Birchwoods at Canco Assisted Living

It has taken me 9 months to write this review. I wanted to reflect on our experience for some time so I could be as objective and honestly reflective as possible, without emotion dictating my opinions. This is my takeaway. Prior to my mom being accepted into this community, the staff did extensive testing and evaluations. They assured us that she was a good fit for the community and thought she would be a great addition with her fun, spunky personality. They were aware of her early-stage dementia. They were confident she would thrive there, and we talked it through in her admissions interview. We were hopeful that this was a good fit, given that there was a designation of "memory care" on their website (and they offered targeted activities that would benefit their memory care community.) We believed them. Soon afterward, all mentions of "memory care" on their website disappeared. The night she moved in, we received two (somewhat rude and alarming) phone calls at around 1AM and again at 3:30AM from one of the ladies on duty, saying that mom was agitated and wanted to leave - apparently, she walked into the hallway and was looking for my father. The caregiver said "We think she's a flight risk." My anxiety went through the roof. This staff, shockingly, had absolutely NO training on how to handle (predictable) transitions like this. This caregiver was annoyed and said she would now have to put someone outside mom's room all night to make sure that she didn't leave again for the rest of the night. YET, we were advised upon intake that the transition to assisted living could be difficult and would not be seamless...so how could these employees have NO skills or training to try to calm mom down in this situation or reassure her? Red flags were appearing immediately. My mother had never lived in an assisted living facility before, and she was confused and frightened. The staff had absolutely no clue how to deal with this. From that first night, we had already lost confidence - anxiety was high. Every time I saw the Birchwoods phone number pop up on my incoming calls, I felt panic. We felt duped and disappointed. They were NOT honest from the outset. Birchwoods at Canco was changing management companies when my mother was admitted. They NEVER told us this. They had apparently let their director go and had not hired a new one. Communication was almost nonexistent, except for periodic phone calls from shift caregivers. Things were discombobulated and there was zero communication from any manager. It was almost as if they were trying to hide how bad things were within their organization. It was a challenging situation, but mom started to like it there, and she made friends. Upon admitting mom to the community, admissions said that they believed in 'lifelong care' so that once a resident was accepted, she could stay indefinitely. This gave us comfort and reassurance. This was NOT TRUE. In the end, the new management company apparently decided they were going to ask people to leave who they deemed required too much attention/care. This left families scrambling. We heard this from other families and decided to find a new place for mom. (A few directors from other communities told us that they were getting frantic phone calls from families currently at the Birchwoods, trying to find a new place for their loved one because they were asked to leave on very short notice.) Overall, it was a bad, unprofessional, and unsettling experience at Birchwoods. Everything we feared COULD happen actually came true, and it only added to our anxiety, stress, and guilt of having to move her in the first place. I would NOT recommend this facility to anyone. BUT, the great news is that we found a place for my mother that is absolutely fantastic. She is thriving! Having experienced this, here is my advice. TRANSPARENCY is key. Read the reviews. Do your due diligence. Read the room. Monitor closely. Ask hard questions. Communication is key. Listen to your gut. Do not be scared to leave if things seem off. Peace of mind is invaluable.

The owners have allowed the facility to go downhill. They rehire staff who have poor work ethics, a nurse who could not take care of the residents and directors who conveniently lose paperwork, medication, and money. There are always issues with the food and overall cleanliness. My loved one will not be returning to this building. To the owner's response. My concerns were brought to the community and to the Sinceri home office. I never received a call back from either. My father passed away after being told by a nurse he doesn't need a care plan. This community continued to employe this nurse after it had been reported.

My folks were quite impressed with the facility, amenities and the interaction with the employees & residents