BROOKDALE MUIRFIELD

My sister cared for her husband with dementia for over a year 24/7. She agonized over making the decision to place her husband somewhere so that he could be observed day and night and meds might be adjusted to help him have a better quality of life. The staff assured her they could do the job, that there was a doctor available any time of the day, etc. We moved him in on a Thursday. The doctor was finally going to get around to evaluating him on the following Tuesday. They told her to stay away for a few days so he could get "adjusted." When she went to see him the following week...he looked at her with tears and said, "I thought you were never coming back....I thought you died!" The next day she visited and found him extremely out of it, slumped over in his wheelchair. She called me after the visit extremely distraught, telling me she made a terrible mistake taking him there. I told her I would go see him. I found him right outside the nurse's station and director's office slumped over in the wheelchair to the point that I had to almost lay on the floor to talk to him. The staff walked by us like nothing was going on. I spoke to a nurse to see if medications had changed and to ask why he was like that. She very curtly responded with "well, he's tired...he's up all night looking for his wife!" Next step, talking to the director. I told her that my sister was a mess, concerned that she made the wrong decision and I was shocked to see him like that. She handed me a tissue and listened and when I left I felt as though something was going to change. It did. They called my sister and said they were sending him to a hospital in the south end of Columbus so they could "adjust his meds." But wait! Brookdale said they would be able to do that! They transferred him there and my sister went to see him. It was a lock down facility for drug addiction! She was only allowed to visit during a two-hour period each day. She had to leave everything in the car. She was not allowed to go to his room; they brought him to her in a common area. And if she got there and he was asleep, they would not wake him up and bring him to her. He was there for (I'm thinking) about 10 days, and she saw him perhaps two or three times. They she got the phone call that they weren't sure what to do with him medication-wise, so they sent him to OSU Medical Center to the dementia unit. He spent a few days there. By that time, he could not stand, was eating very little and they said they really could not do much for him and were going to send him back to Brookdale. My sister assured them that he would not be going back there, but now, since he was immobile, she was faced with finding a new place for him. She found The Gables in Marysville, Ohio...a 45 minute drive for her, but the facility and staff were wonderful. They only had one room available which was a suite, but it allowed us to bring family in and visit comfortably. By then, it was just a matter of time, and he passed away there a few days later at age 74. Dementia is a horrible disease. My brother-in-law started showing signs of it about six years before he died, but he functioned relatively well until about the last two years. Knee pain did not help the situation. But they didn't want to put him under anesthetic to do the surgery. It was heartbreaking to watch him suffer, and is still heartbreaking to watch my sister blame herself for not having made the right decision. We try to assure her that she did what she believed to be the right thing. Those who assured her they could help were not being truthful in their abilities. A comedy of errors by those professionals have left her living with a guilt that is eating her alive. I pray that other families are not treated as my sister and her husband were treated during the biggest challenge of their lives.

My sister cared for her husband with dementia for over a year 24/7. She agonized over making the decision to place her husband somewhere so that he could be observed day and night and meds might be adjusted to help him have a better quality of life. The staff assured her they could do the job, that there was a doctor available any time of the day, etc. We moved him in on a Thursday. The doctor was finally going to get around to evaluating him on the following Tuesday. They told her to stay away for a few days so he could get "adjusted." When she went to see him the following week...he looked at her with tears and said, "I thought you were never coming back....I thought you died!" The next day she visited and found him extremely out of it, slumped over in his wheelchair. She called me after the visit extremely distraught, telling me she made a terrible mistake taking him there. I told her I would go see him. I found him right outside the nurse's station and director's office slumped over in the wheelchair to the point that I had to almost lay on the floor to talk to him. The staff walked by us like nothing was going on. I spoke to a nurse to see if medications had changed and to ask why he was like that. She very curtly responded with "well, he's tired...he's up all night looking for his wife!" Next step, talking to the director. I told her that my sister was a mess, concerned that she made the wrong decision and I was shocked to see him like that. She handed me a tissue and listened and when I left I felt as though something was going to change. It did. They called my sister and said they were sending him to a hospital in the south end of Columbus so they could "adjust his meds." But wait! Brookdale said they would be able to do that! They transferred him there and my sister went to see him. It was a lock down facility for drug addiction! She was only allowed to visit during a two-hour period each day. She had to leave everything in the car. She was not allowed to go to his room; they brought him to her in a common area. And if she got there and he was asleep, they would not wake him up and bring him to her. He was there for (I'm thinking) about 10 days, and she saw him perhaps two or three times. They she got the phone call that they weren't sure what to do with him medication-wise, so they sent him to OSU Medical Center to the dementia unit. He spent a few days there. By that time, he could not stand, was eating very little and they said they really could not do much for him and were going to send him back to Brookdale. My sister assured them that he would not be going back there, but now, since he was immobile, she was faced with finding a new place for him. She found The Gables in Marysville, Ohio...a 45 minute drive for her, but the facility and staff were wonderful. They only had one room available which was a suite, but it allowed us to bring family in and visit comfortably. By then, it was just a matter of time, and he passed away there a few days later at age 74. Dementia is a horrible disease. My brother-in-law started showing signs of it about six years before he died, but he functioned relatively well until about the last two years. Knee pain did not help the situation. But they didn't want to put him under anesthetic to do the surgery. It was heartbreaking to watch him suffer, and is still heartbreaking to watch my sister blame herself for not having made the right decision. We try to assure her that she did what she believed to be the right thing. Those who assured her they could help were not being truthful in their abilities. A comedy of errors by those professionals have left her living with a guilt that is eating her alive. I pray that other families are not treated as my sister and her husband were treated during the biggest challenge of their lives.

Staff at the community are truly exceptional. They make my dad feel like family. Could not ask for a better community for him.

Staff at the community are truly exceptional. They make my dad feel like family. Could not ask for a better community for him.

I was looking for my friend in a hurry. They helped me out when others failed. Almost a year now since my friend has been in, and she is so much livelier and healthy. She is interacting more and has been eating so well. Friendly staff and nurses. We chose the right place for sure!!