PP
Paula Plonk
Oct 18, 2025
The only reason I give this place 3 stars is because I feel like it compares equally to most places like this out there and I also know there are far worse places. However, I think it is a crime to our elderly people that this should be the norm standard out there. They deserve far better and especially for the price they, or we their children, are paying monthly for them to be cared for.
First off the food. At this point in their lives, it is one of the only small daily pleasures they have to look forward to, but they are being fed mediocre, low quality, poorly cooked food at best. Second off the cleanliness. I have to sweep Mom's room every time I visit. My Mom is not a messy or unclean person, but she is no longer capable of cleaning like she use to hence while she is in assisted living. Where is the assistance? There are bugs in her bathroom and kitchen area because of the lack of cleaning. I feel like they did a better job of cleaning when she was on the independent side. Last time my brother, his wife, his son, & I visited, we deep cleaned her entire apartment. So we are paying close to $6000/month and we have to do the cleaning if we don't want our Mom to live in filth?
Now while I will say that there are some generally caring people that work ar this facility, like Tanay (not sure of the spelling) & some of the nursing staff, there are others that I feel like do not have the temperament to be working in an environment that requires one to be a caring, compassionate people person. Sheila or Stephanie, not even sure what her name is, but the lady who sits at the front desk with the long dark hair, always has a sourpuss look on her face and never looks happy to be there. The man who runs the place, William, I rarely even see. He is always tucked away in his office. Seems to me they are there just for a paycheck and a job with no real concern for the people that live there. And then this past week while visiting I watched a girl named Crystal roll her eyes at one of the residents when she asked what happened to the asparagus, as she served her a lunch plate with burnt asparagus on it. Disgraceful! This girl also had very long hair that was not netted or even tied back, yet she was serving food? Is that not some kind of health violation?
Lastly, also concerning care and cleanliness, my Mom needs help bathing and is lucky to get a bath once a week. Her sheets on her bed should be changed weekly, but are lucky to get changed monthly. I also notice that sometimes she wears the same exact outfit for an entire week, so I have no idea how frequently, or infrequently, her clothes are being washed.
Bottom line, Brookdale is not the worse place, but it is defintely not worth the money we are paying either. It should be half the price we are paying for the value my Mom is getting. My guess is it is going to the corporate somewhere because I feel like the workers are getting just as short changed as the residents and that is why the care level is not what it should be. I am not sure who we need to talk to or what can be done to improve things for our elderly that need assisted living, but something needs to change. They deserve far better than this!