Tall Oaks Assisted Living

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Bottlom-line: Not a good experience. I do not recommend this Assisted Living facility unless your loved one is completely capable of taking care of him/herself. It looks nice and they have good activities, but the actual health care was not what I expected or what they promised. Prior to moving Mom to Tall Oaks we had experience with Cameron Glen Assisted Living for 2 months after Mom fractured a vertebra. The care at Cameron Glen was excellent, but they were in the process of closing their Assisted Living facility in summer 2011, so we unfortunately chose Tall Oaks. I freely admit that my husband and I are very protective of my Mom. We are willing to pay for and expect good care for Mom. In November 2012 even though I was still working in Virginia, my husband accelerated our planned move to Tennessee so that we could get Mom out of Tall Oaks, and into a very good Assisted Living Facility. Her condition, including her cognition has improved greatly since then. The caregivers are wonderful and caring. They actually appreciate family involvement, and work with us to keep Mom as happy, healthy and safe as possible. We complained about something probably once a week. Some things improved for awhile but most didn?t. A few of the major problems we encountered at Tall oaks: The telephone cord was often left where Mom could trip over it. Problems with inhaler administration-- There were definitely discrepancies with Mom?s inhaled medication. In Feb 2012 Mom was prescribed 2 inhalants twice a day, which were to be administered together, and an additional one only as needed. This confused some of the nurses, and there was poor communication between shifts and weekend staff. Additionally the inhalants were kept in different places (cart or drug closet) and some nurses didn?t know where to find them. For several weeks she was given one of the inhalants very sporadically. I discovered this when I checked to see if I needed to order new inhalants for her. She had only been given 9 doses of one drug in 3 weeks (should have been 40+). She had received more of the other, but still not enough to equal twice a day doses.I contacted Cindy and her assistant who promised to remedy this. It got a little better, but unless the pharmacy sent a lot more of the inhalants than ordered (doubtful), Mom was never given the inhalants properly. The pharmacy called me each month to ask if Mom needed more drugs. They kept meticulous records and always told me how many doses Mom should have left. It never matched what actually happened. Another complaint I constantly made was about the tops from the inhaler vials. They were normally just thrown on the floor. That's a minor irritant but just shows lack of care or attention to what they were doing. Mom uses a walker, and is slow. She would prefer to use a wheelchair, but there is no real need. Her physician agrees with me that she needs to keep using the walker as long as possible in order to preserve muscle strength. She nurses and aides constantly harassed me about bringing in the wheelchair for Mom. I believe this was because they just didn?t want to wait for Mom. Either that or they were severely understaffed. Neither excuse is acceptable. They would try to hurry her, and she would say she was tired. That is always her answer which I told them numerous times. Her current caregivers understand this, take the necessary time with her and encourage her to keep walking. After Mom had a bout of pneumonia, she was prescribed oxygen for a while. Cindy assured me that the staff was well trained for this. They weren?t. My husband instructed several nurses and aides how to use the portable set-up. They set aside several canisters as defective because they neglected to remove the cardboard covering from the nozzle. The aides and nurses are mostly West African. While they are very nice and capable, many have thick accents and speak really quickly, so they were even hard for me to understand, let alone my mother, a sweet Southern lady. Cindy Eggleston told us when we first met her that the staff would encourage Mom to attend activities, and be active. This never really happened. They publish a ist of activities and make automated phone calls to the residents that are confusing. That was pretty much the ?encouragement?. Warning - if there is an incontinence problem, the care level (cost) will go up astronomically. The few good things: Physical Therapist, Jill McKay, who works for Genesis Rehab. They are located in the basement of Tall Oaks. She is an outstanding Physical Therapist. Okay it?s not all good. Jill?s manager, and the chief Occupational Therapist, Pat Smith, was not so good. She assigned another OT to work with Mom. My husband observed the therapy and asked questions, which apparently intimidated her. Then Pat took over. She was no better. The therapy was a waste of time and money, and only served to irritate Mom. (In Tennessee, we have expereince very good OT). As Genesis' manager Pat didn?t? understand why I didn?t want her constantly badgering Mom?s physician with unnecessary paperwork. Our physician showed me the stack of orrespondence,which was outrageous. The food provided was very good. Chef Robert made tasty, healthy food and dining manager Christina was wonderful. The dining room is the best-run part of Tall Oaks. They always knew whether Mom had eaten, and if she was eating well. They would encourage her to eat properly. The nurses and aides didn?t really know this information. Final thoughts: The difference between the care that Mom received at Tall Oaks, and her current care is like night and day. The nurses and aides are caring, and really work, rather than gather to complain about management or laugh and carry-on with each other. They communicate extremely well between shifts and weekday to weekends. We always get the same story from various staff members, another wonderful change. They totally agree with me about using the walker rather than the wheelchair. They encourage Mom, take their time with her,and understand how to answer when she says she?s tired.

From the beginning, the team at Tall Oaks, especially Mia, Susan, and John, were warm and welcoming. I felt like they were happy to welcome my mom and dad to their new home.