Hawthorne Gardens Senior Living

[name removed] the tour guide was great. She was honest and professional and listened intently to my mom's needs. I left feeling optimistic as they had a light filled corner room and seemed to have folks my mom would befriend. Unfortunately the room with the man next door was emanating a terrible smell and the door was left completely open--2 employees were trying to help him, I got a glance at a difficult and again, extremely foul smelling, situation. It was just bad luck but those things have a way of marking what was an otherwise very positive experience. I'm a bit torn on this place. GREAT location, beautiful neighborhood. I liked that the assisted living was on one floor and seemed smallish, like my mom would get personal attention. Feels small and intimate compared to others I've visited.

My mom lived there for about a year and a half in the assisted living portion. Lots of turn over in management and staff during that time. The staff was helpful, although many things were inexplicably difficult. They could provide medication, but would not administer eye drops. The food went from OK to bad, to downright inedible due to turn over in the kitchen. Show up for a regular meal, not a brunch for a true taste. Scheduling transportation to doctors visits is often unhelpful as they will not escort your parent to the actual waiting room. They get a curb drop off. Also, scheduling outside of the pretty narrow pre-defined transport opportunities (one or two days a week) is difficult. Communication from the staff was OK regarding my mother's health. The staff would sometimes call, but other times, including an ER transport, would fail to make contact with a family member. Health events that may seem minor were not communicated unless you asked to see the health logs or notes. The rooms at HG are nice enough. The air conditioning and heating is provided by a through-wall unit which has a noisy fan. Windows can also be opened for outside air. The biggest concern was that at the end of my mother's life, they refused to allow her to have hospice at the facility. They would not provide care for her and we end up scrambling to find a new place for hospice (which there are few on-demand options!) at the very end when she was very ill. That is not a good outcome. Be sure to understand what care will and will not be provided during times of declining health as you may be surprised to be caring for your loved one while scrambling to find a facility at the same time. If you read this far, you already know, but you should read the inspection log book that they are required to have in the lobby. It tells about any findings by inspectors and what actions they took.

Our mother has lived at Hawthorne Gardens Senior Living since the fall of 2018, first in Assisted Living and for the past year in Memory Care. In this time there have been three different companies running the place, all of them promising to improve things. Staff turnover is alarming with many only lasting a week or two. They are ill trained and over worked. They have little to no supervision. Memory Care is far worst than assisted living. Our mother's room is often filthy. Your feet stick to the bathroom floor and her rug hasn't been vacuumed in 3 months. It literally stinks. Laundry is not done regularly and when it is done, clothes are often ruined. Our mother often does not have the basic necessities like toilet paper and kleenex. If we did not check on her EVERY DAY, I would fear for her overall safety. Hawthorne Gardens is not what it appears to be in their advertisements or on the tour. The tour is so ridiculously deceiving.