My mom lived at Bonaventure of Gresham for 2 1/2 years in the Independent Living section. All places have pros & cons but this experience turned out to be disappointing. It did not live up to our expectations.
Several months ago she left Bonaventure and moved into a Residential Care Facility located close by.
Bonaventure Pros:
The facility is new & tastefully decorated.
The grounds and parking lot are well lit and cared for.
The security features are well managed.
My mother loved her small apartment.
She loved the other residents. They were friendly and caring.
They serve A LOT of desserts & sweet things.
They do a great job creating activities and entertainment for the residents.
They have a great supply of books located throughout the building.
The laundry rooms are always clean.
The washer/dryers were always in operating order and available.
The garbage and recycling located in the laundry rooms were emptied daily.
The building always smelled clean.
It was a quiet place to live.
The few staff members that have been there for a while are loved by the residents (Ana, Rosa, Thi).
The on-site Emergency Medical person was efficient, knowledgeable and great to deal with.
Bonaventure Cons:
Be advised, this is a corporate managed business with finances at the forefront of EVERY decision.
Get all price/expense quotes in writing. I don't care how small the price/item may be. My experience has been if it's not in writing the price will be different when you get the bill.
This year I was advised to expect my mom's rent to increase 6% every year.
The high turnover in staff is shocking. My experiences included kitchen staff & servers, housekeeping, receptionist, maintenance, activity director, marketing and executive directors. I've seen Marketing people in the dining room pouring water, acting as servers by taking orders & serving meals outside of regular meal hours and vacuuming the front entrance & lobby. I've also seen an Executive Director at the front desk answering phones during day time business hours.
If you're needing information about something, no one ever seems to know the answer. I'm not sure if that's because of the high turnover or poor training. You're often told they have to check with someone or Corporate to get the answer and they'll get back to you. Rarely did I receive a return call.
Be advised, Housekeeping is not allowed to move ANYTHING in order to vacuum. I know of residents who vacuum underneath their desk (where their chair slides in/out) and/or a dining table while the housekeeper watches. Don't get rid of your vacuum or broom when you move in.
Be advised, Housekeeping is not allowed to move ANYTHING in order to dust. If there is one item on a table or top of your frig, due to liability, they are not allowed to dust it. Bring along something to dust with when you move in if that's important to you.
There were multiple times when my mom didn't receive housekeeping services, of any kind, for 2-6 weeks. No housekeeping, linen change/laundry or emptying of garbages. This was due to Housekeeping being understaffed due to illness or termination of employment. Her rent was not adjusted during this time even though her services were greatly reduced.
Common areas i.e. curving staircase, hallways & front entrance are often in need of vacuuming/sweeping.
The food is horrendous. I would consider it low quality, Institutional food. Even what they consider "fresh" clearly comes out of a package.
The Yogurt machine in the Cafe is frequently out of service.
The pastry in the Cafe is often stale and the fruit is overripe or old.
My mom had several friends who lived in the Assisted Living side and they often complained about the cost and services they were supposed to receive and didn't. Because of their complaints we hired Visiting Angels to come in 5 days a week, 2 hours a day, to help care for her. We were thrilled with the Gresham Visiting Angels' care, cost & professionalism. They were cheaper than Bonaventure, consistent with their timeliness & management of their employees, and she received one on one care for 2 full hours a day. They were also easier to deal with; very professional & their follow-through was impressive.
There were multiple influenza outbreaks. They always seemed to originate from the Memory Care section.
If you want to have a conversation with the Executive or Financial staff I suggest you try to do it in person. They do not have email, voicemail and all of their verbal messages are screened. My experience has been that unless your message is marketing related you won't get a response to your inquiry about 90% of the time.
I would encourage anyone considering this facility to read current & past Resident Committee Meeting Minutes. Current minutes are posted outside of the Activity Room. What you may want to look for are how many present & past items have been resolved to the Residents' satisfaction. read more