Atria

My thoughts mimic Concerned Daughter. The dining room is a complete disaster. My mother has been at Atria for 13 months, and if it weren't for the dining room, she would be much happier. The food is at best mediocre and is usually served cold. There is a never enough staff, and so waiting times can be very long. Staff is untrained and is regularly getting orders wrong. The weekends are even worse, as the only option for dining, is buffet - which is usually poor and limited. The problem has been addressed with the Director, over and over - by everyone - but nothing ever seems to change. The residents at the community are extremely unhappy about this situation, and cannot understand why this is so difficult to correct.

i just visited my grandmother today at atria we had lunch and the female server was horrible she could not get the order right and it took 35 mins when her friends said something she argued back to them saying the kitchen is busy ... not happy i got a cheese omelet and toast never got my toast 1 lady asked for a tuna salad it took 45 mins and my grandmother asked for ziti special for lunch with small vegs and the lady said this is what u get nothing special either so deal with it.. i was shocked when we went back to her room the temp was on 82 and i tried to turn it down and and nothing i went to the front desk they proceeded to tell me we will try to get a fan but she will have to deal with the heat... my grandmother in her 90's i was shocked i said she pays for things to work and this will be brought up higher ..... i said she needs her a/c fixed .. there NO NURSE NO STAFF FOR CAREGIVERS AND THE ONES THEY HAVE TALK TO EACH OTHER AND DON'T PICK UP THERE PEOPLE FROM THE DINNING ROOM ONE lady said she's been in the dinning room since 11am and its was nearly 112pm by the time they pick her up.. so shocking ...I DON'T CARE IF THE STAFF KEEPS SAYING KY OWNS THEM IF RESIDENTS PAY FOR THERE LIVING AND HELP THEY SHOULD GET IT . ps why are the assisted living residents only getting 1 shower a day too how wrong .... THIS PLACE HAS GONE DOWN HILL AND JUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS NICE WHEN THE HIGHER UPS FROM CORPORATE COME DOES NOT MEAN IT SHOULD SLACK WHEN THEY ARE NOT HERE ... VERY UNHAPPY WITH ATRIA FOR CARMICHAEL OAKS THEY DO A BETTER JOB AT EL CAMINO GARDENS THERE SISTER COMPANY . THE DIRECTOR AT ATRIA IN CARMICHAEL IS A JOKE .. AND SHE IS NOT QUALIFIED TO BE A NURSE OR DO OTHER JOBS OR EVEN TAKE CARE OF A CAT LET LONE PEOPLE AT THE HOME ...

I don't think there is good communication between staff and director. My mom was in your care for one week, not only could she not get into bed, called for assistance on her first night, one resident came to the room, said he couldn't do anything, no one to ask. Nurse looked at her legs told her to keep them elevated, but never came back to recheck to see if the swelling had reduced The whole reason we asked for assisted living was because of her poor mobility, Due to the swelling which has subsided, her mobility is even worse now. When she was released, on Sunday morning there was no director to tell about care, the main chef and the front desk released her to go. I think there needs to be a checks and balances system, there is no communication between staff.

Since Merrill Gardens have taken over the Patrician, the concern for the quality of the well being of the senior patron has diminished. My parents moved here when they were 86 years old. My Mother was 93 when Merrill Gardens took over and started to make changes. Merrill Gardens raised the rent by 6%. They took what was a cozy, contemporary, clean environment and started to renovate to a very uncomfortable level. Much of the residents are disabled and have difficulty navigating life on a daily basis. For the last 6 months, there has been so much dust, smells, and noise coming from the sanding, jack hammering, the electric saws, painting, and the pounding of nails. The excessive noise and dust has been so bad it was recommended by management, that they stay inside their apartments while the receptionist wore ear protectors and at time, masks to protect them from the environment. Because of the smell of the painting, windows were left open and the seniors complained of being cold. Direction and pathways constantly changed because of the renovation, at one point, even the receptionist got confused as to a pathway to take. Not knowing how to make it downstairs, my mother almost went through a hall that was supposed to be blocked off and was under construction. The final straw was leaving the doors and gates open for the workers rather than protecting the safety of the senior citizens. We have been told the gate can’t be left open for a few minutes to help load groceries into their apartment because it is for the “safety” of the residence but it is ok for them to leave it open all day for the workers. I constantly hear complaints about how long they have to wait for their meals, which has been up to an hour wait. The office response was, “They are working within the legal limit with servers.” True they are working within the legal limit but do the care about the senior citizens’ comfort? With the past few recent price hikes I’m sure they can afford to bring in a few more servers. It is a shame to disrupt these patrons who have had their lives turned upside down to the point that some need to move. This is quite difficult for seniors to make a change like this. My question is, who wanted this change? Not the senior patrons, most have moved to other senior facilities such as The Gateway, Fredericka Manor Retirement Community, and Casa de Manana La Jolla Retirement Community. No one, at this age, wants to make the effort of another move, the stress and physical exertion is more than what most can handle. My Mother’s friends are slowly dwindling away as people look elsewhere for residence. The original idea for Kisco’s senior living was developed by a man who wanted proper care for his mother, this idea has been lost with Merrill Gardens. What they want, is best for the corporation. Now that the renovation is finished, I must admit, it looks very nice, but what was the cost for this? Now they have raised the rent by 10%. That is more than $700 per month more than it was before Merrill Gardens took over. Most seniors live on a fixed income. I suggest that, if you sign up to rent at the Patrician, ask for “three years of not raising the rent” clause. I am so sad and disappointed that Merrill Gardens took over and have made such drastic and unpleasant change to my Mother’s life. The way the corporate management handles their agendas and programs will never change. The needs of the seniors living at the Patrician are secondary to the desires of the corporate management. Renter beware!

