ELDERLY CARE ON CALMIA

Excellent staff/caregivers who engage residents with daily activities and prepare delicious food and treat residents like family. The issue that we had was with the homeowner/property owner (not the company contracted to provide care services). In the summer of 2024, during a long and brutal heatwave, the air conditioning at the house went out. Families were not notified about the problem until five days into it. The homeowner is a retired physician who was trying to find the best deal to do the repair, this the delays, despite the danger of fraile elderly people living in extreme heat for such a prolonged time. As a retired physician, he should have known that this was neglect and abuse of special needs individuals. We had to get involved with talks with the homeowner and remind him of his legal obligation to make the repair as soon as possible for the safety of the elderly. We were present when the AC repair person and electrician were on site and they said that the problem was that the AC unit was designed yo meet the power needs of a single family, not an assisted living facility and that the unit should have been upgraded to meet the needs of the business. Two circuits had blown out. The owner did authorize a one night stay in a local motel which was a terribly stressful and disorienting transition to and from for all. One resident even passed away during the transition to the motel. Another problem that we frequently had was that the landline at the facility was not working. We would get a recording saying that the mailbox was not set up to accept messages. Sometimes the phone number was not working for weeks, even up to one month. The caregivers told us to call their personal cell number but we did it although it was not comfortable for us since they were personally paying for their own phone bills and we didn’t know whether it was their day off, besides our rent/fees should have been for a facility phone that we could use 24/7 without exception. It’s the sole means of daily communication that residents’s families depend on. Additionally, the homeowner built a very small room to rent out and may be in the process of adding another tiny room. The weeks of construction noise is very disturbing and unsettling for the elderly residents. The caregivers are fantastic but I lost respect for the property/homeowner.

Such a compassionate staff! Very clean and well maintained. All the residents appeared so happy and well cared for. I will most definitely continue to refer clients.