OPS Living

I think that the staff is very attentive. My loved one is very complimentary of them and has told me he feels they are very caring, so I would say the staff is exceptional. They have also recently remodeled the facility, so that is all real nice. The activities seem to be fairly repetitive though, so I think there could be a little more variety. He also really likes the food.

We have had a few issues. They are responding to those issues and taking care of them. It's nice and clean, and the staff is friendly. I like the food, I think it's good. I would give the community about a four out of five so far.

Things have gone well so far at Grand Emerald Place! The facility itself is nice looking and clean, and the staff have all been very friendly and helpful. Our experience has been a good one, and I would recommend it to others looking into senior living in the area!

Every day it gets better and better.

Sterling House has done a good job overall taking care of my loved one. It is a nice looking, clean place, and the staff have all been very friendly. One thing that I was really impressed with is not only did they let Dad bring his dog, but they really bend over backwards helping him take care of it.

Small,nice clean. Caring staff. We didn't end up placing my mom here, but not because of any defeciences at this place I liked this place. Only negative, it was expensive.

At first this community had a really friendly and lively atmosphere to it which was one of the reason we chose Trail Creek, but they are going through some changes in management so its shifting that dynamic a little bit.

Although Trail Creek Place Assisted Living is an older facility, it has a homey atmosphere. The apartments are not as large as the newer facilities, but they are comfortable and roomy enough for my Mother, who even brought a couple of her bigger furniture pieces that were special to her. It is not as large as some of the other facilities and perhaps this also makes a difference. But what really makes a difference here are the caring staff members (CNAs, Nurses, Activity persons, Kitchen cooks and the office staff). It is all hands on deck at Trail Creek as they work together as a team in relationship to the residents care and happiness. The policy at Trail Creek is to provide personalized care and attention, which means the staff learns and remembers the particulars of how each resident wants to be assisted and what little things they can do to provide them some additional happiness. In my Mothers case, the little things include being able to have friendly conversations with her aides and everyone knows she loves her coffee, so they all make sure she has fresh coffee at hand. All are very familiar with each of their needs and wants, although this must be hard for new staff members to learn and remember. But they seem to pick it up within a few days. My Mother has lived here for almost two years (she moved to Trail Creek within a few months of my father's passing) and has found a home for herself. She has made friends with both the residents and staff. She was able to bring her own bird feeders which she has set up outside of her bedroom window, along with other residents. She refused to move, even during a short period a year ago where they were experiencing staffing shortages and other issues. She was correct in believing they would be able to overcome those issues, despite my own doubts at the time. They made a believer out of me. Trail Creek Place Assisted Living is a one level building that is easy to maneuver, with a comfortable courtyard and it has numerous gathering areas for the residents to do activities, play games and cards, watch movies, and more. I visit several times a week at varying hours, know almost all of the residents and rarely come at a time when many are not gathered in the main living room watching movies or tv together and more are often in one of the many side areas playing games and cards or doing puzzles. The dining room doubles as a place to do larger craft activities, have musical entertainment, as well as provide meal service. They have coffee, flavored waters and fruit/snacks available 24 hours a day. Having checked out other facilities, I have to say that Trail Creek offers more varied daily activities than anyone else in the area. They have exercise sessions, trivia, musical performances (professional, volunteer and schools groups as well), crafts, socials, and many trips out each month to local restaurants, shopping, scenic drives and a trip to the local casino. They also offer more in house church services due to the partnerships with various churches in the area. My Mother has recommended Trail Creek to some of her friends and others, including my Aunt who also recently moved there. Despite my Mother's physical disabilities, her mind is sharp and she misses nothing. The fact that she recommends Trail Creek to others is quite a positive statement.

