CASCADES VERDAE ASSISTED LIVING

My aunt had an extremely troubling experience at Cascade Rehab, and I feel compelled to warn others. She had just undergone major neck and back surgery and arrived with her medication orders. Despite this, she went over 10 hours without receiving any medication at all—not even something basic like Tylenol for pain. During that entire time, she never saw a nurse. She was told the pharmacy would be open between 10:00 and 11:00 PM, but no one came and she still received no medication. My aunt is able to walk, but she needed assistance getting up because of her recent surgery. Instead of helping her, staff put her in a diaper, even though she did not need one. At one point she needed to use the bathroom and could hear staff talking in the hallway. She called out and asked for help, but no one came to assist her. To make matters worse, her call button did not work. Her dinner consisted of only beans, carrots, and a cornbread muffin, and again, no nurse checked on her. After suffering in pain for hours with no help, she finally had to call 911 around 12:30 AM. She was transported to the emergency room because she could no longer tolerate the pain and lack of care. After this experience, she refused to return and chose to go home instead. No patient recovering from major surgery should ever be left without medication, assistance, or working call equipment for 10 hours. This experience was deeply upsetting for our family, and we would not recommend this facility.

Linville Courts (assisted living, memory care, rehab) is the worst facility on the planet! They lie. They abuse. They neglect. I have photos and observations from every shift. Not once did I ever see the executive director in Linville Court. I have never seen a business allow their employees to sit and be on their cell phones! I witnessed this every single time I was there, which was multiple times a week, every week. I witnessed residents calling for help and not a single employee even looked up from their phone. They would let my parent run out of clothes, and she had plenty! I even found her clothes put back in her drawers damp! On numerous occasions I would have to take her clothes home to launder so she would have clean, dry clothes to wear. The snacks and drinks that we placed in our personal refrigerator or on the top of it were often stolen by employees. Other residents with memory issues were allowed to roam in and out of other residents rooms and take things because the employees were in an office talking and on their cell phones. The foods that were served were often inedible because they needed to be cut up, but the residents were only provided forks. During COVID they were given plastic forks. How can you cut a think piece of ham with a plastic fork? You can't! The employees just stood there and offered no one any assistance. (I finally asked for a knife and went around and cut up foods for any resident that wanted me to.) My parent fell several times and her bruises didn't match the stories that we were told. I could go on and on with the things that happened to my parent and provide photos! Thankfully, we got our parent the hell out of that place! Don't be fooled by the small college campus appearance and manicured landscaping. The inside of that place is very ugly, and I'm not talking about the physical appearance. (No, I don't want to talk to the little executive director. We did that and he was quite rude and really didn't give a damn.)

We had a loved one recently pass away that we had moved from Cascades Memory Care to Foothills in Easley. While writing a review for the loving care that she received at Foothills, it reminded me that I had never officially posted grievances in the lack of care and the multitude of reasons that compelled us to relocate her...which is not an easy decision when dealing with someone that has dementia. We sat with key individuals multiple times, including Cory Hoots, the Executive Director, hoping that the squeaky wheel would gain attention. On one occasion Cory walked with us to our loved one’s room to see for himself what we were describing. He stared in disbelief at the black mold in the shower, along with the bath, hand and wash towels that were filthy and still being used. He then turned back the covers to see the disgraceful condition of the sheets. I opened the closet to show him new, unused towels and sheets. I also pointed out the trail of ants all thru the bathroom. (One must remember that a person with dementia does not see nor understand the condition of their surroundings. Hence, one of the big reasons you pay good money for good care.) Cory quickly ordered the removal and throwing away of all the bedding and towels and had his cleaning crew come in not once, but twice, to finally get all of the mold out of the shower. Finally, we thought things would improve. Not so! Just a few short months later, we arrived on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and found our loved one still in bed in the afternoon. She was still recovering from a mild stroke and had spent some time in the rehab area, but we had been assured that she would be assisted, as needed, back in her room in Memory Care. When we arrived there were two employees, both on their phones, in the dining area with several other residents slumped over and dozing in their wheelchairs...as was the norm. Our loved one had not been checked on and it was early afternoon. Still in bed, not dressed, not fed breakfast and given no meds! I was livid and got Cory on the phone, which interrupted his holiday, I’m sure. We scheduled a visit for first thing Monday after Thanksgiving. In that meeting, Cory suggested that if we didn’t feel adequate care was being given we might want to move her. He didn’t seem bothered in the least that I had, and still have, pics and videos of all the filth. (see attached sampling of pics) Little did he know we already had a placement accepted and were set to move her asap. Before leaving a very heated and high volume meeting, I asked him if he would have his own mother stay at Cascades and he quickly replied No! That one answer pretty much sums up Memory Care at Cascades! Do not be fooled by the beautiful building and facilities on your tour up front because those in Memory Care will not be using them. Do not believe that just because you are paying a higher cost you are getting better care. I strongly suggest doing your homework and checking out Memory Care at Foothills in Easley. I hate that I had to give a 1-star in order to post this review.

I’ve waited 2 years to do this review. My father moved to Cascades skilled nursing in Nov 2023 for skilled care. For a place who has a wonderful retirement community we assumed that transferred to the skilled nursing. The rooms are dated, broken furniture and he was not cared for properly. He was on oxygen and a trilogy vent that was required at night. His vent was left off overnight and due to this not even 12 hours later he was in crisis and in ICU. Hospital doctors confirmed that was indeed the cause. In hindsight we should have pursued a legal suit but we so traumatized at the time, we weren’t thinking clearly. Individual nurses, social worker we’re great so I’m not sure where the breakdown in care is, but it was too the point that I had to pay his personal caregivers to be there to offer another layer of eyes on him. We did not let him go back there after rehab and no one from Cascades ever followed up to offer explanations or apologies. All this to say, be careful with your loved ones.

When I made my decision to move to Cascades Verdae, a strong driver in that choice was the Water Fitness Program held in their gorgeous Aquatic Center. In the time that I have been here, I am finding this program to be everything I was seeking! The Aquatic Center has a SALTWATER pool just under 25 meters, overall depth of 3.5 feet to 4.0 feet. This allows for very active classes of movement without space constraints. In addition to the great water fitness classes and highly motivating instructors, the pool is open 24/ 7 for personal swimming and exercise. The large, enclosed complex has very high ceilings, as in a college gymnasium, with large sky lights, and a sunny, outdoor patio with cushioned lounge chairs. They supply towels, lockers, full-service male, and female locker rooms each with a dry sauna. Staff are delightful, helpful, and strongly motivating in moving people forward in their workouts. If you aren't breathing heavily by the end-of-class cooldown, you will know you haven't put the energy in. Nicely, there is no "competition" with others. The focus is how hard YOU are working. It isn't a competition-except with self! The fun part is that we aren't competitive with each other. It is a competition with self to push harder, do better. Great fun and certainly everything I was seeking-even more!