My wife was there for rehab after a hospital stay. We chose (insisted on) Stella Maris based on how…read morecompassionate they were during my father-in-law's hospice stay. The facility was clean, and the rehab people were great. The food service was abysmal. Meals delivered too late/ early, wrong, incomplete (Salad, no dressing or dressing, no salad), no drinks. When we tried to correct it with foodservice management, they blamed my wife for the issues. In spite of decent Physical Therapy, I signed my wife out early as I could not take the time from work to bring her three meals a day

My father received home hospice care through Stella Maris after being discharged from the hospital…read moreon a Thursday. We were told no nurse or social worker would be available until Monday. During those four days, my mother and I were responsible for all care, including repositioning him and managing his hygiene, despite being physically unable to safely turn him. Repeated calls to the nurse line did not result in meaningful support, and assistance only came after multiple escalations. When my father began actively dying, I contacted the hospice nurse for guidance as he appeared to be gasping for air and in a lot of pain. The nurse initially answered and disconnected the call. When I called back, I was told, "What do you want? I'm busy." When I asked about medication, I was told, "You can't kill him." We were given a medication kit but no written instructions, which made it extremely difficult to manage his symptoms with confidence during a highly stressful and emotional situation. Staff also made comments in front of my father about his impending death in a way that felt inconsistent with maintaining dignity, despite acknowledging that hearing is the last to go. When the nurse arrived after his passing, the first comment made upon entering our home was, "Are you happy now?" (I'm finally here) We were told bereavement support would be available, but no follow-up occurred, and we were unable to reach the social worker. My father chose this hospice in part for its Catholic affiliation, but despite multiple attempts, no priest came to provide last rites. We ultimately had to find one ourselves. This experience was extremely difficult for our family and did not reflect the level of support we expected during end-of-life care. If you want your family member to die with dignity and to be treated like a human being - do not use Stella Maris.

This one of the most beautiful buildings that I have ever seen. The inside maintains the same…read morestandards of exultance. The building and its contacts alone make this a must see. That does not the long standings of traditions, values, charitable work of the Masons. Did mention that this facility can be rented for private party's, banquets, and weddings?

From the owner: Ballroom capacity 320read more

My doctor prescribed IVIG infusion therapy for my condition. I was immediately contacted by…read moreBrightstar Nursing Agency and assigned a case manager. She gave me answers to my questions and informed me I would be contacted by my nurse for home therapy. Within 24 hours I had heard from my nurse, Ivy Appelbaum-Sanbank, RN and we worked to set up my five day infusion schedule. Ivy (I called her that after meeting her) arrived promptly the first day at 7:00 am and professionally went through all the paperwork, unpacked all the supplies that had be shipped to me and again, answered a lot of questions. I needed to have a line into my vein and even with my difficult circulatory system,it was accomplished with little or no pain, and it wasn't easy. Ivy stayed with me for the five five hour sessions, carefully monitored my vitals and was a pleasure to speak with. She explained a lot to me and my wife which put our minds at ease. We just finished today and I am so glad that Ivy was sent to work with me. She is kind, considerate, knowledgeable, adept at what she does. It was a great comfort to have her around. I highly recommend BrightStar Care Baltimore and especially Nurse Ivy Appelbaum-Sandbank. Thank you.

Using BrightStar for my parents and I'm so happy that I chose this company. I was really dreading…read morehaving to do this, but BrightStar has made this an incredible experience from the very start. Everyone is very easy to work with and they have taken phenomenal care of my parents. 10/10!

I had spent five weeks in hospitals or SNFs before being discharged. I live alone and knew I would…read morewant someone to be wih me to help me transition to my home. I called several home care providers who told me it would take as many as five days to find care givers. I needed someone to drive me home and begin care the next day. We Care could provide what I needed. They helped me complete the necessary forms, line by line. I was extremley anxious about being home. Diane and Sonia were able to support and encourage me through my anxious moments. They provided both physical and emotional support as I adjusted to being home. In addition, all my laundry was done, my bed changed, dishes washed, and my meals were prepared. They both went "above and beyond". I valued their companionship as I adjusted to being on my own. They became like surrogate family members, and I appreciate their caring and kindness above all.

From the owner: Our services range from Activities of Daily Living, Skilled Nursing Care and Skilled Registered…read moreNurse Visits. WeCare has earned a stellar reputation-which speaks for itself-by providing the solutions that improve the quality of life for our clients who need and desire assistance within the comfort and privacy of their own homes. We Care Private Duty Services, Inc., is a Nursing Referral and Residential Services Agency . WeCare has provided service excellence to its clients for the past fourteen years. WeCare is independently owned and operated. WeCare is licensed by the State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Health Care Quality. All Nurses are licensed and Nursing Assistants are certified by the Maryland Board of Nursing.

