Norwich Springs Health Campus

When my husband needed a nursing care facility I went on a hunt, visiting 6 facilities and contacting 3 more. My expectations were high: very clean, no odor, excellent physical therapy and highly trained nurses and aides. I wanted the feeling that all personnel is upbeat, happy and nurturing. I wanted to witness dedication, patience and excellent care. I found all of it at Norwich Springs and am so thankful that I made the right decision.

Nobody's perfect, including you and me, and neither is Norwich Springs: so why did I just give them 5 stars? Let's start with the good items. The day care staff, nurses and aides, were consistently excellent. Susan especially was as prompt, efficient, professional and pleasant as any medical staff I've had. The physical therapy staff also exceeded my expectations. That surprised me because I went in with high expectations: I chose Norwich precisely because I was told that PT was one of their strengths. It was: they achieved an excellent balance of encouragement and challenge (that is, pushing you to do things that you need to do even though it hurts) with a level of empathy and of listening to feedback that ensured they kept the right balance. Sarah especially met this ideal. As a whole, I noted that all the employees work as a team, even across departments. One thing that showed how they cooperated to get things was seeing how sometimes nursing and even administrative staff pitched in to help deliver meal trays when it was needed. Now what about those imperfections? The food gets mixed grades. Taste and texture are very good, but often the main course was not very hot. And as much as I praised the day nurses and aides, the night crew was much more mixed; some were very good and others were much less so. To Norwich's credit, though, I pointed out and discussed deficiencies with a nursing supervisor, Lora, who listened openly and non-defensively, responded calmly to me, and took action about the problem. After my feedback, one night nurse dramatically improved her interactions and her promptness immediately. I consider Norwich's willingness to listen and its ability to act on critical feedback as a major plus. As I said at the beginning, nobody's perfect; but the ability to take feedback and self-correct moves an organization closer to excellence over time. Especially if you're looking for good PT as part of your treatment, I strongly recommend Norwich. Five stars.

Five years ago I interviewed this facility for my Mom. She was diagnosed with Dementia. Shannon & Andrea were the representatives placing patients in the facility. They assured us that Norwich Springs had everything and was a one stop facility. They have assisted living, memory care, rehab and a nursing home. That since Mom was self pay she could go on a list for Medicaid when money ran low. While in Assisted Living my Mom’s room was left uncleaned, if she had a bowel incontinence episode, the rug remained soiled for days. They always had a response like the cleaning staff isn’t working on the weekend. I contacted the Director Justin multiple times. I feel he is a nice person but not effective at running this facility. Things were ignored and pushed to the wayside. If you are looking for a facility that wants to take all your loved ones money and offers little care- look no further. They forced her into Memory Care. Raised the prices and charged extra for bathing, the bathing rarely happened. We were often left to do the bathing. They stated the cost was for asking her. There was a worker who prided herself with telling us she insulted my mom several times and how she smelled from refusing a bath. Many times my Mom was left in the same soiled clothing, wet depends and the level of care costs continued to climb. The workers were often on their phones not working with the Memory Care Residents. There was an activity board that often was for show. The activities rarely happened. One Sunday the restless residents were complaining to me about being bored. I told a worker and she said- I will put on Football. My Mother soiled her pants one day and was told to leave the table and go change or she couldn’t eat dinner. A more recent incident was when my unstable Mom walked from her room to the common area without her rollater. I arrived & inquired where she was. I was told “She came down here with no rollater so we sent her to her room to get it, she needs it.” The final straw is a worker inquiring about her finances and calling a meeting to announce she was being discharged & we needed to find a new facility. They did the exact same thing to another of their residents about a week before Mom. My Mother was the fifth resident in this new facility. There was no compassion, terrible care and it’s a huge money grab. There was one bright light at this facility her name is Jessica. She has heart and truly cares for the residents.

All-hands-on-patientcare at Norwich worked for us. We do not want to go to hospital or rehab again; but if we must we choose Norwich Springs. Here is why: Dr. Miller ordered medications on target giving us choices; Nurse Practitioner Nicki in her gentle-intense attention gave us all the time we needed every week before writing her orders with our participation; Director RN Lora enhanced her reputation with us (as the wound care expert in Columbus) every time she entered our room, examined the wound, did the dressing herself; fixed the noise in air mattress or walked out with items like lunch tray or the big trash can. So did the other officials. One time I wondered about the healing of my wound, Practitioner Nicki said, “I will be here the next time they change your dressing.” She came back on the same day with Director Lora; they did my dressing, examined my wound and reassured me, “the wound is healing as expected; and the two tubes will probably be taken out by the surgeon when you see her on December the 1st.” Right, they were, tubes were taken out of my body. Our surgeon at OSU, was impressed by the speed of wound healing and the quality of care, “the nurses did a good job,” she said. Business Manager Rachel, for example, would be carrying dinner tray to your room. Director Ashley will be in your room with update or paperwork needed for, say, extending your stay. My in-home supply was ordered and therapy scheduled before we came home. David, of transportation, was in our room with paperwork complete for my outpatient doctor’s appointment few times before I went, making sure I was ready and pleased with my trip. RN Emily is in a class by herself – knowledgeable, thorough, delivering all-you-need care on- time. She took me in on Monday evening, Nov 10th, after her shift was over; she did a thorough and complete intake-job. On Monday following, the 17th, RN Emily stayed after her shift and took care of my sudden special needs of the tubes in my body and wound area; had to change and replace all my bed items by herself for more than two hours. When leaving my room, she herself accumulated two huge bags of items she could hardly carry and walked away. RN Hodan and RN Fatima each did patient care per order from Dr. Miller, Director RN Lora and Nurse Practitioner Nicki – as directed, on time; listened to us intently and addressed our observations patiently. RN Nalene was upright and earnest in my care. RN on each shift has been doing a commendable job in providing me medicines with warm water, changing, repositioning me in my bed to reduce my pain, and taking care of my tubes and related urgent needs. I would say the same about each aid in my attendance. “It’s my calling” (to care for my patients) says Darlene and she lives her calling every day. Remarkable individuals, like Ann, aids on my side caring for my every need, changing, bathing to getting food items to my liking. Each aid did a commendable job. Individuals in the kitchen have been very attentive, when asked, yogurt or soup, it is right there in my hand – Ibrahim, Drew (the tallest person), Tony and the rest – visible around caring for patients. The therapists did a remarkable job in making me feel welcome, comfortable with effective therapy. Emily, Lora and Shannon would fix my hair, help me dress up and ramp up therapy to see me fit sooner. By the time I got back home, my bed had a stand to grab on to, walker and a stick – ordered and ready – thanks to the pictures they printed (of what I needed) out. Kayona Gentry, ESA, of Housekeeping does a thorough job every time she enters my room. She does her work with sincerity, in seriousness. Each job these individuals do is hard, high-pressure and demanding – keeping up with each patient. Our time at Norwich has been very helpful, giving us wound recovery within a reasonable time. Norwich Springs is a good place for wound healing. We are satisfied. If we must go for wound care or rehab again – we go to Norwich Springs. patient and husband at bedside