Ridgecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

kl58

I'm warning ahead of time that this is going to be a long review. I would be doing every patient and their family a disservice unless I give a detailed review of this horrible FOR PROFIT CORPORATE run facility in DeLand Florida. Ridgecrest is a dump. A cockroach ran up the wall right above my husband's head and several more across the floor at night when I turned out the lights. Now I have to spray my house to make sure they didn't come home with us. It is unsanitary, the staff is apathetic, probably because they are overworked and overwhelmed with a ratio of ONE CNA to 15-20 patients and one nurse per shift in the unit. I actually feel sorry for the CNAs that really care...they are doing the best they can under the circumstances. Then there are the ones that just don't care. Rehab was a joke. Supposed to be"intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy" 5 days a week. After their 15 minutes of therapy he was basically ignored the rest of the day. The food is absolutely inedible. The food is mostly instant mashed potatoes or plain white rice and chopped and formed meat patties. Mystery meat. Vegetables are chopped, grey and cooked to the consistency of mush. Not once did he receive a meal that was even a little bit warm or on time. Processed food, no fresh fruit or vegetables. There are supposed to be self serve sandwiches in the fridge for patients....white bread..slice of ham..slice of cheese. Packaged in a baggie that isn't even closed. Anyone can touch, breathe on them etc.The sodium alone has got to be through the roof in all their food. On one occasion, my husband was still waiting for lunch at 3:30pm. Meanwhile the staff were congregating around the nurses station and they were all eating ice cream sandwiches! The CNAs are sloppy and careless. Twice after cleaning up my husband there was feces on the package of wipes after they were done and left it like that. They were so sloppy about getting him cleaned up, he got the most horrendous rash within a day of being there. C-Diff infection is real and can be deadly to those that are vulnerable. Easily prevented by good hygiene. None of them were the least bit concerned about it. One CNA assigned to my husband had the sniffles.. I remarked wow you sound like you must have allergies. Her response... no I have a cold. I said " Why are you here if you're sick". She said I can't afford to take time off. I told her to get out of his room..he just got out of intensive care. He's here for rehab not to get sick again. He barely survived the first time around. I was told by the supervisor they might not be able to get another CNA to take her place. Thank goodness I was there or he surely would have been neglected until the shift changed. I was with my husband at least 12-14 hrs a day. I only went home to shower and get a couple hours sleep. When I got back he was laying flat on the bed. All the bedding, the call button, and the remote to the bed were on the floor. The bedside table was across the room with the urinal on it, clearly not within reach. He told me they were supposed to be helping him get settled in for the night, straighten bedding etc. He said they got called away for a "FEW MINUTES" and never came back to finish. He couldn't get help.. the call button was on the floor and the door was closed. He didn't have the strength to yell loud enough to be heard. Totally unacceptable. The most dangerous events.... they were OVER MEDICATING him. He has one medication that must be given on time every 12 hours. After realizing they were incorrectly dispensing his meds, I checked every time they came to give meds and the one that had to be on time wasn't even in the meds she tried to give him! Three others had been discontinued but were still being given. I had to go through each pill every time to make sure he wasn't getting ones that were discontinued. There are many other issues that are unprofessional. My husband and I have a professionally trained mobility dog. Upon entering the facility I couldn't enter the admin office because her pet dog was in her office. When we passed the business window a German shepherd came out of the business office charging at my dog wildly barking. Neither one of their dogs were on a leash. My dog was in his service vest and clearly working. One night on the way out the night nurse had her pet dog at work....not within her control and ran at my service dog. She chased him down the hall to get him before he got to my dog. Can't be concentrating on her job if she's chasing her dog around. I clearly told the admin I was taking my husband out of there. I asked... Please help me get him home with the equipment I need to take care of him at home. She gave me all these excuses about how hard it is to find a hospital bed and it is going to take time...blah blah blah probably days before she could do it. I asked if they had social services available and that's when things changed. My husband and I are so grateful for Medical Social Worker Stephanie. She was the answer to my prayers for someone to please come along to help me navigate this situation. She was supportive, kind, and took care of everything. Within hours my husband was home with all the equipment we needed delivered and set up. His home medical care is in place, and all that is left to do is coordinate home visits etc. Halifax Health has been wonderful and attentive as well. A nurse came to our house the same day we got home to make sure everything was okay. It is said that G_d puts the people you need the most in your path when you need them the most. Stephanie is that person. I feel so blessed that she answered our call for help. She is a very special person and deserves to be recognized for her excellent care and professionalism. Thank you Stephanie.

