The first review is from the current marketing director of Arbor House of Garland. Several of the reviews you will find online, the positive ones, are from current employees of the facility which makes me think that the staff has been directed by management to post said reviews. The marketing director will promise you the sky. e.g. You want a sandwich at 3 am, she will tell you they can do that. They can't or won't. When you run into issues with the care provided and approach her she will make a pathetic face and tell you in a whiny voice, "I wish I could help but I don't have any influence over the operations." The food is not fresh but rather delivered by a food distributor (Sysco) and then microwaved, boiled or reheated in whatever manner. The food choices remain the same day to day with one or two "specials" on a rotating schedule week to week. Most of the food is so bad that residents will not eat it. Food has to be brought in to your loved ones if you want anything tasty and nutritious. If you are not able to leave your room they will deliver to you, late, after they have wheeled other residents to the dining area and served them. The one nurse, who is not there 24 hours, has limited hours and arrives late, leaves for lunch, and leaves promptly at 4:30 pm, is an LVN. What is a licensed vocational nurse or LVN? They are also known as a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Becoming an LVN is one of the quickest ways to become a nurse, as there is not an extensive amount of education required for most other types of nurses such as registered nurses (RN) or advanced practice nurses. She has no ability to perform anything other than what a doctor has written in the chart. If your loved one should experience difficulty such as severe pain, adjustments to prescriptions, etc. the stock answer is, "I can only do what's in the chart." And that is all she does. Medication is administered by med techs, often late, and frequently incorrectly (missing or wrong medications). The nurse is often not aware of the med-techs actions (i.e. not delivering the proper meds or changes in when meds are delivered). The nurse has no special connection to a doctor of any kind. If you or your loved one has any medical need outside of "what's in the chart" your only recourse is to go to the ER or make an appointment with a doctor on your own. While the building is attractive and the decor that of a modern apartment complex marketing to millennials. The building is a square with the only outdoor space being the interior courtyard with a few short concrete walkways in the middle of some poorly maintained ground-level plants. There is no other space for your loved one to enjoy the outdoors. Any form of complaint is responded to with the management teaming up and defending the management and the following retaliation (providing meals and medications even later, not following up on request for medications, and idle emotional threats to the resident(s) even if the complaint is not by the resident themselves. The staff is way underpaid and walk around as though they are fearful of management. Otherwise, they are the most pleasant people to interact on a social level. In the past year all of the management and staff, except the marketing director, were fired or quit on the spot, within 24 hours. A month later, management sent a rather patronizing notice to the residents written as if the former staff and management had retired or found other positions by choice. These were the people residents had come to know and trust and in many cases had visited the resident's home prior to moving to the facility. What they didn't count on were the relationships that residents and their families had built with the former staff who they were still in touch with and were able to learn the truth. For all intents and purposes, it was some sort of coup. And that is the point that services became worse than ever. I urge you to be very cautious when considering this facility. Ask for credentials, visit after hours, speak with current residents in the dining area (not those hand-selected by management). And by all means, DO NOT TRUST what the marketing director sells you. It won't be what is delivered. read more
