SouthWest Commons by New Perspective

Everyone here was kind and helpful during my father-in-laws stay at Southwest Commons. It was always immaculate, and the the food was excellent. Thank you Courtney for your many kindnesses! There were so many activities available, and Joan was so knowledgeable!

Toured with Maryam. Pleasant and friendly staff and residents. Pleasant environment. Maryam was able to answer all of our questions about moving dad into the community. Joan answered our Medicaid questions too! Made the process for us easier. This community stands out from the rest the moment you walk into the doors. Residents are out playing bingo and laughing. Happy to see this. It’s exactly what we want for my dad.

PROS: *[name removed] is AMAZING about communication, so helpful, answering/ replying to any email questions we had!!! *The daily medicine distributing staff was very kind, caring, fun & positive while dealing with my dad! *Family Christmas Dinner was so well organized, fun, special!!! Very affordable for the family members $7/ person) & great food & entertainment quality!!! *Seemed like a good price in comparison to a few other places we looked. *Accepted a Medicare/ Medicaid waiver. *Many activities & outings my dad enjoyed! CONS: *The head nurse was not particularly responsive or helpful via emails. Kind of condescending, telling me to remind my dad (with dementia) to be nicer... um, isn't "grumpy" kind of common w/ dementia patients. All within the 1st month he was there! *I got at least 2 calls where they identified themselves, confirmed it was me they were calling... then they'd start talking about a resident that was NOT MY DAD/ calling the wrong family vs resident! Sadly my dad fell [date removed] , was admitted to the hospital, moved to hospice [date removed], and passed away [date removed]. He was only able to live there for less than 6 months. Southwest Commons in Strongsville was a VERY NICE assisted living facility!!! It was a very good value and engaging community. There are a few areas they can improve but overall we highly recommend it.

Ricky is younger that most residents at Southwest Commons. He is developmentally disabled. He has autism. He is easy going, but does not talk much. He loves all the activities at Southwest Commons. I was worried about how the other residents would accept him, but I shouldn't have worried. Everyone, staff and residents have been very nice.

Southwest Commons, the "unique" approach to alternative care, as their sign says. For those that don't know what that means, let me help you. It means they will take in anyone, as long as they can pay the bill. They do this without having the skilled staff to care for them. By being classified as "Assisted living" they get to have much more lenient rules and regulations as set forth by the state, yet they still take people that need skilled care. There is not a nurse on staff past 7PM - the aides do not need to be certified or state tested. So basically, anyone that wants a job can have it with little training. The team assured us that as my mom progressed they would be able to continue to care for her with increased levels of care. We came here because my mom had a friend who was living there and liked it. *My mom walked in weighing 145 lbs with a COPD and early stage Dementia diagnosis. We had cameras in the room, which the facility was aware of, and we had a calendar with visits scheduled everyday with family. My goal was not to help my mom live forever, but to help her be safe with good care when we could no longer keep her safe at home. We also had Hospice care so they did most of her care with medical management, bathing etc. I am a nurse so I had a good understanding of care provided and also had certain expectations. Mom was often left in bed all day with meals stacked on top of one another. I had several conversations about the expectation of "Assisting" my mother to get her out of bed, in front of food, and encourage and help with daily activities, dressing etc. My mom continued to lose weight, I asked for different menu options as the food here is terrible. My dog loved it when he came to visit. She was on oxygen and had a hard time navigating so would eat in her room most days, with cold food in a container. We would bring in our own food and ask that to be warmed, but that was not able to happen either. *New ownership with "New Perspective" - more promises not kept but we did have a price increase with no improvements. The weekends were desolate as you could not find a person anywhere unless it was a resident wandering the halls yelling for help. My mom fell several times throughout her 2 year stay. I understand it is difficult to keep a woman with dementia safe so I expected falls. As falls increased they were supposed to do hourly checks. They failed at that (that was on camera too). Several meetings and calls to try and improve the care with little success. Mom developed bed sores, yes, bed sores in assisted living. They even left her in a recliner for 18 hours with a bed sore, ALL ON CAMERA. After a call to the local ombudsman I finally got their attention. A VP even flew in to calm me down. That too, ended in disappointment as there was zero follow up to see if things had improved. I am NOT blaming the staff as I see this as an administrative problem. The staff does the best they can with what they are given. I believe the staff that cared for my mom truly cared about her. They are understaffed, underpaid and overwhelmed as they continue to take people that need full skilled care without increasing staff numbers or skill level of staff. The staff did have some really great people who did make a difference. This review is in no way directed at them. They can only do so much. We wanted to move her but hospice advised it would only add to her confusion and make things worse. In Sept. of 24 mom fell again- 2 broken hips, broken ribs & head contusion. We were able to get her into inpatient hospice. She died 6 days later weighing 75 lbs. Half the weight when she arrived. My fear is for the people that don't have camera's. *Advice from a nurse - Keep your parent home as long as you can. Get hospice involved if you can - you will need them. Get cameras and be the best advocate you can be! You are their only hero. Cypress or Hospice of western reserve are great! This place...not so much.