My father lived at Emerald Glen Memory Care Plus from April to August 2025. The experience was…read moreoverwhelmingly negative and I hope sharing this will help other families avoid what we went through.
At first glance, the facility is beautiful. Upscale decor, spotless halls, and a grand entrance. It looks like a luxury resort. But behind the polished appearance is a facility that is understaffed, undertrained, and unequipped to handle true memory care. The use of the term Memory Care Plus is false advertising. There is no specialized training, no consistent structure, and no appropriate staffing for residents with dementia.
My dad has dementia and needed patient and consistent support. While there were two or three genuinely compassionate caregivers, most of the staff lacked basic memory care training. They were rushed, disconnected, and focused on completing tasks quickly. If my dad didn't comply right away, they would simply move on to the next resident. They did not have the time or resources to build trust or problem solve.
Activities were rarely offered, and when the home manager was fired just a couple months after we moved in, the entire structure fell apart. My dad needed help using the bathroom, but instead of working with him, they put him in diapers. This led to recurring urinary tract infections--something he had never experienced before living here. He was often left sitting in waste, and no one took time to assist him. On one occasion, he was found on the floor after being left there for a prolonged period of time. We had a camera in his room so thankfully could see the neglect.
We ended up hiring a private caregiver just to make sure his basic needs were met. With that, we were paying close to $10,000 dollars a month, and still the facility staff could not manage his care. He was being overmedicated throughout the day, not for medical reasons, but to make him more manageable. He was seen as too needy, and sedation became their solution.
Eventually, Emerald Glen evicted him, claiming he pulled his arm away from a caregiver. For someone with dementia, this is a common and understandable reaction. Instead of adjusting their approach, they removed him. After this, we interviewed several other facilities. A few of them were already aware of Emerald Glen's reputation. We were told that the owners have a pattern of cutting corners and moving out residents who require more time or do not generate enough revenue.
If your loved one cannot be safely left alone, this is not the right place. My dad could not get to the bathroom by himself, and they were not able to assist him as needed. He became disoriented, confused about where to go, and they made little effort to work through it other than diapers and placing a bucket in the corner of his room. This is for a man with dementia and very high fall risk.
He is now in a small, home based care setting and the difference is incredible. He has had no UTIs, no accidents, and is treated with respect, patience, and consistency. The caregivers take him to the bathroom, speak with kindness, and support him fully. The standard of care is dramatically better. It's fascinating to me that the new caregivers at his new place were able to get him to bathe and use the bathroom from day one. The difference is they were able to put in the time to communicate and work with him. Emerald Glen always said he was difficult to work with so it's interesting to see the other side of it when it is done professionally and with care.
Because of the severity of our experience, I filed an official complaint with the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services. Families deserve to know what is really happening behind the clean surfaces and attractive design.
Please consider smaller home based care settings. They offer the kind of real, compassionate support that Emerald Glen simply does not provide.
