LA VITA BELLA

Great place! With my job I am constantly going in and out of nursing homes. I can honestly say, this is one I enjoying waking into. Staff has been there for years, great homemade food, always clean, (no urine smell), residents happy. I have stopped by announced and unannounced. You have to ring door bell to get in, not just walk in. As far as the flood, I know first hand, that yes they knew storm was approaching, however they were told by local authorities they were safe. I saw pictures on Facebook and had horrible thoughts and found out it was in my area. Once I visited and got the real story I understood. We should all go visit our elderly, a simple smile or hello would make there day!

My mother has been in the care of La Vita Bella for several years now starting April of 2016. I cannot express my appreciation for the excellent care she has received from them. They are very patient and kind. Always have a good attendant to resident ratio. And, I truly feel they love her. We (her family) all agree that it was great fortune for her to be a resident at La Vita Bella. I read some of the other reviews posted about what happened when Dickinson was flooded during hurricane Harvey. My mother was there when it happened. I believe La Vita Bella did everything in their power to provide for their residents. This was an extraordinary event. And, they were doing what they had been advised by Houston's mayor and local news agencies to "shelter and stay in place". The water rose at an unprecedented rate. I believe La Vita Bella, in those early hours of the night, were faced with something few, if any were trained to handle. All residents were ultimately relocated to safety. And, I'm sure from that experience, La Vita Bella is prepared for any future events of similar scale. It is easy to second guess things after they are over.

This is what I know from personal experience. My mother stayed here until she passed in September of 2016. The staff are trained to give personal attention to every resident. The residents are watched like a hawk to make sure they don't gone off on their own; they know where everyone is. They encourage them to take part in socializing and make sure everyone eats together. They are observant of everyone's needs. Not once did I walk in smelling urine. They were taken to the bathroom whenever needed. Those ladies work so hard and love the ladies so much. The owner expects no less and knows all the residents there. They kept me informed with what was going on with mom, showed me pictures of her when she was active and asleep, and always answered my calls quickly.

Regarding the photo of the residents sitting in the flood waters of Harvey: This was an assisted living home, which means it is in a normal residential structure. There are thousands of these kinds of assisted living places. People get a license to take care of people in their homes. This is very different from a nursing home, which is the common name for a skilled nursing facility. As a home health nurse, I visited many people in small facilities like this.The owner was a woman who was told not to evacuate her neighborhood. She probably had no place to take her residents and no w/c accessible transport to move them quickly. People are reporting the flooding came in very fast. The structure was is single story home (see the google earth photo), so there was no higher ground to go to. The photo that went viral was taken by the owner's daughter and shared on social media (twitter first I think) to get help for these people. I know the owner must have called 911 when the water was coming in and did not get timely help. The bottles of water on the table were there to have something for the residents to drink while they were waiting to be rescued. People have been responding with hate and toxic judgment about this photo all over the internet. It is not kind to do this when the whole story of what happened is not known. I have not been to this facility but I am giving it 5 stars for dealing with a very difficult situation and for hope that they will be able to recover from this unprecedented storm event and return to caring for people in need.

Shame on the owners and administration including their staff for not evacuating their residents knowing days before the arrival of a large hurricane. There's simply no excuse! My 36 years experience as an EMS provider and retired ALF administrator concerns me and should concern families who trust the facility they choose to care for their loved one will treat them as family and take all means necessary to assure their safty. My HUNCH in this case is very similar to the long term care nursing home in Louisiana who neglected to move their residents prior hurricane Katrina when several residents drown. This facility is located in a flood zone so they know better. What concerns me will shock your conscious. THE owner should be investigated since moving the residents out before the storm had nothing to do with transportation and knowing the area does flood. The news clearly warned everyone regarding the extensive rain would cause FLOODING. Put it all together and what I see is criminal. It was because of greed. Like the nursing home who drown during Katrina. They had a lot of empty beds. If they send residents to other healthcare facilities. They risk losing them to another long term or assisted living facility is their financial greed. So, risking losing them and winging the storm so it could've been worse for these folks. Thankfully they didn't drown but that doesn't mean the stress these residents experienced won't effect their health. They can die from the stress this caused. They may not die tomorrow but it really takes a lot out of them when their stressed. I'm not happy and I know what I'm talking about! This would never happen in the community I'm in charge of evacuating. Every facility is contacted days prior and all the residents are evacuated to other facilities located on high grounds away from flood zones before one drop of rain hits the ground. I hope someone reads this message and contacts the State to report this as a crime and by all means. Share them my message..