraged to reschedule the appointment at my earliest convenience and they would make it right. Mistakes and miscommunication happen, I’m very understanding so I rescheduled the appointment. The in home visit was to take place today and for the second time no one from the facility came, no call, no nothing for the second time!!! I called and explained my situation and that this was the 2nd time this happened. I was told they declined. The social worker, myself, no one was informed of this. The staff member lied directly to me. She continued to treat me poorly, being rude and acting like they have no clue how to run their facility. When one is faced with heartache and trying to beat possible care for their loved one you certainly don’t need to be treated like this! The worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life!!! If this facility can’t keep simple appointments they set up, and can’t treat people with kindness and respect I would never trust them with the care of my loved one! Shame on your staff that this involved!!!

My parents lived in this facility for 3 years. Over those 3 years I was at the facility numerous times and participated in my parents care. There were many things I learned over those years about caring for elderly and I'm sure each facility has its pluses and minuses. The positives here were mostly the staff that worked with my parents on a daily basis. These people can be hired with no training or experience but I found they learned quickly and took a genuine interest in the residents. The negatives mostly came from the administration and the lack of staff. I found after repeated experiences that the administration would tell me something that was going to happen but then I would find out later it didn't happen. I felt I was told what they thought I wanted to hear but it wasn't the reality, and they weren't able to do what they told me they could do. This happened frequently enough that it created distrust on my part. Another negative was the frequent changes in staff and the organization of staff and job responsibilities. For example: during those 3 years the facility hired/fired 3 different assistant directors.