I want to begin by stating that the nursing care I received at Mays Chapel was compassionate and…read moreexcellent. My praise for them, ends there. I had a stroke. Physical therapy told my husband and I that I would never walk again and stated that I really neededto be trained to live in a wheelchair. To make a long story Short, I am now an outpatient physical therapy. Though I spend time in a wheelchair, I am learning to walk and will be able to do so with a walker independently. Additionally, the medical Director came to my husband and I and told us that I was dying, and should be placed on hospice. that was two years ago. All of my doctors are completely confused as to why he would've came to that conclusion. When we refused hospice, and refused to accept that I could not be taught more independent living, they discharged me. The facility itself is beautiful. It is clean and well-managed. However, they did not provide what I needed from them. Have they done so, I believe that I would be further along than I am now. Again, the good news is that I am progressing dramatically at this point.

After my 90+-year-old mother was hospitalized months ago, the hospital recommended that she not…read moreimmediately return to her assisted living facility, but instead, they said that she should go to a rehabilitation facility. It was arranged for her to go to Lorien Mays Chapel. I am writing to tell you that Lorien Mays Chapel was very disappointing and that my mother dramatically deteriorated there. Although they say the right things and have a lot of staff with all sorts of titles, they are really not set up to manage elderly women with dementia. They put her on a vigorous regimen of PT and OT which wore her out and there appeared to be a complete disconnect between their administrative staff like the dietician and their floor staff. In fact, the latter were more concerned about their break times and getting food from the small luncheonette there than with my mother. Lorien Mays Chapel has a good reputation and I think that for relatively healthy young to middle aged men or women who just need a little PT or OT, it is probably fine. However, for older individuals who need more care and attention, in addition to PT and OT, Lorien is not the place to send them. Seeing my mother deteriorate so quickly at Lorien, we managed to get her out of there relatively quickly - weak, very disoriented, and on oxygen 24/7. After returning back to her assisted living facility where they are better setup for her issues, she is much stronger and active again.

Our 97 yr Mom has been given excellent care here for over 20 yrs, staff are super hand friendly…read more They just remodeled and have tons of activities, lots of great folks that live and work there!

From the owner: Nestled in the picturesque rolling hills of Hunt Valley is Broadmead, a continuing care…read moreretirement community long known for its beauty, convenience, and Quaker-inspired values -- where a lifestyle of integrity, inclusion and simplicity serves a diverse group of residents.

While the ok physical therapists were excellent, their techs and aides were not, some were rude and…read moredid not no how to tend to those in pain.

After 1 yr of living w/ my husband in our Independent Apartment, I needed to use my emergency…read morependant. The staff responded very quickly & I was sent to GBMC. After 1 wk in hospital, I returned to the subacute rehab unit @ MD Masonic. The nursing staff was very professional & always available. The Rehab staff evaluated me & created a therapy plan. I call the Rehab Gym the "Miracle Room" because after 2 wks I returned to my apartment. It was so comforting to know that all my needs could be met in one place. And for that, I am very grateful that I've made MD Masonic MY HOME

Update: they are not licensed social workers. They hold themselves out that they are and that they…read moreare trained and capable of performing testing that a social worker would be able to do, but they are not.

