Opinions from mom & family about Life Care. We also felt some of the issues could have been avoided if a better communication approach had been used between the hospital case manager & mom’s family. This occurrence - end of July/2022. Mom was transferred from an acute care hospital to “rehab” ...

Opinions from mom & family about Life Care. We also felt some of the issues could have been avoided if a better communication approach had been used between the hospital case manager & mom’s family. This occurrence - end of July/2022. Mom was transferred from an acute care hospital to “rehab” at Life Care following a hip replacement. In a short period of time at Life Care ( 1 hour & no one answered it. Attempts were made at the nurse’s station to ask for assistance. No one came. 4 times we went to the nurse’s station. Our impression, no one would come. “We will call someone”, was their response. # 2 Lack of continuation of care. I suggest don''t transfer your loved one from a hospital to a rehab facility at 5 pm. No one from PT will be there. So, if they were walking in the hallway & to & from the bathroom with a walker, getting up to a chair, washing their face & brushing their teeth at the sink in the hospital (two days after surgery) this will not be carried over. Since PT was not there to evaluate them, it is bedrest and a bedpan. # 3 Cleanliness. Her room may not have been cleaned as well as it should have been. The fracture pan that was in the bathroom had old stool attached to it. We can only imagine if our mom was put on that bedpan used by another pt. Did that previous pt have an infection that is transmitted by stool to other people such as Cdiff? The toilet bowl was not clean. We just felt “icky.” # 4 Patient Safety. It was explained to us (including mom) by Life Care at the time of her arrival that because my mom was vaccinated & only received one booster (not two) she had to be placed in a room by herself for 7 days & PT/OT would come to her room each day. All her Covid tests were negative. “They never told me (mom) this at the hospital. I would not have come here if I had known.” You could see the tears & fear in being isolated for 7 days. Mom mentioned later if she had known at the hospital about the second booster, she would have taken it. All her accomplishments she made at the hospital would be delayed. Mom felt like a deep depression would set in. Below pt care standards could have caused an infection in her wound, chest, urinary tract, & possibly an admission to a hospital with Sepsis, multi organ system failure & possibly death. We needed to wear a mask while in the building & in her room BUT not one employee worn a mask, pt & family members in her hallway did not have a mask on either. There were several pts in wheelchairs, moving up & down her hallway & going into other pts room. You saw employees moving these pts out of the other pt rooms, back into the hallway. It just seemed a little scary that other pts could enter her room, even unnoticed. A red flag should have been raised when the hospital case manager told us mom, 93 yrs old, had made the decision to transfer to Life Care (< 18 hours after her surgery). Per the hospital case manager, no input or discussion with the family was needed because mom was of sound mind (which she is). But severely HOH, so when the case manager talked with her, was her hearing aids in, did she ask mom to repeat what she had said? Mom does not remember being asked about going to Life Care. Mom initially thought the Case Manager TOLD her she was going to Life Care that day (< 18 hrs after surgery). Rather than cause any more anxiety/stress that mom was feeling, the family agreed to the transfer to Life Care. No family members visited the facility but I called & felt I received acceptable answers to my questions. In retrospect, I wished I had been firmer in keeping her at the hospital for another day rather than transferring mom so late in the day & prior to a shift change. Why did the hospital want to discharge her so quickly, was it a financial gain? The following day, a member of administration did reach out to us, which I considered a positive gesture.

Great staff, clean facility, professionalism n all departments, the activity director & staff are attentive to all new patients & long term patients care. Highly recommend!

This place is simply amazing!! After an unfortunate fall with my father at home, resulting in a drastic 24 hour decline in his dementia from stage 3 to stage 5, we found our self lucky enough to end up in this wonderful facility. With the help of Ralph in scheduling, being my parents neighbor of 10 ...

This place is simply amazing!! After an unfortunate fall with my father at home, resulting in a drastic 24 hour decline in his dementia from stage 3 to stage 5, we found our self lucky enough to end up in this wonderful facility. With the help of Ralph in scheduling, being my parents neighbor of 10 years, Maryanne in admissions went above and beyond her call of duty to help my father get into their physical therapy department from the hospital. It was an absolute emotional, gut wrenching experience for me to see my father in this way however Mary Ann‘s personal touch, kind words and encouragement helped make the transition much easier. The personnel in PT Are very skilled and knowledgeable. The nursing staff, the CNA‘s and activity directors are all simply fantastic!!! I am there every single day to visit my father and the attention, support, encouragement and love they give my dad every day is what puts my mother and I at peace every night so we can sleep. He will be there long term, another life changing adjustment however couldn’t be more grateful and blessed that he is in such good hands at Life Care of SARASOTA. THANK YOU TOO EVERYONE❤️❤️❤️

My mother who has lived with us after a serious fall and subsequent stroke event for five precious years, recently had a second and more debilitating stroke. There’s no turning back the clock here, realizing that life is now changed again for my loved one, and a different setting of care need...

My mother who has lived with us after a serious fall and subsequent stroke event for five precious years, recently had a second and more debilitating stroke. There’s no turning back the clock here, realizing that life is now changed again for my loved one, and a different setting of care needed; one that we cannot safely and comfortably provide in our home. I reached out to Life Care Center when mom was hospitalized to stabilize her. I had heard favorable comments over many years from the orthopedic group I had worked with. They always hoped their patients would do post op rehab there. And so now, f rom the very first phone call, to Erica Davis in Admissions, I found reassurance, understanding, human caring and empathy. . Mom was brought to Life Care Center for rehab, and then most likely will transition to long term care here. My daily experience of nursing care and most especially the CNA staff has been just the best. The fact that some have worked for years here, shows their commitment to values I share. I was an RN myself for 36 years, 24 in this community, and I know that although ‘we’ are not perfect, we can and do strive for excellence with compassion. This has been my experience thus far in mom’s care. Keep up the good work! Addendum May 3, 2022– I just wanted to add in follow up here a bit more about mom’s caring journey at Life Care Center of Sarasota. After 50 days of rehab, during which time with all the great support, she maximized her abilities following the severe stroke. The permanent deficits, however, necessitated the very difficult decision for her to transition to Long Term Care. Anticipating this transition, I chose this facility to allow her to maintain the familiarity with staff and surroundings already established. This was a great help. At the same time, the realization that this was now ‘home for Mom’ was a difficult truth to accept. I will say here that the support staff were most kind and understanding, and especially the RN managers of the unit where she lived: “University, Short Hall’ as it was known there. Within about two weeks of this transition, Mom had another sharp decline related to her overall health and aging process. At this point, after she and I discussed the situation at length, I requested a hospice consultation and made other decisions at Life Care to ensure her comfort, safety and peace of mind. Mother continued in care for another three months or so, the care beautifully coordinated between the hospice and nursing home team, until her peaceful, dignified passing in early March. In my long reflections on this whole journey now, I can truthfully say that there was nothing left undone, no regrets, in the decisions made, the care given. I will always be grateful for the fellow human beings at Life Care Center of Sarasota, who helped to make my mother’s final journey dignified, humane, comfortable— she was never alone. Much gratitude!