My findings: Poor management, it stinks from the top down. Constructive criticisms / complaints go unresolved and fall on deaf ears, all you get are excuses and lies. Activity schedule is a joke, it is not followed and in most cases the activities are not even offered. All important Care Assessments are poorly prepared with care plans barely followed. I loved what I heard from the marketing person and after forking over a $3500.00 as a non- refundable deposit I was rudely awakened as to the reality of the situation. Put simply, they did not live up to what was promised, and management feels they don't they have too. In conclusion, I feel I was taken advantage of and ripped off. I fear for the well being of my parent. Here's your homework, try to find a person's name and contact information or a negative review of Atria Larson Place on the internet. Why?

This place had no parking.Although I was told they have a car(part of their service)I dont see Mom being picked up and driven home85 of the year. And others need to park. Not practical. We did not go there

Atria Tinton Falls incorrectly assessed my mom. They spent enough time with her that they should have known she wouldn't be a good fit here. I wasted a lot of my time and money at this facility. They should have been more professional. I thought the way mothers visit from the speech therapist was completely incorrect. It was as if they tested the wrong woman. They said my mom needed her food to be mashed up and I know that was not the case. How would you say in two weeks time her food needs to be mashed up? Mom was also in the ER three times this facility. For the price I paid they were supposed to be keeping a better eye on her. I would not recommend them to anyone due to how completely incorrectly they assessed my mom.

Since Atria purchased this property it has gone way down hill. Food, service, housekeeping, etc. This company seems only to be concerned with making money. The first rent increase after they took over was 5.5 percent and they said we can expect more of the same each and every year. Staff is wonderful but cannot make up for the decline in all other areas.

The memory care unit at Atria in North Andover is not appropriate for residents with Alzheimers or advanced dementia. They put residents in a chair and are not as attentive and caring as they need to be. Individuals with unique needs are seen as a burden and problem. With the exception of a few caring and loving caregivers (real angels), a number of caregivers just want to do their jobs and go home. Some members of management lack empathy and come across as negative and uncaring. There's a cookie cutter approach to care. While a beautiful facility, many of their caregivers are untrained and ill-equipped to handle difficult behaviors that are common to Alzheimer patients. Facilities like this can make a lot of money "baby-sitting". Front desk staff is very good as is the food. I would not hesitate to recommend for assisted or independent living but not for memory care patients who need a higher level of care.

My father was only there at Atria Carmichael Oaks for one day before they decided they did not want him there. They took us through the whole process to get signed up and moved in only to have them then reject my father stating that he was not physically capable to live there. If that is the case, they should have discovered that during the initial evaluation phase, before taking our deposit and all the other time and effort we put in to get him there. Not a good experience. So in a word, do not use them!

great place for rich people who don't care how they are treated. Great place for a family to put their family member in and not bother with them. A few months ago a patient was found in her room on the floor, after she was taken to the hospital, she was returned back to her room with her hospital gown still on, and full of blood. No ONE came to clean it up. They show you the great areas and gardens which were paid for by the "clients". They purchase themselves a Lexus while they increase prices. Phone services sucks, I'm sorry don't have enough time to explain what a bad place this would be to put your family in. $5,000 + a month for that money you can pay a caregiver to stay with your loved one ...

Took a week to get the phone system working after the resident moved in and the resident was billed for all the repairs in their building. Mediation issues were like playing hardball to get resolved. The resident moved out after a month or two of not getting his issues resolved.

I looked at this facility in the memory care section. It appeared to be very nice. However after reading some of the reviews saying their loved one was asked to leave when she/he became worse I was concerned. After talking with the administrators I also found that they weren't interested in having anyone who might become agitated. This is strange to me as this is common among people with dementia. Therefore I was not interested in pursuing a spot for my husband.

