Brookdale Smithfield

We toured Brookdale Smithfield. We scheduled an appointment with Danielle, and she was really nice and very receptive. It was decorated very nicely, but it was a closed facility, so there were no rocking chairs out front and things along that line. Their issue was safety because they had patients th...

We toured Brookdale Smithfield. We scheduled an appointment with Danielle, and she was really nice and very receptive. It was decorated very nicely, but it was a closed facility, so there were no rocking chairs out front and things along that line. Their issue was safety because they had patients that were early onset Alzheimer's and dementia. It was locked, but it was still nice. It was a small facility. The prices were a bit higher, but everybody was equally friendly. One of the things that they boasted about was the fact that their employees had been there a long time, which is good for Alzheimer's patients seeing familiar faces. Unfortunately, those people in that section were not as active. They were all in wheelchairs and needed full care. That was hard to go through. You have the smells because everybody's wearing diapers. They tried to mask it. All in all, it was a safer facility, so if you're dealing with someone who is hitting those stages of Alzheimer's, then that would have been our second choice.

My husband has moved into Brookdale Smithfield. The reason I chose it was that it's close to where we live, that was the major thing. They have some activities for them to participate in. There is no communication with the staff, it would be better if they knew what was going on in the back off...

My husband has moved into Brookdale Smithfield. The reason I chose it was that it's close to where we live, that was the major thing. They have some activities for them to participate in. There is no communication with the staff, it would be better if they knew what was going on in the back office. Like my husband fell the very first night there and the administrator didn't even know anything about it the next day. I have not gotten a report since on how his nights are, and he's got sundowners. I don't know who to ask and nobody seems to be able to tell me who I should talk to about these things. The CNAs seem to be very nice and helpful, they do as much as they know to do. I had to furnish the furniture in his room, and we have his room looking very nice. The bathroom doesn't seem to have any heat, there's a vent in the ceiling but every time I go, I have to open the bathroom door so it'll have a little warmth. He's on a puree diet at the moment, and they encourage him to feed himself. They have a large activity room and they have an activity director, which is nice. They have books to look through, they look at videos, and they'll play games with them. Some of them sleep a lot in wheelchairs, just sitting around the activity table. They also have a TV in there and the director plays different little games with them and puzzles. But the first week I wasn't very impressed. For everything, they always have add-ons, and when you're paying such big money, you would think they would furnish some stuff. Like the liquids, I've got to buy that, the pull-ups, the gloves they use, the wipes they use, I had to buy all that including the power cord for the TV. This morning, my husband has got an appointment, and I asked them if they provide transportation and I was told yes. I spoke to the activities director because he's the one that drives and he told me he couldn't do it, and the administrator said that's the first he's heard of it. I thought they'd have other transportation lined up, but it didn't show up. I went to ask Lisa when the driver could do it, and she said any day but then later said he couldn't do it on the day of our appointment. So I had to go back and make another appointment and when I went back to Lisa she wasn't at her desk, so I just left a note for her.

Staff is excellent. Very helpful and very friendly. Facilities are clean and well decorated- feels very "homey." Meals could be better - according to Mom they are often served cold or lukewarm. Then again she is very picky. Cost went way up this new year, but still good value.

Brookdale Smithfield was a very supportive place and all the options they had were just what my friend's state would need. It had everything accessible. It had a single room where you wouldn't have to be crammed up with another roommate. It was very accommodating. The director, Alexander,...

Brookdale Smithfield was a very supportive place and all the options they had were just what my friend's state would need. It had everything accessible. It had a single room where you wouldn't have to be crammed up with another roommate. It was very accommodating. The director, Alexander, directed us into the library with a fireplace and I felt like I was in a home. It was tastefully decorated. It had a fire going in the fireplace, not an artificial one, and they had books and pictures on the wall. Then we went toward the facilities to see one of the rooms. You have to supply your own furniture, which is wonderful because most people want their own stuff if they can get it in there. There was a lot of ability to personalize the rooms. They had lots of little individual places where you could go sit and bring in the family if you needed to. You just had to reserve it and bring a birthday meal or something like that. Their menu for the day-to-day was just fabulous. They get three meals a day. You've got these other rooms that you can go into and interact with other people if you want to play games or watch television. Each individual room has its own television, so for that matter, you didn't have to sit around and watch what everybody else wanted to watch. Alexander was very knowledgeable. He'd been there for years and he was very caring. He understood what we were going through. The other staff was just as friendly as could be. We saw them in the hall and, they greeted me with a smile and said hello. It's just a nice place.