I wish it wasn't all private pay as that is rather difficult for us. I do like Kokomo Place. Many of the CNS's and RN's are quite friendly and helpful. My dad visits my mom daily and staff watch out for him too. One day he didn't come in and they called him at home to make sure he was ok (he was, just not feeling well so he stayed away). Mom has been getting good care and good food. There have been some times when mom has needed cleaned better or meds given closer to the instructed times but I do understand small staff and 40 beds to take care of. Some issues but staff is open to hearing what's going on and appear to do their best to fix it. I like that KP is small and doors are secure. I honestly do not know how the activities are as I've not visited mom during the weekday. I know she's played bingo a couple of times and colored with another resident.

Service where called to the room is slower than desired. Food is fine / good selection.

The food seemed ok, however I think the portions are to small. They did not have a lot of activities. It did not feel like they had time for dementia residents. The staff were kind to me. I saw some things that could have been improved. They did not have individual care plans for each of the residents. If your loved one does not need a lot of attention than I would say you could look into this community.

It's not bad but it's not what it could be, either. In some combination, my parents were there from February through October, 2015. The two items I've read in other reviews that are worth confirming are on pricing when you're considering the place and staffing levels. I'll add other comments after the first two sections. Pricing - Make sure you are very clear with your expectations when you are looking at the lease contract. We were considering two facilities. Grand Emerald has a community fee that is equal to one month's rent. The other facility, Wellbrooke of South Bend, didn't have that. We went with Grand Emerald because we were told that we could use our current outside pharmacy for our mother's prescription needs. It was significantly cheaper than the other of Wellbrooke's contracted pharmacy. I figured I'd make the community fee back in time based on the savings. We were not allowed to use the pharmacy we discussed as we were evaluating our options for care. I never received a satisfactory explanation for this change once the contract was signed and our mother was moved in, and I still view this as a material breach in the evaluation process. I get puffery to make something sound good/better, but this was specific misrepresentation to a very specific question. Weekend Staffing - Grand Emerald was largely empty when my parents were there. I think they had no more than 21 residents at any one time. As a result, the staffing levels were quite low on the weekends, with the folks running around doing so much that they couldn't really take the time to care for the residents as well as they would have preferred. Like all other places, this is a business and labor costs are the easiest place to make a difference in the bottom line. I don't think the care was negligent but it wasn't what you'd expect from the brochures and promises that are made during the sales pitch. Atmosphere - Grand Emerald in its current configuration is definitely a low-key building. There isn't much vibrancy in the building, staff or activities. Wellbrooke of South Bend, where our father resided after he required skilled care, was much more energetic. Just know what you're getting yourself or your parents into on this one. Some might like the serenity of Grand Emerald, while others prefer the frenetic pace at Wellbrooke. That's entirely a matter of preference. Administration - The people are very nice and will take your questions with the respect they deserve. The staff that actually interacts with the residents is quite good. There may not be enough of them on the weekends, but those who are there are really first rate. I had a dispute with them over our dad's account after he went to Wellbrooke for skilled care. He left Grand Emerald, never to return, in May and I received a notice from their corporate office of a price increase for 2016. I had to phone Chicago (corporate headquarters) to make sure they understood that my dad was not on the books at Grand Emerald. That's was a pretty typical experience. Paperwork does not appear to be a strength but that's not the primary reason we placed our parents in the facility. Overall, it's a solid place. My brother and I were both away from South Bend and it was nice to know that our parents were in a facility where they were safe and we we didn't have to worry about them. There are lots of areas where improvements could be made, but the core of the mission...caring for seniors in a healthy environment largely takes place at Grand Emerald.

It's been okay, I would give them 7.5 or 8 out of ten. I have two complaints, the food could be better, it's kind of bland, not a lot of taste. It takes a while when you ask for help, especially on the weekends. They could use some more staff. [removed] They were the least expensive place in the area that I looked at. The facility is also very nice, she has a great room.

