Emeritus at River Oaks

My mother stayed at Emeritus River Oaks for six months. We brought her here after she suffered congestive heart failure. Mom is on a restricted diet due to her heart and high blood sugar as well. She was very unhappy and dissatisfied at Emeritus. She has moved back to her home.
The facility and grounds are very nice. The rooms in D bldg are very nice. This bldg has central air the other older rooms have a noisy window unit. Laundry was done once a week and her room was cleaned as well.
I purchased (for $ 100) the necklace with a locator for emergency use. The room has two emergency cords to pull but I wanted mom to have the neck chain so she could buzz for help anywhere on campus or if she had fallen somewhere in the room where she could not reach the provided cords. I was guaranteed her call would be answered quickly and that response times are recorded by a computer. Mom was to use the buzzer whenever she needed help of any kind– not just emergencies. Unfortunately, this did not live up to its reputation. Mom would call for help and no one would show up for hours and a couple times it was the next day. I had the buzzer replaced several times thinking it was broken or the battery was dead but it never really worked. When I returned the necklace at the end of her stay, I was not reimbursed for it.
The social director came to mom’s room the day she arrived. Mom was busy with the nurse at the time. The social director said she would return another time. She never came back. Mom was never introduced to any residents, never asked about activities she enjoyed, never asked to join in on an activity, nothing! Few activities are provided in D building. Residents must walk across the campus to attend what little is provided. This walk is too far for many of the residents. The most creative ideas for activities are bingo (can’t we switch up with some bunco?) and trips to Walmart. Mom is a bridge player, pinochle player, avid reader, crossword queen. No one tried to help her get other people together for a game. Why not start a book club discussion, a garden club (grow some produce and herbs), a bird watching group, anything! How about a bus to take interested people over to the hospital where a bridge club meets (it’s only a few blocks away). Invite the high school choir, dance club, and band to play. What an excellent community service. Why not a «meet your new neighbor «tea?
Emeritus advertises that they will meet dietary needs. They DO NOT provide special meals. Everyone is served the same food. They say they do not salt. However much of the food is prepared elsewhere and simply reheated at Emeritus. Foods like ham, bratwurst, tuna fish, hot dogs, pork, breaded fish or chicken, pizza, tacos, canned mushrooms, cheese are all naturally high in sodium. A choice between ham or cheese pizza is not a salt free choice even if Emeritus did not salt it! I asked if the coffee was decaf (it was in a decaf pot) and was told they only make regular. Regular coffee is not usually a part of an older person’s diet. There was never a sugar free dessert item offered. For people with high blood sugar or diabetes this is deadly. The food is heated in the main kitchen and wheeled over to D building. It is served lukewarm at best. I would like to know exactly how much money is allotted per day per person on food. I was told it is less than $ 5. I hope that isn’t true as the residents are playing $ 100 a day for their stay. Dinner time is often the one thing the residents have to look forward to. It is a time to socialize and get out of their room. It should be worth going!
We also had trouble with pills. Sometimes only one of the needed pills would be brought in. Mom would ask them to come back with all her pills. They did not. If she was late getting her pills (after being out) she was told it was too late to take them. Pain pills that were kept in her room were stolen. (As well as jewelry). Emeritus preferred to say mom had misplaced them. She had not!
We had high hopes that Emeritus would be the answer for my mother. It was not. My mom wanted to stay in Englewood as this is where her friends, activities, and doctors are. The rooms are probably the nicest in this area. But assisted living is about a lot more than the room.