Ortiz Sunnyside Assisted Living

When I first moved to AZ and I had to find a place for my Mom, the placement agency highly recommended this place. My concerns were that Mom was very active and liked to walk around and sometimes help others because of a nursing background, Mom liked to do activities and I wanted her encouraged to participate and be with others as much as possible, and she had a specific diet that I was hoping could be followed. They also had a nice backyard, so I told them I was hoping that she could get out and get air as she always loved to watch the birds and sit outside. I have to say looks are very deceiving. The place was very neat and they put on a good show in the beginning. I was told that activities were daily, residents were encouraged to live the life they were accustomed to in the home, exercises were done in the living room, food requests could be accommodated, there was high supervision due to the low number of residents, and care was fantastic. On the first week, over the counter medications were lost. I had to go pick up more even though I had just brought them. Then some were found after I had purchased the new items. After visiting for a few months, I noticed that care was minimal. Patients were cleaned and then pretty much left until their next meal unless they were getting into something they weren't supposed to. The TV was left on sports or spanish even if people in the room didnt care for sports or didn't understand spanish. My mother was always clean, but I never saw an activity take place. When I asked what was done, I was told they were done and put away. One of the residents complained they were bored and nothing to do. Nothing was done. My mother fell WAY too many times when she first got there. I tried to find out why and could only determine it was lack of supervision and she did not have her shoes on. Her glasses were also not always put on. The staff was always found in the front room away from the patients, watching tv and on their phones. Aside from that, I was repeatedly told that electricity was not a problem that it was kept warmer because the residents were cold and was always well lit. Lights are almost non existent after the sun goes down. I kept getting complaints that my mom was walking into other patients rooms and she was always up walking around. They told me that she was frequently agitated. However, this is something that I told them would happen prior to her even coming. Food was always given and looked great, but even if it was told to staff that a patient didn't like the food, they were given it anyway. I told them my mother hated oatmeal, mayonnaise, and certain vegetables and she was given them anyway. I was asked to purchase pudding or other soft foods when my mother went on a pureed diet even though I was told that all food (except boost shakes) were provided. I found that my mother had not been turned as they were told every few hours as a wet towel was left under her all day from her morning care. Her foot booties were not kept on to prevent foot sores, her bed was often off or unplugged. She was scheduled a PRN medicine but was not given it because it was not thought she was in pain. How do you know if someone is not in pain unless you are sitting with them or checking on them often? I had sat with her for just 5-10 minutes and noticed her crying or grimacing a few times. My mother fell and hurt her neck. She could not turn it for almost a month. I had requested a heating pad was put on a few times a day which is something that she had always done if she was sore. I was told it was being done and no problem. I requested that a microwave pad was not used bc it was handed to me boiling hot which burned my fingers along with a paper towel to put behind her neck. I had to get one of her shirts to roll it to prevent her from getting burned. I purchased a plug in heating pad which they told me worked great and had been used several times during the week. When I pulled it out of the box to put it on, I found that it had never been used because plastic was still sealed the end. I had complained and the nurses had complained about a thick strong smell from the cleaning solutions being used. I was told that they used a cleaner and bleach. Sometimes they added vinegar. I questioned if it was bleach and ammonia because the odor was so strong. Thankfully the owner must have had this stopped after I complained. The floor in my mothers room was so slippery from cleaning solution build up. I brought my father to visit and he almost fell. When it was brought to the aides attention, she said it wasn't like that in the morning. However it had been like that well over a week. My mother stopped eating and drinking. I asked that they swabbed her mouth several times a day to keep her mouth moist. I was told over and over, it was done during morning care and I wasn't there until 5/6 pm at night. One day I showed up and her mouth was full of mucous. I was told her mouth as cleaned out that morning. When I brought my concerns to the owner, I was told that if I was unhappy, I could leave. I would have selected to do this in a heartbeat other than my mother was now declining due to her being in the last stage of dementia and I was concerned the move would have killed her the next day. They do have cameras in the kitchen which gave me peace that they were being watched. However since they never sat in the kitchen/living room areas, and in the other room watching tv, the cameras were pointless. One day I found another resident laying on my mothers roommate half asleep and hanging off the bed. On two other occasions, I found an elderly patient crawling through the bathroom that could not walk . I was told to put blinders on and just go and visit my mother. Patients were rarely encouraged to do anything. My mother was never taken out doors. I have to admit, the staff did answer questions and would do what I requested, but I felt that if I was not there, my mother may have been neglected further. A new aide was just hired and she is the first that I have seen sit in the back room with the patients. When my mother passed, her clothing was thrown into a pile on her bed.. I left a few newer things for other residents if they wished folded nicely on her bed. The staff is nice, but nice doesn't mean good care. I feel for the residents that dont have visitors or their caretakers are miles away.

[Name removed] is a thief! My grandmother paid the full monthly amount of $1800 on [date removed] my grandfather passed away the next day and in the residential agreement provided by [name removed], it states that there is a full refund upon the death of a resident. However, she will not refund my grandmothers money! This is unethical and illegal! Our family retained an attorney to handle this because she will not cooperate with our family! Please do not deal with this facility! People like this will not get away with taking advantage of an elderly widow, you better believe we will not stand down. See you in court [name removed]!!