Touchmark on West Century

My father lived at Touchmark (TM) for almost 4 years. It was like having him live at a luxury resort hotel for seniors. The food and social opportunities are very nice, and the hands-on care was excellent. However, for us, it was important to have family in town keeping an eye on things. This is because TM management tried to force my father into more restrictive and expensive 'memory care' two years before he needed it for a situation which was easily resolved by myself because I lived here. Also, TM is not a medical facility. TM does not accept Medicaid or Medicare. When my father started falling, TM increased the 'points` and then required us to pay for private 24 hour one-on-one care in addition to the monthly rent. Cost of his care increased to $1,000 a day and we had no choice, and if his resources ran out, family was expected to pay.

Just did demo job there

My original review is at the bottom of this entry. When my aunt moved to the assisted living part of Touchmark, I was very pleased with the facility, services, and staff. The nursing staff evaluated my aunt and determined that assisted living was the right fit for her needs. However, less than 4 months later, she needed more supervision and a smaller area, and the nursing staff recommended their Pembrook memory care unit. That is when my disillusionment with Touchmark started. In that unit, group and individual activities listed on the schedule did not take place. (The point of those activities was to keep residents with memory problems engaged and to lessen the impact of the disease, so those promised activities were a factor in my choosing of Touchmark.) My concerns about that went unaddressed after repeated conversations. I received excuse after excuse. My aunt was to received routine safety checks and toileting reminders, but those rarely happened. My aunt fell, and the pull cord alert system did not work. She yelled for help, but no one came. She had to crawl across the room and pull herself up. At that point, the nurse in charge of the unit at that time blatantly lied to me about how long it took for the fall to be noticed and her assessment conducted. Within 3 months of the move to memory care, I was informed that my aunt would need to move into a more secured memory unit because she was no longer as physically independent. However, the nurse who had lied to me before had also told me that the three memory care units were the same in terms of assistance provided. Upon further discussions, I discovered that the Pembrook unit was not operating that way at all. The Pembrook residents with dementia were expected to be very independent with regards to mobility, toileting, and daily cares such as bathing and dressing. In reality, it was an assisted living area in a smaller space with one CNA in the unit at most times. The only way my aunt would be allowed to remain in that memory unit, the one selected for her after an assessment only 3 months earlier, would be with the addition of paid outside caregivers. Touchmark wanted my aunt to move to another part of the building to a secured memory care unit. When I asked very pointed questions, I learned that the secured unit did not offer much more in terms of staff attention. I felt certain that it would only be a short time before I'd hear that they no longer thought my aunt to be right for the facility. So 10 months after moving in, my aunt has moved to a different facility. I feel that the memory care unit did not live up to the promoted activities and standards of care. I do not fault the sales consultant or the nurse I met when I initially visited the facility. Somewhere along the line between the company's gold standard and the actual daily practice, there is a disconnect. I anticipate that the response to this review will be the excuse I've heard time and time again, that Pembrook was never intended for residents in need of safety cueing and mobility assistance. My response to that is that the Touchmark nursing staff knew my aunt's cognitive and physical limitations months ago when they recommended placement in their Pembrook unit. If I had to do it all again, I would choose a different memory care facility. ------ December 2018, original review My aunt moved into an assisted living apartment at Touchmark a week ago. Every employee we've met, from the nursing director to the CNAs to the building services team, has been friendly and helpful. Team members escort my aunt to meals and activities, and they introduce her to other residents along the way. There is even a support group for caregivers of people with memory problems.