Porter Place Retirement & Assisted Living

My wife and I moved in on January 8, 2020. We were settling in when Covid struck. It was a mad scramble. But my reading and reports of relatives from elsewhere around country indicates most of these types of facilities were caught off guard and had similar problems and learning curves as found here...

My wife and I moved in on January 8, 2020. We were settling in when Covid struck. It was a mad scramble. But my reading and reports of relatives from elsewhere around country indicates most of these types of facilities were caught off guard and had similar problems and learning curves as found here. Though the regulations were strictly enforced and there was some complaining by residents, some of the men and I felt we were being well protected from the virus by staff. I am dismayed by some of the reports found in this collection. I am not a medical person but as a civil engineer in environmental issues of waste water treatment and ambient air quality, I am concerned about overall health issues. My experience with the staff here, including management, maintenance, nursing and health care staff, food services and activities has been good.

The staff is wonderful.

Was finally able to visit a close friend. The staff was very accommodating and friendly. Very nice facility & grounds.

My mother was placed at Porter Place, initially as an independent resident with the exception that Porter Place staff was to dispense her medicion. She moved in December 2013. She has end-stage COPD, Dementia, and Diabetes. She is on oxygen and about 12 medications. Her husband passed away in Oc...

My mother was placed at Porter Place, initially as an independent resident with the exception that Porter Place staff was to dispense her medicion. She moved in December 2013. She has end-stage COPD, Dementia, and Diabetes. She is on oxygen and about 12 medications. Her husband passed away in October 2013. Her short term memory was declining rapidly. She had no long-term care insurance so we''re paying cash. We have paid, out of pocket, over $350,000. My mother enjoys it there and has a nice apartment. As her daughter, her POA, and a Registered Nurse, I struggle with the caregiver to resident ratio. My mother is still there currently receiving assisted living care plans. Twice in her six years there I have visited finding her in respiratory distress and had to take her to the ER where she was admitted for 1 week each time. Her meds had not been documented (given?), And no staff member that had brought her medications 8 times a day noticed her declining status or brought it to the attention of the nursing staff. Therefore, we paid a hefty hospital bill AS WELL AS rent at Porter Place for 2 weeks she wasn''t there. We were never offered a reduction in her rent for the 2 week she spent in Port Hospital. Another consideration is that their nursing supervisor is an LPN, currently Alyson, who is very attentive to family concerns. And all medications are dispensed, not by a nurse, but a QMAP. Which stands for Qualified Medication Administration Personell. The medications are pre-pared in med boxes my an LPN. Her job is very difficult, so I don''t fault her. My mom receives nebulizer treatment 4 times daily. The QMAP puts the medicine in the inhaler (most of the time) and then leaves. This staff member is not trained to assess mother''s respiratory status, nor do they do vitals or even check a pulse oximeter. Shouldn''t she be assessed each time to see if she''s wheezy, wouldn''t that prevent further decline and possible lost of life?? All for the services they say will be done, they are usually not done to the specification in the care plan ,if they are done at all. This is mostly due to the poor staff to resident riatio. I was told once that they have one caregiver per floor, plus the other services. Last I heard they were going to increase staff. They make a great deal of money and our loved ones should received the care that they spent their whole lives saving for. As an RN, I know what should be happening. Therefore I am in frequent contact with the Director of Nursing and the nursing supervisor. I have had the Ombudsman intervene in one occasion. If you care about your loved one I recommend being very involved with the staff and Ombudsman. My mother loves it there. They HAVE the money''s, but they need more, qualified, staff. Up