Karen5355

I've been a patient here for about 5 days. I was put into quarantine when I got here and no one told me so when my son came over to visit with my daughter they weren't allowed to see me and they didn't tell me until they came here. I was very upset that I couldn't see my children. The nurses were very good and the rest of the staff could care less whether they took care of you or not. Each time I push the call button I had to wait an average of 20 to 45 minutes. When they did come they said we'll be back in a few minutes and it took over 20 minutes and right now I'm still waiting for my Aid to come and help me. The food here is awful I mean really awful. I can't eat it. I showed my dinner to the nurse and she was appalled and took pictures and was going to show the administrator in the morning. I am going to talk to whoever is in charge here in the morning and explain to them exactly what I've been through sometimes when I push the call button I can't make it to the bathroom or the potty chair so when I call them and they take 20-30 minutes it's already too late and I have soiled myself and so I have to wait till they come back after they told me I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm very upset and I'm going to look for another place or maybe I'll just go home and do rehab at my house. At least I'll get some decent food and I won't feel like I'm starving. Do your research and visit this facility before you come and try the food I am pretty sure that you will look for another place. It's very sad that place is like this don't take care of their patients. I can't believe I am saying this but I really miss being in the hospital. At least they take care of you and the food is decent. There are only a hundred and twenty or so beds here and there is no reason for the food to taste as bad for only a hundred and twenty people.

Julia Manunta

Alright, so this place is only rated as a 1 star because that is the lowest it will go. Let me start off with my story. My father has a sepsis blood infection, kidney failure, and colorectal cancer. He was placed into this facility after his treatment at the hospital for rehabilitation. Once placed into this facility he was put into quarantine for 14 days due to not having the Covid vaccine - understandably. Now this is when it gets bad... So, my father has a problem with using the restroom - probably due to the cancer. When I was at this place he had an accident all over himself and on his bed. When I called the nurse, who never showed up ( this happens 90% of the time ) you have to go to their chit chat area around the desk to get help. The woman said " This is not a good time, it's lunch time." I proceeded to tell her im sorry there is not a good time for a patient to be ill. FIRST red flag My father also has very thick, long toenails - this usually has to be taken care of from a pediatrist. I was told by the nurse "Um we dont do that here" I said to her well can we figure out a way so he can see one. She said she would schedule an appointment for him. This was 7/19/21, today is 7/29/21 she has told me today "I dont see an appointment scheduled for him." (Thanks lady for the good work) I have bought pull ups for my father since I was told they dont have anything other than Large Adult diapers. For my 92 pound father I have bought him Small/Medium pull ups. Today 7/29/21. I had called the nurse to ask her how many he had left and if I needed to buy more ( Since I live in VA I will need to ship it since my next visit down there wont be for another couple weeks ). This brilliant lady decided to put me on hold where I could hear her and the other woman talking about me. I heard her say "What does she want?" followed up by to see how many pull ups her father has left. The other woman said " OH GOD!" ( so God forbid I ask that kind of question about my dying father right? ) Its so nice to have people come into this work industry that dont care about the elderly but yet are paid to take care of them. When she came back I told her hey, if you're going to talk crap about me when im just checking up on my dad, at least mute yourself. She apologized and said she understood completely. So for my wonderful day I bought my father lunch to be delievered. It arrived at 11:30am and wasnt given to him until 12:22 after many back and forths and "Oh i think i saw some bag in his room of food." That was not the case. Also my father said that the nurse told him that his daughter lied to him and that i did not in fact buy him food. Now remember that 14 day quarantine from the beginning of my novel? Tell me why its ok for a man to wheel himself into my fathers room to watch TV at night while my dad is sleeping when he is not supposed to be around other people. Oh that's right... because no one is paying attention to their patients. This facility should seriously be made over completely. How dare staff members be put in this kind of job to do this kind of stuff. These women are lucky I do not live in FL to be there 24/7 with my father. I do not trust them and have considered getting an Ombudsman. They cannot be trusted to take care of your loved ones. DO NOT consider taking yours here. This is only PART of my fabulous so far 10 days with these guys. RUN - ANYWHERE BUT HERE.

JJ andrews

very old facility. nurses smoke so they smell like cigarettes when they're in patient's room. substandard caring. It's sad that we don't have ability to change the nursing home/rehab facilities around for the better. need topnotch nurses and staff, not substandard people caring for our loved ones, or ourselves in the near future. I will be an old man one day, too.

