They say beauty is only skin deep, and that was our experience with Highpointe. We were attracted to the modern look and nice layouts of the assisted living apartments, as well as the existence of the "Residence Club," described to us as kind of a bridge between assisted living and memory care for residents needing more cueing and assistance to participate in activities.
Sadly, our experience with Highpointe ended up very negative, humiliating for my mother and damaging to her stability. Highpointe does not provide much "care" beyond medication management (for a fee) and the meals and activities planned. Residents who need additional assistance (with feeding, or more individual cueing) will have to arrange an outside caretaker.
The attention to individual care plans, financial needs, personal backgrounds, and family communication was sorely lacking in our experience. My mother's care plan was a basic standard form barely personalized to include her name. I never saw any evidence that staff had read, remembered, or used any of the personal details about her life we filled out in the intake forms. Staff gave her copies of bills, despite instructions not to. When she got agitated seeing the bill, staff were not effective in timely trying to contact her family. In her first month, they demanded she move to memory care, without first taking steps to get her better settled. In the end, they then discharged her (without notice) after just three months there. They kept her $2500 community fee, and still have not refunded the $4000 prorated rent they have owed her since she left three months ago. She actually has been gone longer than she was there, and they still have her money.
Training was lacking and staffing was not adequate either. We were told that in the memory care area, only perhaps 25% of staff had any dementia training beyond just the basic training all employees get, and less than that in assisted living. When my mother left, the memory care activity director did not work until 11am, leaving the Residence Club activity director having to scramble to coordinate activities for both groups (on different floors).
Worse still, management acted with complete disregard for my mother's needs or common decency. They made ridiculous demands for 24 hour companion services that they themselves later acknowledged my mother didn't need. They made that claim so they could discharge her without the 30 day notice required by her contract and Colorado law. They sent the immediate discharge notice after business hours on a Friday, which was completely irresponsible, leaving her in limbo when her doctor's office and the CO elder care ombudsman's office were both closed. Although we acknowledged receipt of the notice, they went one cruel step further and gave a hard copy of the immediate discharge letter full of errors and lies to my mother when she was alone for the night, making her incredibly worried and anxious, and putting her further at risk. Simply unethical.
There are some caring staff members at Highpointe, and lovely residents. However, the lack of training, communication, staffing, and attention to residents caused much pain and anguish to my mother and family. She is now in a different assisted living place where staff know her, provide appropriate attention and care, and are well trained to meet her needs. It is like night and day compared to our experience at Highpointe. Don't be fooled by the modern appearance. Beauty is only skin deep. read more
