The Addison of West Ashley

We visited 5 assisted living communities in our area and decided on The Addison of West Ashley. Why? When you enter the front door, there is great music and friendly faces! Staff and residents greet you with a smile and a “hello”! The atmosphere is welcoming, tidy and decorated for the season or the theme of an activity/event. The apartments work with lighting and spacious for your personal furnishings, to make it your loved one’s new home. It’s all on one level! No elevators! Small enough that everyone gets to know everyone, which is wonderful and welcoming. The calendar is full of daily activities that give residents a reason to leave their apartment! Services! The hair salon, stylist, Janice Thorne is amazing, uplifting the residents with a great cut and style! My mother looks forward to going and her hair looks great! After my mother’s first appointment, a male resident walks by and says, “Hey newbie, looking good!” Which made her smile and feel good! Happy Hour every Thursday is never a dull moment! Great, safe area to walk outside, beautiful courtyards for sitting, socializing or maybe gardening! Movie room is relaxing and comfortable featuring a variety of movies to enjoy. There’s always a jigsaw puzzle challenging residents and visitors! The food smells amazing and my mother now eats 3 meals a day plus there is always nibbles in the kitchen for residents to enjoy. It’s a place where my mother is safe, active and happy.

Going from living independently to becoming a resident of an assistant living facility was difficult for my mother. However, the administration helped my brother and I navigate a very difficult time with patience and professionalism. Mom is now feeling at home and we are so delighted that she is happy. The activities are wonderful, the food is great but most of all the staff is wonderful. They are friendly and loving and really took the time to get to know mom and she really enjoys her interactions with them. Her room is spacious and comfortable and she has everything she needs.

My aunt has been at The Addison (formerly Benton House) for 2 years.  When she first moved there she was in terrible health and in extremely low spirits.  Since she moved in her health has improved (thanks to conscientious caregivers) and her mood is always positive now.  As with most Alzheimer’s patients, she can be difficult to handle at times, but the staff members at The Addison are patient and caring. When we visit she is clean, well dressed and often giggling. On one of our last visits she kept repeating, “I’m so happy, happy, happy”. It was wonderful to hear and it made us giggle. The facility is clean and has a very welcoming atmosphere. This facility is 180 degrees from the other two facilities at which my aunt lived. I'm so happy, happy, happy she is at The Addison now.

Our family debated for a long time whether to write this review, but with the few compassionate and trustworthy caregivers now gone from the building, we feel a responsibility to share our experience so other families can make informed decisions. Our grandmother, Rachel Crews, moved into The Addison of West Ashley in August of 2023 with Alzheimer’s. For most of her time there, she was unhappy, confused, and inadequately supported. Communication with our family was minimal, and basic hands-on observation and care were lacking. The only reason our grandmother experienced dignity or any quality of life was because of one caregiver, Laloma, and her small team. They treated her with compassion and patience, kept us informed, noticed changes no one else seemed to see, and helped us advocate for proper evaluations. They were the bright spot in an otherwise heartbreaking situation. Unfortunately, our experience with leadership was the opposite. The problems at The Addison began at the top with Director Stephanie Hager. Under her leadership, safety concerns were routinely dismissed, accountability was absent, and issues brought to her attention were met with excuses instead of solutions. Apologies only came after intense pressure and never resulted in meaningful change. The culture throughout the building reflected this failure: • During multiple hospitalizations and hospice transitions, not once did The Addison call to check on our grandmother or communicate with our family. • Chronic understaffing was common. One night at 1 a.m., after returning from the ER, we could not find a single staff member in assisted living. We waited in the lobby calling for nearly 20 minutes with no response. A memory-care employee was eventually found asleep on a couch and tried to locate help. It took another 20 minutes to find one staff member while the second required employee never appeared. • Our grandmother fell and waited 20 minutes after pressing her call button with no response. She eventually dragged herself to the phone and called us. After calling the facility for 30 minutes with no answer, we had to dial 911 to assist her. • We were repeatedly told that resident call buttons throughout the building did not reliably work. • We witnessed staff absent when needed, sleeping while on duty, or unprepared to work. • Housekeeping was extremely inconsistent. Our grandmother’s room was often dirty, and at times there appeared to be no housekeeping staff at all. Her room even became infested with bugs. • Despite these unresolved safety issues, residents received a 12 percent rent increase for cosmetic updates while staffing, cleanliness, food quality, and resident safety continued to decline. When we escalated the staffing emergency to Stephanie with no response, we contacted Larinda Cooley, the Regional Director of Operations. While Larinda was able to reach Stephanie by phone that night, no action followed. We never received a follow-up, apology, or explanation from either of them, and none of the reported issues were corrected. It became clear to us that protecting leadership mattered more than protecting residents. Caregivers who advocated for residents or challenged unsafe practices gradually disappeared from the building. Compassion and integrity were not valued. At one point, we were falsely told that our grandmother’s Nurse Practitioner, Sarah Sams, was no longer practicing at the facility, later discovering this was untrue. During our grandmother’s final weeks in hospitals and hospice, The Addison never once reached out, not even after she passed away unless we demanded accountability. That silence speaks volumes. Families deserve the truth behind the tours and brochures. Based on our firsthand experience, The Addison of West Ashley fell devastatingly short in leadership, staffing, safety, cleanliness, communication, and compassion. If you have another option, we urge you to use it. We wish we could write a different review, but remaining silent after what we witnessed does not feel right.