This is a small care home located in the MacGregor Downs neighborhood. A maximum of 6 residents are cared for. My mother was here for a very short period of time. She was admitted on Sept 11, 2023. The facility is clean and there are several caregivers who are qualified to work with the elderly and those with dementia. Most of the caregivers are NOT. If a facility encourages you to use their "in house" physician, you should NOT !! We gladly signed up for both Physician and (we were highly encouraged to sign up for) psychiatric care. My 95 year old mother had NEVER had any psychiatric issues. We found out that these professionals worked for the owner and not for us. Since the staff did not want to spend any time actually caring for mom, they tagged her as a "dementia problem" and started to medicate her. She was so over medicated that she could barely speak or hold her head up. After a few weeks, she was unable to feed herself. We pleaded with the owner to stop the meds. My mom was NOT able to clear them from her system and we knew that they were building up day after day after day. They had her in diapers (she was NOT in diapers when she was admitted). It was like nothing you could ever imagine !! Finally, the drugs became too much and mom complained of chest pain. Even though she was a Hospice patient, we called EMS (we knew this was out of the ordinary for her). After arriving at the ER, the Dr's could all agree that she was suffering from the effects of "polypharmacy". "Too many meds onboard". They had caused her respiration to be so depressed that she had just begun to develop aspiration pneumonia. It took a week in the hospital for her to detox. As soon as she was admitted to the hospital, the owner EVICTED her !! Said she was a threat to the other residents. This was a 95 year old who they had tethered to oxygen. Both rotator cuffs are torn and she cannot raise her arms. She evicted us with NO NOTICE !!!!! So wrong --------- Our Hospice team can agree with us that mom was in no way a threat to anyone. Upon eviction, she threated us with a trespass order if we were to step foot back into the house to pack up mom's belongings. She was afraid we would share with the other residents what had happened. And to top things off, Tara shorted us $2459.96 on the refund owed. She evicted mom on Nov 4. We had just paid $9800 for the month. You do the math. Refund sent was $6033.20. You CANNOT threaten someone with trespass and then CHARGE them to pack up and send their stuff. I have sent my report to NCDHHS. Multiple resident's rights were violated. DO NOT by any means, place your loved one in any facility that this lady runs. She actually has another house on the other side of Cary. We are awaiting the NCDHHS report. I doubt anything will be done but at least we have made other aware of our experience. Just another note - once mom was discharged from the hospital, she was her old sweet self. NO more drugs. She was no longer incontinent. She was eating and feeding herself. Our Hospice team can collaborate this. read more

Prior to my mom moving into The Retreat care home we were told by the owner that they would work with her to help make her legs stronger, so that she could stand and transfer better. This sounded like a great place for my mom and I was very hopeful that it would be. Yet, sadly, it was the complete opposite. The first issue started around the second week my mom was in The Retreat. We were told that my mother had such bad anxiety she would need to be medicated or she would be forced to leave the home. We were very hesitant to medicate my 95 year old mother who has never needed anxiety meds or even received an anxiety diagnosis. The owner strongly recommended we use their house doctor and house psychiatrist. I feel the house physicians work more for the owner and not so much for your loved one. However, it was decided she needed a sleeping medication, risperidone around the clock and as needed for anxiety and lorazepam as needed for anxiety . Shortly after starting the meds my mother became more and more sedated. It got to the point where she was sleeping through meals and was so weak she couldn't pick up her water bottle or silverware to feed herself. We kept asking if the medications could be reduced but the owner of the facility kept saying "her dementia is getting worse" and they refused to decrease them. We never believed that her dementia was getting worse and knew it was from all the psych medications they insisted she needed. Another one of my issues was that the owner's main method of communication was through email. She did not like texting or communicating directly with us. Her emails would be LONG and most of the information was simply not true. She would also copy upwards of 14 people on these emails, most of whom had never even worked with my mother. I think it is likely she used this as a form of intimidation. After several weeks of my mother taking the new medications, she required oxygen.This came as a shock to me, as my mother has never needed oxygen before, and this need seemed to arise from the new medications. On my mother's last day at the house, she complained of chest pain. EMS was called and she was transported to the hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital we were told by their doctors that just because my mom had good renal function elderly patients should not take those medications, The physician further explained that those medications are on the BEERS list, a list of medications that are notoriously difficult for elderly patients to metabolize. They caused her to have such respiratory depression that she couldn't inflate her lungs fully thus causing fluid in her lungs and aspiration pneumonia. We were told some facilities use the medications as a chemical restraint. All psych meds were discontinued in the hospital.After several long days her body cleared the meds and she returned to her normal state. Our Hospice team can attest that she returned to her normal state once all medications were discontinued. The owner evicted my mom while she was still in the hospital saying she was a threat to the other residents. To this day, I think that is comical, as mom was in a wheelchair and highly sedated while at the facility. This didn't matter too much to me, because after knowing that the medications they insisted she needed caused my mothers stay at the hospital, I knew I could never put my mother under their care again. Upon telling us my mother was evicted, she also told us we could not pack up her belongings. She stated we would be trespassing and if we showed up at the house she would file a restraining order against us. I think she was afraid we would speak with other residents or their families and tell them what happened. She charged us $500 to pack up all my mom's belongings, which again was forced since we were not allowed back at the house. Knowing what I do now, I would never recommend the Retreat to anyone. It was such a bad experience for my mom and for our entire family. read more

The retreat at Cary and Cary Corner are the best. I worked here for over 5 years and I can say the owner goes above and beyond for the residents at both facilities. The owner, the manager, and the staff are the best.The staff love on them as if they are family. The manager Ashley is the sweetest and most patient person to the residents. Holidays are like no other at these facilities. Families are invited to participate, but the owner makes sure the residents have celebrations as if they are still home. Tara has created a facility where the residents are cared for and loved. She fights for their treatment and encourages activities with the residents. Keeping them mobile for as long as safely possible. Residents are encouraged independence as much as safely possible. I have seen the owner sit with residents, laugh with them, and cry with them and for them. Ashley has brought out the biggest smiles with residents and brought the residents out of their shells when they dont feel like doing anything. Families are made to feel welcome and encouraged to participate in their care. I still carry so many fond memories of my time with residents and staff. From doing their hair and watching say yes to the dress to grilling outside during the warmer days to playing balloon volleyball or just sitting on the floor in a room and talking with a patient on oxygen who couldn't get around as much. I have cooked with residents and gone out to eat with residents. They're health is the most top priority. We have had residents who were wheelchair bound at previous facilities and have worked with physical therapy and they were able to dance with their daughter again. One of my most precious memories. I have been their for the downside no one likes to talk about with residents and making their transition as peaceful as possible. I have held the hands and hugged families as they say thier goodbyes. The staff will pull overnight just to ensure these residents are cared for. I have seen Tara go to bat for residents care over and over again. If you are looking for a home and not a facility to place your loved one the retreat is where I would place mine. read more

My mom spent the last year of her 98 year life in the best place possible with Tara and her staff at The Retreat! I can't thank them enough for the AMAZING care they provided. This small family style home is so perfect especially for someone with memory issues. The staff is extremely attentive and genuinely loving. They take care of all the necessary things but also do so much extra like keeping her well groomed and well entertained! They kept us well informed of any and all health related information. My siblings and I would show up at all times of the day or night and the house was ALWAYS spotless and at meal times smells so good with yummy homecooked food. This place is nothing like the big institutional place that we moved her out of... it is sooooo much BETTER! I'm convinced she lived longer, happier, safer and cleaner at The Retreat. The staff truly treated my mom like she was their mom with so much love and respect but at the same time being extremely professional. read more