Porter Place

I wanted to give more stars but simply cannot.My aunt was here for about 6 months before passing. The day it happened, they called her daughter, my cousin. It took about 45 minutes for my cousin to get herself together and arrive at PP.She went to her mom's room and found her, still on the toilet where she had passed.I am a medical assistant and realize that dying while on the toilet is something that can happen. But the staff should have moved my aunt to a chair, or the bed, before making the call to my cousin.This oversight and lack of judgement was VERY disturbing and I can only hope it never happens to anyone else dealing with the loss of a loved one.

My mother was placed at Porter Place, initially as an independent resident with the exception that Porter Place staff was to dispense her medicion. She moved in December 2013. She has end-stage COPD, Dementia, and Diabetes. She is on oxygen and about 12 medications. Her husband passed away in October 2013. Her short term memory was declining rapidly. She had no long-term care insurance so we're paying cash. We have paid, out of pocket, over $350,000.My mother enjoys it there and has a nice apartment. As her daughter, her POA, and a Registered Nurse, I struggle with the caregiver to resident ratio. My mother is still there currently receiving assisted living care plans. Twice in her six years there I have visited finding her in respiratory distress and had to take her to the ER where she was admitted for 1 week each time. Her meds had not been documented (given?), And no staff member that had brought her medications 8 times a day noticed her declining status or brought it to the attention of the nursing staff. Therefore, we paid a hefty hospital bill AS WELL AS rent at Porter Place for 2 weeks she wasn't there. We were never offered a reduction in her rent for the 2 week she spent in Port Hospital.Another consideration is that their nursing supervisor is an LPN, currently Alyson, who is very attentive to family concerns. And all medications are dispensed, not by a nurse, but a QMAP. Which stands for Qualified Medication Administration Personell. The medications are pre-pared in med boxes my an LPN. Her job is very difficult, so I don't fault her. My mom receives nebulizer treatment 4 times daily. The QMAP puts the medicine in the inhaler (most of the time) and then leaves. This staff member is not trained to assess mother's respiratory status, nor do they do vitals or even check a pulse oximeter. Shouldn't she be assessed each time to see if she's wheezy, wouldn't that prevent further decline and possible lost of life??All for the services they say will be done, they are usually not done to the specification in the care plan ,if they are done at all. This is mostly due to the poor staff to resident riatio. I was told once that they have one caregiver per floor, plus the other services. Last I heard they were going to increase staff. They make a great deal of money and our loved ones should received the care that they spent their whole lives saving for.As an RN, I know what should be happening. Therefore I am in frequent contact with the Director of Nursing and the nursing supervisor. I have had the Ombudsman intervene in one occasion. If you care about your loved one I recommend being very involved with the staff and Ombudsman. My mother loves it there. They HAVE the money's, but they need more, qualified, staff. Up

A facade of 'caring and genuine' care for their residents. They do not care, staff hate being there so what happens is our loved ones get the short end of the stick. Trying to trouble shoot an issue for my aunt has been nothing but problematic, no one calls back, staff make up excuses. They do not care and the care they provide is simply not up to par. Avoid this place if you care fro your loved ones.

BEWARE. Porter Place is in the right location and affiliated with all of the right groups and hospitals on paper but it's a facade. That's truly what makes it so dangerous. We had the misfortune of placing my mother there for one horrifying and traumatic 8 months. She was abused and humiliated by several of the nurses and staff members. She was hiding her wet sheets and diapers under her bed in fear of being punished. She was separated and forced to eat alone at a table because she she was messy - she had difficulty raising her fork to her mouth and would drop her food so they punished her for that!!! Unbelievable!!!. She was humiliated and berated. She developed severe anxiety in their care. It broke my heart when we visited only after being there a few months. It was so bad that we had to move her to an entirely new facility. Porter Place should be under investigation. I do not recommend placing any of your loved ones there. PLEASE do a thorough investigation and don't take the entry tour with the salesmen. It's not on the surface.