A Geriatric Care Manager (GCM) is someone you can hire to look after an elderly relative such as a…read moreparent when they can no longer live independently and for example you live too far away to make regular visits to check on them and the care they are receiving. After my mom had a stroke my brothers and I, who live out of state, decided to hire a GCM. We hired The Option Group and Ellen Platt (who is the owner) and this unfortunately turned out to be a huge mistake. Ultimately we were very disappointed with their service. Not only did they display a lack of skill in assessing and reporting our mother's situation, but it turns out they have deceptive and unethical billing practices. At $150 per hour (not including travel time which is billed at the same clinical rate), The Option Group with Ellen Platt is very expensive but we decided to hire them. The initial visit was two hours (plus). The next visit a few days later was almost two hours and included Ellen performing a BCAT cognitive assessment test. The following week one day Ellen brought a social worker, one of her employees, named Jackie Tangires. Jackie visited mom again herself later in the week. During that time we received an email per each visit. They reported nothing unusual or urgent. The following week my brother, "Brad", came to town to spend time with our mother. On his initial visits he discovered that our mother was having a very difficult and challenging adjustment to the assisted living facility. He reported that he found a variety of problems including that she wasn't getting out of bed, she wasn't eating for several days and not participating in therapy/activities. He found this out by talking to staff (the same thing Ellen and Jackie were supposed to have done). My brother then called Jackie twice to find out if they knew about these problems. Jackie admitted that she had not uncovered these issues. Ellen having been there earlier in the week had not either, which is a serious error. We don't understand how both of them with their experience, qualifications and credentials (not to mention charging $150/hr incl travel time!) missed the poor adjustment given the time that they spent there. About 2 to 3 weeks later when he was leaving town, Brad emailed both Jackie and Ellen to gave them feedback by detailing the situation, what he found, and expressed disappointment that they had not uncovered the issues as that is why they were hired. Several days went by with no reply from either. I emailed Ellen saying that without a response we couldn't decide on next steps. The next day Jackie replied but it was unsatisfactory. She appeared to miss the point about the feedback. Her response seemed somewhat defensive, did not take any responsibility, and completely ignored the fact that she was there twice during the week. The conclusion is that Jackie and Ellen are not competent enough to 1) accurately assess our mother's situation properly, and 2) to read and respond to a reasonably clear and direct communication. I'm also not sure why Ellen (the business owner and person of ultimate responsibility) left it to just Jackie to reply to the email directed at both of them. We paid them $150 an hour to do just this - to find out the critical information, to act to mitigate problems, and report it to us. Actually given that they charge the full clinical rate for driving time (in addition to mileage) one is paying $300 an hour. We don't feel that our mother received the value of essentially paying $300 an hour for geriatric care management services and decided to end the service. In the communication I said that we should get a refund for the week's charges of $512 in which they failed to perform. Shortly after that I contacted mom's doctor who said they never received the BCAT assessment which Platt billed us for. Not counting the test itself (which cost about $75), we were charged $165 for the test scoring and sending it to her doctor. I followed up with Platt telling her that, and asked her to send the test results (twice in a 3 week period) and never heard back. When someone charges you for services which were not performed that's usually called fraud. We were charged a deposit of $250 which was for the last bill. However we were paid up at that point and there never was a last bill. I asked Platt a number of times to refund the deposit as would be expected and have heard nothing back. Usually when someone takes money from someone for services which were not rendered it's called theft. The irony of course is that they were paid by mom and they have defrauded from the very person they were hired to help. The conclusion while self evident is also, you should do everything else you can instead to avoid the disaster and exorbitant cost associated with failure. I would avoid Ellen Platt and the The Option Group due to their unethical, unprofessional, unscrupulous and disreputable practices.

Brightview Mays Chapel has the most caring staff, very clean and nicely decorated facilities,…read moreexcellent dining, and a very active schedule of activities to engage residents. All levels of care are equally nice - from Independent Living (where my parents started out), to Assisted Living (when my dad eventually needed more care before he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away), and to Memory Care (where my mom currently is). The staff is very personable, they personally know their residents, and they really do care and engage to make this a bright and enjoyable place for seniors to call home. I am very grateful for the care that Brightview provides my mom, and I highly recommend them!

Went to visit my dad yesterday- this is NOT a church, it's a retirement community with independent…read more(my dad) and assisted living wings. Residences are nice- essentially decently sized full apartments- full kitchen, W/D in bathroom, balconies on some units, my dad has 1 bedroom and a den...very clean, nicely furnished, no pee or yucky smells associated with old folks homes!!, lots of activities like bingo, folk singers, yoga, movies (has a small theatre), etc. Part of the deal is breakfast - mediocre, store brand breads and bagels for toast, juices (including prune!), cold cereals , yogurts, nice fresh fruit salads though, hard boiled eggs, microave oatmeal packets, stale pastries...and dinner-- where we were last night! Pretty decent home cooking-style- you sit down with a menu, teenage in tux shirt takes order- you can pick soup or salad, one of three entrees, 2 of 4 sides, you get a roll, and you get a list of deserts. Sodas, juices, (prune again!) coffee/tea (bag Lipton) included...they have a litte longe you can eat in, too, and spend a few bucks for beer or wine...or store your own liquor in a locker and the staff will mix you a drink with free mixers! (sadly, my dad is not into that...) We had a pleasant meal- decent romaine salad with tomato slice and cucumber slices, fresh and crisp, really amazing good blue cheese dressing- big chunks of cheese!; sweet, somewhat tasty clover roll with real butter but a but dry from overstay in warmer; turkey was fresh, moist, flavorful, over a thick slice of industrial style white bread and a large slathering of canned but tasty gravy, real mashed tater, more gravy, really good colllards or steamed broccoli- broccoli was obviosly frozen, but buttery and well cooked; dessert was caramelized pears and ginger bread for me - pears were good, ginger bread was box mix, but caramel iceing was taaasty!...overall, a good home-style meal. If you have any realitves here, it's not a bad way to eat for 12 bucks....and the relatives appreciate the company! Dining room is comfy and formal, too- very nicely decorated in a formal, flowery, grandma style. Note: this is one of the most expensive communities around!! Other places start at 2500.00 per month no deposit for same type service vs 4 grand here!! Unless dead set on area shop around! My dad now in Atrium Village- with full assisted living services he still pays less than he paid here for basic Independent! And Atrium is just as nice