Provider Response

Caveat emptar

The best advice that I would give anyone considering this facility is to make a point to go to the facility yourself before making the decision to place a loved one there. Ask to speak to the Director of Nursing or Nurse Manager. Had I done this, I would not have placed my love one there. Don't fall for the slick sale you will get from their salesperson who talks to you at the hospital. I was shown a nice room on their "rehab" floor, but my loved one was put in a room in another unit that was older and not well kept. The room was consistently in need of cleaning. A number of the nursing staff are nice but you never know if they work there or are "agency". When we had medication or medical issues and tried to talk to the DON, we were told she is busy and would refer us to the floor manager who never had an answer. The one time I spoke with her she was very defensive and aggressive and our issues were not resolved. I attempted to speak to the Executive Director to no avail. I stayed with my loved one so that I would be there to help as lights went unanswered for long periods of time. The food was ok, but I had to go get many items if they were not on the tray . There were many activities offered but my loved one did not choose to be involved. A bright spot is the Therapy department who are wonderful and really helped my loved one recover strength. I was relieved to bring my loved one home where they could truly recover. Overall, I would recommend visiting more than one home and asking questions of the staff who are working - not just the salesperson. Make sure that you will have access to the leaders if needed. It will help you feel you can leave at night and know your loved one is ok.

Provider Response

ccDeLand

My mother has been a resident here for over three years. If I wasn't able to monitor her closely with daily visits because of the proximity of the facility to my home, I would move her. Many of the CNA's are excellent, and they are the ones with the most patient contact. But the care-giving staff seems to have considerable turnover. I recently had a serious nursing issue to discuss with administration and could not pin them down for a face to face meeting in spite of back and forth emails. Additionally, my mom has yet to obtain a refund for an overpayment made months ago. Cleanliness is not consistent - sometimes the room is really clean, at other times I've watched a piece of paper or food sit on the floor under the bed or in a corner for days. If there will be a true advocate for the person who is considering this facility, then OK, only because so many of my mom's CNA's (nurse's assistant) are good and most of the staff with direct patient contact (aids, nurses, meal service, laundry, housekeeping) have been kind to her. But any chain is only as good as its weakest link. If you can't speak up for yourself or have no real advocate, there may be better choices. I've rated the place average, but not having spent time in other facilities recently, what is average? There is room for improvement here.

A Client

My mother was at Ridgecrest Nursing & Rehabilitation Center for two weeks in December into January. It was fai,r but I was not impressed with it. It’s an old facility. I don’t think there were really much of any grounds. I always had issues with her medications and with the nurses. When they would dispatch her from a hospital, one of the doctors would change one of her opioids. They would be giving it to her because it says “as needed,” and I kept telling them it’s not “as needed”. I’d been taking care of her for 8 years, and for 8 years, she has been taking it 3 times a day. They weren’t giving her the meds when she was supposed to be getting it. I wasn’t happy with them.

linahas

The staff was very nice and knowledgeable about the job.

PhyllisLydecker

Everyone was so nice and pleasant. I had a great stay here at Ridgecrest.

Alex33

Excellent experience, satisfied with personal, willing to fall in break a leg just to back. Tell a friend, telegram, tell a phone.

Kenneth Roberts

Me and my wife came here for therapy and this place was great. Staff was courteous and wonderful.

karen roberts

I enjoyed my stay here at Ridgecrest, everyone here is really nice. Nurse Eddie is one of the best, he was so happy he got my sugar down that he gave me to 2 big hugs two days in a row. I'm not saying it was perfect but I would definitely recommend this facility to anyone.

virginia grey

The staff here are excellent, they took great care of me during my stay here at Ridgecrest.

linda Niewender

I really appreciate the time and effort put into my care. Staff is excellent.

Jerry James

My mom is currently a resident at Ridgecrest, I visit her twice a week and I noticed everytime I visit her, the room is dirty, floor needs sweeping and mopped and the bathroom is always filthy. I always noticed an odor. This facility really need to revamp their house keeping process. I don't really have a problem with the staff, some are a little lax, looking for another facility. My mother's roommate said that some of the staff read books all night. This is unacceptable practice.Not satisfied.

M.Stokes

I received great care, the facility was nice and clean. Therapy did a great job at getting me back on my feet, I couldn't have asked for better treatment.

Carmen545

Staff was very helpful and they out of their way to please me.

Rob.g

Staff is Marvelous, I receive great care and awesome nursing treatment.

MichaeL.D

The facility was clean and I had a nice stay.

Nicole12

The staff in Ridgecrest was very efficient when I visited this place. The people there were very friendly and helpful. They even followed up and called me back to check with me. I really appreciated their gesture. It looked like a very clean facilty to me. The rooms were wonderful and in good size. They had a lot of activities too. I even went through their exercise rooms. The people were enjoying being there. There was laughter all around. Indeed, my visit there was great.

noctou

I put my mom in for just a 5 day respite stay and omg first thing they did not give her meds to her and I asked the head nurse about it and all i got was look at all the paperwork and how busy she is and blu blu blu .I waited for a hour or so still no meds I had to go home so i talked to the staff again before i left. Then when i got home i waited for a hour. I called and still no meds omg then they told me we are boing it now.Then next morning they called and they lost moms admission paperwork so i had to sign more. Then found out there kitchen is not working and can not cook food. I am going to take my mom out of there today.