Groves Assisted Living - Spring Street

Jan 2020 moved both of my parents into dementia care at Lemon Tree house. Started out great telling us all the things they do for socialization etc. Director was there on our intake visits. All good. Until a few weeks in. Billing is a nightmare. The director isn’t able to do basic office work and cannot keep up with the billing or deposits. No one knew what to do with the check when we brought it. My dad passed away in March and a prorated credit was received. Covid struck shortly after we buried him. They had nothing set up for visits. No window visits. No video calls. With iPhones FaceTime available and Facebook video ability there was no reason for this. Then for over 2 months no one answered the phone. In June they let go the 2 main licenses caregivers to save money. Only people I home were assistants that’s had no nursing or care experience. One nurse was there for all 3 houses during daytime only. Short staff and unlicensed staff. We tried to move my mother for a month and they would not cooperate. They kept delaying her Covid testing. Then sent results too late. Wouldn’t complete paperwork. We finally just picked her up and removed her from the place. She had a raging UTI and had lost so much weight. She has to be hand fed and no one was feeding her on a regular basis. Then they tried to overbill us by several thousands of dollars. I don’t know how that even stay open. Do not put your loved one here.

It was determined that my sister was a wandering risk so she had to be in a gated type environment where she can wander off, and The Groves is one of those few places that would accept people in that situation. It's a plain place and each person has a pretty small bedroom. They have a community dining area and it's like a home that's converted. They're all contained within the same fence so a person can roam around. They treat my sister fine and they take care of her well, but she's just not real happy there. They still are sending over therapists to give her therapy every day. They have a large room with a big table in it, which is a dining table, and they also do some things there. They have exercises and a TV area. They're watching her diet, but the food is adequate. The staff is friendly, competent, and patient. They're doing a good job.

I was able to see The Groves on Spring St. and it was a very nice community with several buildings. I thought everything about the place was very good. There was no odor or anything, there was just a slight scent that my sister usually can't handle. The people there were very nice, informative, and respectful of me and the residents there. The person who accommodated me was great, she spent a long time on the phone with me, and I made it to a point to visit the community because I was impressed with the way she talked to me. The place wasn't as grand as the others, but it was nice. They have activities where they do things outside like planting flowers and so on.

The Groves on Spring St has three houses with four or five bedrooms for each house. It has a good appearance from the outside, and the inside has wood floors. The house my sister is in needs some work, but she's in her own bedroom. The staff is wonderful. The staff from the other houses pitches in to help my sister move and give her showers. They have a couple of staff members who need to have more training, but for the most part, I think the staff is good. The residents do things together, like exercises and birthday parties once in a while, but it's not an every day thing. I think they could do more activities with the residents. They take care of their needs, which is what my sister needs. The dining area is part of the house, and the food is good.

I liked Groves Assisted Living. I liked that they had different houses, and my uncle had more places to wander when it was locked. I liked the rooms. The place was clean and was very active, but they didn’t have any single rooms at the time. I liked what they had to offer for my uncle.