Brookdale Monroe

I don’t even know how to start this review. If there is a place to put ZERO star or negative / minus rating, I’d like to rate this place -10. This is how upset I have been with this place. My parents have been residents in the Assisted Living area at Brookdale (BD) in Monroe for over two years. My complaints about this BD are as follows; When my Dad would be hospitalized for long periods, sometimes for a whole month, BD would not refund the Personal Service fees. Why would anyone pay for a service they never received? When I approached the Director to get a refund for the 1st absence, you have to beg them to get your money back. There were two times for Dad’s long absences. It happened again in December, all but two days. Still waiting for a refund on 2nd absence & probably not get the 1,720.00 owed to us,. Dad’s condition has gotten worse these past two years. Personal Service Plan needed to be upgraded. The BD nurse did an evaluation on Dad & came up with a new plan. I have to review it & approve their recommendations. Nurse added many new items plus a Dress & Groom charge of $1614.00. My mom helps dad every morning to dress. Dad has fallen during the last 6 months due to two reasons, he’s prone to UTI & not getting his Parkinson’s drug on time. Falling did not & never was an issue with removing his pants with new ones. However, BD insisted that we pay this extra 1614.00/ month. I agree to all of their recommendations except this one. I was FORCED TO SIGH IT UNDER DURESS. If I didn’t then we’d have to find another place. Folk’s rent before these upgrades was 9,623/ month, now with the new services & this extra unneeded dress & groom it’s at 13,620.00. Why would I pay this much when I can get an established Adult Family Home (AFH) for $13,000 with 24 hour help. Dirty facility, specifically the folks room. Dad had a severe bloody nose & some incontinence issues. Blood on the bedroom carpet, urine in both bedroom & living room carpet. Dad was in the hospital for over two weeks. The day after dad’s two week stay I asked the director everything on the floor needs cleaning, especially the carpets because of blood & urine. Keep in mind mom is still living in the apartment & staff is coming in all the time during dad’s absence with this urine smell. I finally wrote an email to the director, two days before dad was going to be released from hospital, reminding her about the date I initially asked to get it cleaned up & that dad will be there in two days. The day before it finally got cleaned. Should have taken that long! Understaffing in general, especially on night shift. Mom & Dad have a Call Button (CB) on their necks to call for help. I thought that this CB was for immediate responses, an emergency. It can take 5,10,15, even 40 mins (night shift) before some comes to the door. Especially if the resident is prone to falling, you’d think that all of the staff would be warned about it. Not the case here. One of the reasons why we put my parents in this facility is convenient which is closed to home. We are moving out of this place. This place is focusing on only making money than caring the residents. Be aware of all the charges here that you need to check your bill every month.

Sponsered a drag show! With a beautiful campus and decent-sized rooms, 10 minutes from her grandkids, my mom was planning to sell her house and then move-in here. Then while Googling them one day, I stumbled upon their sponsorship of a drag show at the nearby senior center. I messaged them to verify this wasn't a mistake or rogue employee, but they didn't respond. When they eventually contacted me generally, they responded that they had just wanted to be welcoming to all. But actively supporting someone's sin and self-destruction isn't the same as welcoming a person. It's also unwelcoming and disrespectful to others who do not share that worldview, especially the people of faith already living there. We know they are there because we were drawn in part for the Bible study group. Shortly thereafter, we also heard from a friend who works in food service at such places, that there are other reasons to stay away from Brookdale in Monroe. Basically that it is very expensive yet has poor quality care, and that they make the employees sign agreements not to share publicly about the conditions. She did think the food was good there, however. On our recent trip to the area, my mom went and looked again just to be sure, but neither of us could stomach the idea of supporting a company that promotes such evil. This is despite the fact that my mom will probably see her grandkids a lot less as a result, which is a tragedy for both her and them, but some things you just don't compromise on.

When I get old enough to need a senior living facility I hope I find a place just like this one. Everyone here seems so nice and caring. The food tastes good and the cafe staff is very friendly. The lady at the front counter is nice and upper management is very caring. Lisa is so funny and when she interacts with the residents you can just tell they love her. She is a hoot and a half!

My mother has been a residence at Brookdale Monroe since last Sept and just loves it there. The staff is great and doing everything in their power to keep their residences safe. The apartments range in size and price and mom just loves her apartment, it is the perfect size for her. The food is good and they take good care about her food allergies and restrictions in helping to keep her well and happy. She tells me all the time how nice every one is and how friendly all the residences are. This is the best move we could have made at this time for our mom. The pictures are from our visit for her 90th birthday celebration in February