After three years of battling with the head nurse and director of this facility we moved our loved one out. At the onset we were charmed by Brookdale's promise of care and cooperation, but they failed to make good. We found this out over time and complications created by our loved one's health issues. Before continuing I must concede there was compassion and genuine concern for our loved one by those closest to her such as aides and visiting nurses. It was the incompetent management, a lack ordered execution, review and general chaos caused by the aforementioned management that forced our hand.
The Director of Health and Wellness, let's call her Nurse Ratchet, was omnipotent in her decision-making, uncommunicative, indifferent to the families, rude and, questionably honest. Quite frequently we found ourselves scrambling to meet her unreasonable demands and when we disputed her, she was indifferent to our arguments. Her ethics and morality should be called into question by her superiors, yet they are not. It is shocking she continues to hold the position she does.
The "director" of the facility, while never rude, NEVER responded to email or phone messages unless we escalated our needs to some corporate liaison to have our requests addressed.
By the time we moved our loved one from this facility we were in misrepresented arrears due to charges misapplied and not discussed, credits promised but never applied, our loved one was on medications never discussed or disclosed to her family except via the pharmacy bill and, due to COVID, we were unable to enter the residence to see how her living conditions evolved. We are still receiving bills for services for the two months she is already not living there.
Prior to COVID we frequently complained about odors in the rooms and halls. The food was terrible and filled with unhealthy selections of processed food and sugar not fit for active people let alone those who are sedentary. Much of the community furnishings was stained and the grounds, which masked nicely in the bloom of summer, revealed themselves to be filthy in the light of the winter sun. None of our loved one's clothing was properly cared for or returned to her and, by the time we moved our loved one, many of the clothes that came with her did not belong to her and much of her own clothing had disappeared or was destroyed by mishandling. Once moved while sorting through our loved one's belongings we were sickened by the negligence of cleanliness and hygiene. The worst part of our experience, enlightened by the competent care she is receiving in her new home, was the complete lack of cohesive medical care for which they charge a monthly "Coordination of Care" fee. Our loved one was referred to one incompetent medical professional after another and the hospital network available in the Wilton area is tragically bereft of choice or expertise. With no offense intended to Wilton residents, every time I drove away from a visit, I wondered how people managed their health in the medical dearth that is the swath of land known as Wilton, Connecticut. The lack of resources alone makes it the worst place for an assisted living facility.
There are a million more examples of what's wrong with Brookdale, Wilton, but they can't all be squeezed in this review and I only have one life to live. My experience with this hole can have no more of that life. In short our experience was as bad as it gets. They blatantly ignored their own residency agreement when it came to disclosure and presumptuously assumed control over the resident, our loved one, leaving us helpless, frustrated and guilty. In fact, our desires for our loved one were completely dismissed. COVID only gave them more power to create further exclusion. The facility is run by incompetents and those superior to them are no better. If you are willing to turn your loved one over to the despotic, inexperienced control of those who head up the tragic team of decision makers this facility contains then by all means choose Brookdale, Wilton. If not, fly over this" Cuckoo's Nest" and keep looking.
If you have gotten this far there is one shining anomaly to the overall tragedy that is Brookdale, Wilton. It is the activities director for their memory care unit. This woman was compassionate, responsive and kind beyond description. My advice to her is go elsewhere where she won't be mired by her association with this travesty they're calling a assisted living residence. read more
