Palmcrest Grand Assisted Living

Name: Danielle Mansfield
Rating: 1
Review: After years of trying to take care of her partner at home, my mom finally accepted she could not give him the care he needs. His dementia is progressing and he has had a couple of accidents. This is heartbreaking for her. But once he was accepted to Palmcrest she knew it was the right decision. He had fallen a couple of times, most recently this past July, and ended up in a rehab for recovery. This is important for this review.Palmcrest is a beautiful facility. It felt clean and modern, bright and well maintained. The residents were interacting and seemed happy. The memory care area is secure and seemed like it was going to be a great fit for “John”. Instead it was a nightmare.John was transferred from another facility...after a fall. He was assessed at that facility by a woman from Palmcrest who approved him for transfer. She physically saw him, reviewed his condition, spoke with him, and yet overlooked the neon yellow bracelet that says “FALL RISK”.John was medically transported to Palmcrest (Paid for out of pocket) around 10:00AM on 7/25. By 3:00 that same day we were told he would not be allowed to stay and he would need to be out of the facility that night. That night! The lead administrator told us that the owner would not allow for him to stay as a resident because he is a fall risk. A fall risk! I repeat that because that was in his file from the beginning. There was a bright neon bracelet telling them that during his assessment. He was in rehab due to a fall. Of course he is a fall risk.I’m not even sure I can articulate how hard it is to watch a loved one with dementia being treated that way. We had nowhere to take him. One Admin member, Mary, did try to call many other facilities and find a placement, but we had hours to move him. Hours to figure out Medicare acceptance, memory care ability, and find local arrangements. That day we spent hours trying to get him comfortable after the transfer, only to have to traumatize him again.The lead admin's attitude and lack of communication were appalling. We were told that they could transfer John to Los Angeles community hospital. That was the solution offered. We even asked if we could pay out of pocket for the rest of the night so we could figure out where to go. Admin said that we could hire a “sitter” out of pocket but she didn’t known of any locally. She said she hadn’t even reviewed his file until then and if she known earlier she would not have approved his as a resident. She behaved as though that was John’s fault. The multiple administrative failures that created this chaos were egregious and incompetent.After hours of tears and phone calls the decision was made to take him home. To a two story house. In my car. No one offered to help with arranging transport or even checked in on John. In fact, after his initial assessment not one person ever looked in on him. My boyfriend sat with him for the hours it took us trying to find a new place. He sat with John trying to calm him through the confusion and not one person ever checked in. (Jesse did bring in a dinner tray though. So, thank you!)Having to move a loved one into a facility is never easy, even when it is one as nice as Palmcrest, but Palmcrest made it Hell. It was unnecessarily cruel, thoughtless, and inhumane. I can’t speak to the long term care of Palmcrest. It really does seem like a clean facility and there aren’t many out there. Trust me, we looked at many.One more thing to note...every single doctor, memory care facility, and Home Health nurse we have spoken to since have been equally appalled by Palmcrest’s treatment of the situation. Not just on a medical and professional level, but a simple human level. Our elderly and vulnerable loved ones deserve dignity and respect. John was shown neither.
Date: a year ago