THE HERITAGE OF CLEAR LAKE

The Heritage of Clear Lake is a wonderful place to choose for your relative to reside. They have a very caring staff that excel in memory care treatment for dementia and alzheimers. Mom arrived a year and a half ago with severe anxiety and high fall risk. With their care and attention within 4 months Mom's medication was managed, she was given in house physical therapy, and as a result her vascular dementia was very controlled. Before she was only able to use a wheel chair and now she is able to walk around with the help of a rollator walker. I visit her 3 or 4 times a week unannounced and have never smelled urine, her room is always clean with empty trash cans, and all laundry is done and hanging in closet. The staff give her personal care and makes her feel like she is at home because they call her " Mama" and she just smiles real big. If we ever have any concerns we ask them and they address them immediately. In my opinion there is not another place that we could have placed our mom that would be as caring and homely as Heritage of Clear Lake!!!

This review may sting a bit for the facility. This seemed like a nice place for my Mom. She arrived in a Friday afternoon and of course she didn’t want to stay. There were several instances that just didn’t resonate with me her daughter. In truth I really like the administrators I do think however that members of their staff let the administrator down. Saturday morning my Mom blew up my phone and the administrators phone. She had been in bed until around 7:45 and she pretty much sat in her business. To me that is unacceptable, what is even more disturbing is that the caregiver on that hall gave me an excuse that she was off for two days and didn’t know my Mom was in the room. That was untrue as I was told by the administrator that she was in the meeting with all staff where the staff was notified that three residents were being admitted including my Mom. Strike two came when I left my Moms private care giver with her and they wouldn’t give them a code to the room where my Mom wanted to go. I had to give the code to the care giver and she took her in the room. Which by the way we are paying $233.00/day. She should be able to go to her room. The third strike came when the care giver was denied a guest meal and then was accused of saying she was going to report them to the governor. Which as also a lie. It was clear that this wasn’t going to work. I sent a formal letter of termination which the administrator asked me to send and brought my Mother home. They charged us 6000.00 and change and didn’t offer to refund any of it. I do not recommend this for anyone. It’s not what I expected it would be. I though my Mom would enjoy being around people her age. I brought her home Sunday afternoon. I believe there is a terrible crisis with elder care. I will be sending a formal letter complaining about paying that much money and not offering to return the portion or all of what we paid out of my Moms retirement fund. Be very careful and ask for a respite stay first and make sure you visit when they are not expecting you to be there. The other time that turned me off was that my Mom has and uses a PureWick for nightly urine collection. The care givers didn’t know how to help my Mother get ready at night, I had to help the care giver myself to show her how to do it and then the receptacle was not dumped or cleaned It was still full of urine when I and my mothers care giver arrived at the home. My mother’s private care giver cleaned it up because it was starting to smell bad. All these discrepancies gave me pause and I didn’t feel that the facility was safe or made me feel like the facility just failed to meet the mail. Maybe my expectations were higher and I am seriously upset about everything that happened and the discomfort this caused my Mom. One other item the food was not as advertised either. My Mom had orders written by hospice for a soft mechanical diet. What I saw on her plate Sunday when I took her out of the dining hall was Chicken Fried Steak and green beans and I’ve been cooking for my Mom for years and she was having trouble cutting her food because it was not soft food. Very disappointing experience. I don’t know what else I can report other than the only reason I gave 3 stars was because the Administrator was a really nice lady. When she is there the care givers are in their toes. When she’s not they are a bit more lackluster. They didn’t like to see me coming.

Moving a loved one to a memory care is not an easy decision but for my siblings and I, it became a necessity for our mother. Since being at The Heritage, mom has got a second wind. Her anxiety is gone and she once again can do her previous activities - crafting, playing games and visiting. She has made wonderful friends with residents and staff. I have had relatives in assisted living but this is my first memory care facility. I hold important two things I have been told by Heritage staff … -when I walk in the door, I am walking into THEIR home. The level of activity and comprehension of other residents is not all equal. So, if I see someone napping on a bench … he’s ‘at home’. Because it’s always changing, you don’t know what it might be but this statement reminds me if I see something others are doing that my mom might not do - it’s their home. -if you don’t tell us, we can’t fix it. 100% The Heritage has addressed everything I have brought to them. Once, I asked why my mom’s medicine was in a cup - it was like 3 ‘pills’. The nursing staff was on it immediately and got me an answer within 15 minutes. Apparently those weren’t ‘pills’ but my sister had brought Mom some Altoids. Oops lol. My mom was going out for doctor and hair appointments when she moved in but we switched over to her getting all that done at The Heritage. We have been very pleased with the care and service. As mom has gone down, this had become more important. She actually likes staying in. I do not think you could find another memory care that has as much planned activity as The Heritage at Clear Lake. Bingo, Dominoes, puzzles, crafts, singing, and so much more. It’s always something! Our mom wanted badly to stay in her home. But she was so isolated. The Heritage has given her new friends that communicate on her level. I am not going to name any of the staff because I don’t want to leave anyone out. They are awesome! Everyone of them. They work cohesively with the attitude of respect and care for each resident. They don’t drop the ball. But if you think they have - just say something and watch it get handled. I live in Huntsville now and would love to move my mother closer to me but there is no way I can disrupt what she has at The Heritage Clear Lake. My sister and brothers agree … Mom is in the best place.

If you are looking for a caring facility for your loved one, I highly recommend this memory care facility. My dad was transferred here because his wife didn’t want him to pass at home. Through the respite care service via Hospice, my dad was moved to this location within 18 hours after coordinating with Jennifer Reynolds, Director of Sales and Marketing. Jennifer was absolutely an angel and a God send. Based on her years of experience, she didn’t think my dad is transitioning after my dad arrived. My dad’s vital signs improved within 24 hours after getting oxygen and antibiotic to treat his aspiration pneumonia. We are keeping my dad at Heritage of Clear Lake because the caring staff and the close location to their home. The cost of staying in this location is comparable to other locations. Come give this facility a consideration.

Words cannot express the admiration we have for Autumn Leaves Clear Lake. I visited 30 different Assisted living & Dementia care facilities in the Houston area for my Mother in law. In addition to being the top of my list, a good friend who had her parent there gave us a glowing report. Our Mother lived there for 2 yrs. The environment is very secure, safe, elegant, extra clean, smells good, and home like. The food is absolutely delicious, nutritious, & plentiful. The staff were so loving , attentive, and well trained. All they do is Dementia care and everything is geared to meet their special needs. I loved the way they worked with us to know our Mom and how to meet her needs. We experienced so much quality love & care from the staff, the administrator, and the nurse that when it came time to find a place for my Dad, we moved him in also. Its worth every dime. I felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off my back when they became our partners in the care of our precious parents. There is no perfect place for your dementia parent even at home, but Autumn Leaves Clear Lake is #1 in our book !