St. Martin's-In-The-Pines Specialty Care Assisted Living Facility

Do NOT ever send your loved ones to this place. They do not treat them with care, they do not take care of them. They are more interested in making the front of it look like a wonderful place but go back to the back to the rooms and look how nasty it is and they leave them in a depends for hours without getting them changed. When we made a complaint and was going back to take pictures they quickly tried to get him to another hospital. If you love your family members do NOT send them there.

Our family member was here for 48 hours before he turned septic and was taken via ambulance to UAB where he was intubated and admitted to ICU. Also, we found him unresponsive, febrile, covered in waste as his ostomy was not emptied. The intake papers were not reviewed and he was given food that he could not eat. The room was tiny and smelled like death. They were not helpful at all when we tried to find out when/if his last dose of medication was given. When we asked for the actual address to tell the paramedics where to come, the staff did not know. The staff would not send his records to UAB when he was admitted. Just a nightmare experience!

If i could give it a zero i would! This place is obviously short staffed and the nurses and cna’s that they do have are lazy and unqualified to be caring for patients!! My husband is nonverbal and can’t speak for himself. The first two days he was there they never checked his blood sugar or administered any insulin. His blood sugar got as high as 400! On Sunday they didn’t bring his dinner tray.. if i hadn’t been there he would’ve gone hungry. He was left with poop on him for 2 and 1/2 hours.. with me there!! I can’t imagine how neglected patients with no advocate are. Also, this place is dirty!

Read the entire review before placing a loved one in this facility!!! If I could give -1000 stars I would. It’s completely unacceptable for a place who should care for our loved ones to neglect and ignore them. Our experience here was something that should never happen to anyone. Do not place your loved ones here. My grandmother was placed here after extensive mouth surgery. She has difficulty walking as they also took a bone from her leg to properly reconstruct her jaw. My grandmothers first night here, she called for help using the bathroom. She was told to use it in her bed pan. She did and called for someone to clean her up. 2 hours pass, nobody came. She called my mother and I crying, so upset that nobody has taken care of her. We had to get out of bed at 3 AM to get them to do their jobs. When we got there, her door was shut when it was previously open before we left earlier that night. They shut the door, ignoring that she needed cleaned, to confine the smell to only her room. By the time we got there my grandmother had been sitting in a dirty bed for over 3 hours. No apologies from the nurse or assistants. But, the assistants ran to go clean her immediately as soon as we got there. They knew she needed cleaned but did nothing. Not to mention, someone else’s family member was there to pick their loved one up, also due to neglect. We ended up hiring medical sitters through St. Martins the rest of her stay to make sure she was taken care of. Some of these sitters were great, others were not. My grandmother somehow fell out of her bed and hit her head during her stay. Under the supervision of st martins nurses and the sitter we were paying $18 hourly for. Nobody can answer any of our questions as to how she fell. Sent to the ER by ambulance and admitted because they didn’t want to send her back to st martins due to negligence. She will not be going back. They also did not take proper isolation precautions when she got sick. The nurse was not “skilled” enough to unhook a feeding tube. The nurse absolutely sucked. They ignored everything requested by my grandmother. They didn’t properly bathe her. The director took on the role as the “social worker” as they did not have one. We had been trying to get my grandmother out of this place after the first night. The social worker/director was absolutely no help, telling us that we had to get phone/fax numbers, emails to make it easier for him to send referrals. The director of nursing gave no solution to anything. The place is completely run down. We have reported to the state and DHR. My grandmother has been through the death of her husband, 2 daughters and son. To be put through this too, is absolutely heartbreaking. Shame on you, ST. Martins.

My dad was in The Cottages from January 2019 until the day he died in December 2020. Prior to Covid we were very pleased with his care. I was there every day and we did not have any major issues, maybe some little things every now and then. But overall very pleased. When Covid hit, everything changed. My dad went downhill consistently for 10 months, the caregivers and nurses came and went, interacted with their families, then came to work and interacted with the residents. But me, who stayed isolated working at home, I wasn’t allowed to visit with my father because I might spread Covid to him. It was an absolute nightmare. They wouldn’t even let us in his room when he was dying, to say goodbye. Absolutely devastating experience.Now that it’s no longer run by the Episcopal Diocese, I have heard that it has gone downhill. Very sad.