Don't be fooled by appearances. When you go and visit everything is nice and pretty and everything seems so well run. BUT - - - after your loved one is actually living at Atria Riverdale for a while, you realize there is massive confusion in management. Our latest complaint is that Atria, since January 2014, has been charging an ADDITIONAL $475 to medicate the residents. What was formerly done as part of the monthly fee is now being done for an additional $5000 plus annually and the system is not working. Residents are forced to leave their apartments to be medicated, often waiting in crowded conditions amidst confusion for the person administering the prescriptions to actually show up. Sometimes you have hunt the med-tech down to actually GET your medication. Mom sometimes has had to wait HOURS for her medications and, worst of all, SHE HAS BEEN MIS-MEDICATED at least four times to our knowledge. She's even missed medications because no one followed up to make certain she received it. One time she was handed her night time medications in the morning (luckily she realized that before she agreed to take the pills) and the "staff" has trouble following her doctor's changes in her medications, continuing to give her older medicines after the doctor has changed her prescriptions. Basically she is paying someone else to medicate her while she has to manage her own supervision to make certain it's being done properly. I'm sure this is not a unique situation and luckily Mom is on top of things enough to make sure something serious doesn't happen to her. The attitude in "Wellness" (the euphemism used to call the nursing office) is not acceptable. Staff seems more concerned with their performance reviews than with the actual wellness of the people whose lives are entrusted to them. Their attitudes are at times argumentative, surly, and in general completely unprofessional and often, they don't return urgent attempts by the residents to reach them when there's a problem for several hours or even not at all. In all honesty, we are deeply disappointed and feel that we've been misled as to Atria Riverdale's ability to address, maintain and protect the quality of life of their residents. We've been asked several times by people if we would recommend Atria Riverdale and we've responded "emphatically not." The only reason Mom remains there is because of the many deeply satisfying friendships she has formed with members of the resident community and the truthfully high level of caring and commitment she receives from the aids. Her leaving now would be emotionally very stressful to her, but she finds the mismanagement and bungling by the administration at Atria Riverdale extremely stressful as well. Cheech and Chong could do a better job of running this place.

OVERWHELMING INCOMPETENCE THROUGHOUT. TOTAL LACK OF COMPASSION/RESPECT FOR RESIDENTS. Wanting to take a friend/resident to our 40th high school reunion, I called two weeks in advance and spoke to "life guidance", who had me first speak w/my friend to give her all the details. Life guidance person then directed me to speak w/the office as I would need to get approval from the resident's sister. I immediately called the office and was told that they would contact the sister and have the sister call me directly. Six days later when I still had not heard back, I called asking to speak w/life guidance and was told that she wasn't in that day. So, I called life guidance the next day and left a voice message saying I was very concerned that my friend would be waiting for me to take her at the appropriate time, but I still had not gotten approval...and to please call me. When I had still not received a call back two days later, I called and asked to speak with the "office". I was transferred to someone yelling "DINING ROOM. What? What? I can't hear you over the construction." (Sigh) Having had enough, I then called back and asked to speak w/the Director, who took down all info in a so soothing voice, apologized for what had transpired and said he'd get back to me w/an answer by the end of day. NOTHING, EVER....NO CALL BACK FROM EVEN THE DIRECTOR! Three days later, I had not choice but to go to the reunion w/out my friend, as I had never received permission to take her...although I had attempted to many times within a two week period and spoken to people from all care levels, including DIRECTOR. Who is the first person I saw AT the reunion? My friend ...accompanied by an aid. Sadly, the aid told me that my friend was telling everyone that I was picking her up to go to the reunion. The aid said no one knew anything about this, so she contacted the sister who said she would be thrilled for her sister to go to the reunion and she shouldn't miss it. The sister had never been contacted previously....despite all of my efforts/requests.

not appealing at all and expensive.

They take in a lot of people who don’t belong here. The activities are very low level, very mundane. Before choosing a community, please do a lot of research about the community that you consider. The ratio of men to women is low.

Their staff is very - well - they shouldn’t be in a position to work with families. I was very unhappy with this community! My mother is in a much better community now! If you’re thinking about this community, please visit with them and really make sure it’s a good match for your loved one’s needs.

No, not interested. Hard to tell what it is like and seems they are pushing for their new memory care facility. I prefer my mother be with others that may also be in wheel chairs.

We were told that if my loved one was here for a short stay we'd be refunded a large portion of the fee, we had to pay the whole month up front, in addition to a deposit, and we ended up not nearly as much as we were promised back despite the stay only being 2 days. We only got a portion of the deposit back and no refund on the months rent. 2 days cost $3705. Outrageous. I don't know if we were lied to or if there was miscommunication between the sales staff and the administration, but our experience was not a good one.