I take no pleasure in giving a negative review of Terracina Grand. My father was a resident of…read moreTerracina Grand for over 6 years and it became his home.The last year and a half, the service at the resident level and overall feel of the facility has negatively changed. COVID probably had a lot to do with this, but there is a fundamental shift in compassion at the facility.For context, I have previously written great reviews of Terracina.
If you preview reviews, you will note that the majority of positive reviews are a few years old and some are from employees.
Dad initially moved into the facility with my mother in 2015.Her health was changing and they decided to relocate to an environment where Dad could get assistance in caring for her.When they first moved in, they loved the facility and bragged to all of their family and friends about the wonderful care they received. As an RN and their Health Care Surrogate, I was impressed and when I first visited the facility, I knew they had made the right choice.Her care was compassionate, the social activities were plentiful and the food was excellent.All of this combined to make the overall ambiance of the comforting. When Mom died, Dad decided to continue living there.
In 2020, during the pandemic, I could not visit and the comfort he felt began to dwindle.The Goodman Group (the parent company of Terracina) began actively cutting costs, most likely due to the fact that the occupancy level dropped during the pandemic.The Executive Management changed and Dad began to express concerns about living in the facility.The Goodman Group is a for profit organization. I will agree that the facility did a good job at infection surveillance and control during the pandemic and I appreciated the ongoing communication regarding infection rates.
Dad expressed that he noticed a decline in staff morale and many of the regular faces had been replaced.He was becoming concerned about living in the facility and his overall safety.He reported some errors in medications. I was able to get those resolved.
Regarding medications, Terracina primarily uses Mother's Pharmacy for their Assisted Living residents. Florida requires "blister packing" for assisted livand Mother's performs this function.It was my experience that Mother's costs were inflated and there were times where Mother's over billed for medications.
Many of the new care attendants have very limited English language skills.Combine that with the mandated mask wearing,Dad was having difficulty understanding those charged with caring for him. This was causing frequent misunderstandings and was making him uncomfortable.Notably, state and federal laws require care facilities to employ caregivers who competently speak the language of their residents.
Dad was complaining about the decline of food service, including the quality of the food and food selections, portions of food and the decline of service in the dining room.
In addition to the cost-cutting changes in the facility, the new management began increasing the daily rates during the throes of the pandemic.The new management team is less engaging and not as resident-centered as previous management teams. In lay terms, the warm and gracious feelings had disappeared.
Another big concern that came to light during my first visits during the pandemic was the lack of privacy my father experienced when it came to his personal life. All residents in assisted living and independent living have private apartments with locked entrances. At this time, Dad is a widower and had the right to socialize with whom him he wanted. Many of the care staff were actively involved in giving him advice about his friendships with women at the facility, going so far as to tell my Dad actions he should take. This was distressing for him as he felt his personal life was being discussed and gossipped about. He was embarrassed and felt betrayed by the staff. It was so distressing to him that I had to have a conversation with Irene Mursoi, the DON, to direct her staff not to be actively involved in Dad's private life.This activity was so pervasive, unprofessional and shocking that I am still shaking my head. This activity may have violated HIPAA laws as some of the discussions the staff were having involved areas of Dad's health care, including his emotional health.
By November of 2021, Dad was begging me to move. He stated he did not feel safe due to the constant change in caregivers and nurses and his inability to understand many of the caregivers.His comments combined with what I witnessed, led me to actively begin looking for his new home closer to where I live.
Hopefully the few remaining "older" staff can help Terracina become iconic once again.
Bonnie McDaniel