Solaris HealthCare Windermere

Care consistent with most nursing homes I’ve visited. Staff is minimal and that reflects on their minimal knowledge of the patients history and normal function.

In a short period, I’ve observed that this facility is severely mismanaged, with standards falling far below what one would expect. The staff, from the social worker, Daniel, to the Director of Nursing, Jessica, exhibit a troubling lack of professionalism, empathy, and ethical conduct. Their approach often feels dismissive and, at times, outright rude. Additionally, the administrator, Bob, spends most of his time in the office without taking any meaningful steps to address the situation. Often when asked, nurses frequently stated, that numerous essential supplies were never ordered as needed.

Furthermore, the lack of routine care is astounding. Often CNAs frequently leave residents unattended for hours, neglecting their needs and allowing them to sit in their waste, refusing to provide the necessary care and hygiene.

For those with loved ones in their care, I strongly recommend routinely reviewing medical records, as they frequently appear to be manipulated and falsified to mask questionable practices. Plus they are extremely unethical. For anyone considering this facility, I would urge you to look elsewhere. In particular, consider a facility that genuinely prioritizes the well-being of its residents over financial motives.

Please don’t bring a loved one here. For example, as a “nurse” was bandaging the patient, her long braids fell over her shoulder and touched the patients wound. They will make your loved one wait an hour after hitting the call button to use the restroom. They will ignore requests to treat bed sores. The only positive is Melissa. She seemed to be the only caring person there.

My mom had been a resident here for 4.5 years prior to her passing at the age of 98. I have to tell you that from the welcoming and magnetic LaTonjua in Admissions to Daniel, the caring and competent Care Coordinator to Rebecca, the resourceful and incredible Activities Director to the most professional and compassionate CNA the world has to offer, Dana Pace, our family has had an overall positive experience. As with life in general, nothing is perfect and sure, not every single person operates on the highest of levels, but all in all, the positive prevails, and this is a caring and hard working facility across all departments from nursing to maintenance to housekeeping to laundry and food service, to the business office to the upper level management.

Rebecca, the Activities Director, goes above and beyond to keep the residents happy, engaged and entertained to the point you have to remind yourself that this is an actual nursing home. I hope her compensation reflects that. She is the heartbeat of the facility and gives the residents a reason to get up in the morning and to keep going. They adore her as did my mom. How she loved Rebecca! She will never be forgotten, and has more of a pivotal role in the building than can ever be acknowledged or realized. If she were to leave, the entire balance, heartbeat and atmosphere would shift, and that would be detrimental as she is a big reason why Solaris isn’t typical.

My mom’s overall happiness at Solaris put to rest her prior fear of ever living in a nursing home. She blossomed there and made her way all around the building in her wheelchair on a daily basis, attended all the fun activities awaiting residents daily in the community room, liked to catch up and give a high five to just about every staff member she wheeled by, and made friends with many residents and their families as well. That kind of village environment made her feel valued and relevant despite her having dementia that continually chipped away at the woman she once was over her four and a half years there.

My mom recently reached end of life and needed Hospice intervention. I cannot tell you the outpouring of love and support that flooded my mom’s room in her final days. So many staff members from all departments stopped in to share stories with us of their interactions with Mom, to tell us how much they loved having her there, just to hold her hand and wish her well on her journey and to offer comfort to our family. We were beyond touched by what we witnessed and it confirmed our feeling prior that Mom was never just a number there.

At the pinnacle of my mom’s experience at Solaris was her beloved, favorite CNA, Dana Pace whom bathed her, dressed her, made sure she has fresh, clean sheets, got nice hot showers, helped her in the bathroom, got her ready for the day and made sure she always looked sassy and smelled great and spoke to her in the kindest and most respectful way. That went miles with Mom as that kind of personal care is what could make one feel the most vulnerable and ashamed – the very things people fear most about nursing facilities, but Dana has a way of treating it like a walk in the park which boosts a person’s self esteem and self respect. In fact, when offered use of a private room for Mom’s final days, we declined and kept her in her same room so Dana Pace could continue to see her through all the way to the end as we knew nothing would make Mom happier or more content than to be in Dana’s care. In fact, we are convinced Mom waited until Dana’s shift ended before she finally let go. She wanted to start and end her last day with her angel in tow, and got her wish. Dana is the gold standard in her field and I pray she is compensated accordingly. Our family will never, ever forget her and all she did to make my mom feel whole. In fact, I am sure Dana now has an angel on her shoulder named Phyllis who will forever watch over her for the rest of her days just to return the favor.

If you care for your loved one please don’t take them here horrible place