The first, and most important thing I want to stress, if you are thinking of putting a loved one in Clare Bridge of M.C. is don't do it if your loved one has advanced Alzheimer's disease. If your loved one is in stage 6 or 7, you may not want to go that route. It is important to remember that this facility is considered an assisted living facility, even though every resident has some type of dementia. Which means, they are NOT allowed to restrain the residents at all, even if that means they are going to be at risk for falls. Sure, I don't like to see anyone restrained, and, it is extremely rough on an Alzheimer's sufferer. However, this rule also means that they can't even have railings on their beds. And, alarms on wheel chairs and beds only alert the staff that someone is getting up when they shouldn't be. Therefore, all those who are at risk of falling must be kept out in the common areas (or the nurse's office) where they can be seen. That can be a problem for those with advanced A.D. This is not a fault of the staff at Clare Bridge. They are doing the best they can under the circumstances. And, although the ratio of on-duty staff to residents is not bad (it's much better than in a nursing home), they can't be expected to keep an eye on everyone, every minute of the day and night. I explained at what stage my loved one was at (end of stage 6) and was assured they could take care of her. But her agitation and confusion (which is common at that stage of A.D.) ended up having the nursing staff get orders for more medication to help calm her down. This included anti-psychotic drugs. Now, this is the order of her physician (and I won't go into how I feel that the Drs. are poorly trained on care of A.D. patients). And, again, the staff can only be expected to do so much. But I don't think anti-psychotics are the answer. Unfortunately, I don't know what IS! If I had known how things were going to turn out, I don't think I would have put my loved one in this facility, just because it just wasn't the right fit for her. I know Clare Bridge says their goal is to provide care for dementia patients till the end of their lives. But sometimes that just isn't going to be possible, in my opinion. I do have to say though, it is good that they allow Hospice in the facility. Having said all of the above, this facility looks good, is kept clean and smells good. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The food is pretty good and they give the residents more than enough of it (even the cooks are very friendly to the visitors!). And they do the best they can to help the residents who aren't able to feed themselves. Clare Bridge is VERY secure. You won't have to worry about your loved one getting out of the building on their own. From a professional viewpoint, I think the administration needs to work on their policies and procedures, to make sure all staff is on the same page, so to speak. I witnessed several miscommunications between staff members. Also, there were some verbal discrepancies on things I was told by different employees (mainly right before and after admission). I also think they need more work on their activities program (or possibly it is that they need to hire more educated staff? I don't know). It seemed like at least one staff person was rather disorganized (although very sweet and good with the residents) when trying to carryout activities with the residents. Overall, Clare Bridge is a great facility for those with some types of dementia (those in early stages of A.D. or other types of dementia where they aren't difficult to take care of). I would recommend it to anyone, whose loved one fits into one of those categories.

They are kind and caring but we’re lacking in the skills needed to encourage our Aunt to continue doing things on her own and to eat her meals. They basically let her sit in a wheelchair all day. She went in ambulatory from home able to get herself dressed and make simple meals to not being able to walk or even transfer herself. We are now having to admit her to a long term care facility.

Don't give them your checking account number or financials. Very aggressive accounting dept. We picked this community because It looked nice and my loved one was happy with the decision.

I think a lot of the problem might be their administration. I don't know who the director is, I think they're still looking for a permanent person. I do believe that the workers are trying their best to accommodate their residents. The activities Director is very nice, she's very informative. It would be nice if they were able to offer rides to the appointments that the resident may have. I do think that they are trying their best.

It's a good facility, staff is very friendly and caring.Smaller in size, able to meet my father's needs, close proximity to my home. The meals are not as great as previous location. Cost is okay.It's a very nice community. They need to work on their kitchen...no choices for residents. Hope you like what they fix! Their staff is extremely caring. It is a small community which is nice and it makes it more personable.

Overall. things are working out here for our family. I do think that communication could be improved and they do seem to have a lot of turnover of staff members.

We chose Brookdale South Bend at the time because my mom was in need of assisted living and we were able to get a discount. Even with that discount, the facility is very expensive. As far as I can see, I do not feel like they have enough staff members to care for the amount of residents that they have. Due to the low staff, the communication has not been what I would like it to be.