The Blake at Lafayette

Debra

My uncle was at The Blake at Lafayette and during a transfer, he ended up falling and broke his hips so he's in the hospital right at the moment. He was in their memory care unit, and he was only there for 3 days, but I do know that the night care does not have enough staff. I stayed with him the first night because he was kind of confused, and when I pressed the button, nobody came. They need a little bit more staff, especially in memory care. I think they only have one aid per wing. I know that's supposed to be the residents' sleep time, but my uncle would try to get up at night. They said the fall happened during a transfer from his wheelchair to a chair. I was also told they would put a motion pad where he sleeps. The administration told me that because that was one of the things that I had brought up. That he would want to get up, and he could, but he just can't support his legs well anymore. The nursing aid at the memory care told me that they don't do that there, though, so I was a little disappointed with that. It's a beautiful facility, I just think they need a little bit more people at night. It's very clean and the building itself is very nice. When they go to breakfast, they would leave him out in the community, which I like because he is very social. He enjoyed that part because he didn't like to stay in bed. He just didn't stay long enough to experience activities.

John

I visited The Blake at Lafayette. I really liked that there were a lot of different things to do. It's a nice facility. The staff seems very caring and concerned. The only thing I didn't like was the price. It's out of my price range. The rooms were nice and functional, home-like. The atmosphere seemed very, very relaxing, and very family-oriented. The dining area is adequate, large, and clean, and there is a gym area.

Truth516

My mother lived here from January 2017 until July of 2021 (when she passed away). She was among the first residents--having signed up before the facility was completed. My mother had a colostomy. Before she moved in, she was evaluated (not just by anyone, but by one of the owners!). They assured me that the RNs at the Blake would have no problem caring for her colostomy (she couldn't do it herself). They did this until suddenly, in 2019, my mother called me and said that the nurse on duty that day had come in to tell her that they would no longer be able to take care of her colostomy starting at that very moment. No notice WHATSOEVER. My poor mother called me in a state of panic. From that moment on, I had to find people to come to her room at the Blake EVERY SINGLE DAY to change the colostomy. This cost me over $35K per year. That is just one of the myriad of problems that occurred there. BEWARE.

Lana

The Blake at Lafayette is very lovely. It's a really well-planned facility. It's well kept, and it's pretty new. It looks really great when you walk through the door. They have two floors with an elevator, and my dad is on the second floor. When he arrived there, he was in a wheelchair. He could not walk at all. Now, he's walking with a walker and sometimes just using a cane. It's been four months since he's been there, and they've done an amazing job with his medicine management. The physical therapist and occupational therapist have been working with him, and he's doing better than he was in the last five years. He has a one-bedroom apartment. He has a little living room, kitchen area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. It's enough for him. I think he's satisfied with the space and how it's laid out. The people who see him every day are very caring and loving. He's made relationships with them, and he jokes with them every day. He's happy to have them visit his room. They also serve healthy food and in good portions. They have a lot of activities. They have a movie theater where they present movies twice a day. There is a chapel, clubs, an arts and crafts room, card playing, and theme parties. They celebrated Mardi Gras every day in February with a parade or different activities. My dad speaks French, and they have a French group round table where they get together. The people who learned French as their first language get to speak together. It's quite good. It's very expensive, but he's getting what we need him to get.

Sarah314

This place looks nice, but I would absolutely caution anyone against having a loved one stay here. There were many times that I needed assistance urgently, and when calling for help we had to wait 20+ minutes, before anyone came. Once, I called repeatedly because my grandfather needed to use the bathroom and as a fall risk, I could not help him to the toilet by myself. I waited for 30 minutes, while trying to explain to my grandfather that he had to stop trying to go by himself because he had to go so badly. It got to the point where I had to call using my cell phone to get any type of response, and it still took an additional 15 minutes. They were extremely understaffed, so if your loved one has a real issue, they only had 2 working the unit...note that 2 are needed to help with a fall. On top of this, when my grandfather was in his last days, the facility pushed us to move him out, saying they couldn't take care of him because he required too much help. They wanted him out immediately, but this was in the middle of the pandemic and every place we called was not taking new residents. They did not care...They made this already difficult time so much worse by pestering us to get him out while before he passed away. Note that we were told that he was doing so poorly that we were advised against moving him at this time. No sympathy from The Blake. We finally found a hospice that would take him, and the day after he moved, he passed away. That day, while we were grieving this very new loss, The Blake called repeatedly insisting that we get all of his items out now. They knew that he passed, and they did not care. If you want your loved one to be treated like a person, choose another home please.

J.

I went to The Blake at Lafayette. I wanted a one-bedroom, but they said, you have to get a studio apartment and then later they'll move my mom to a one-bedroom and on the second floor. I didn't care for that. I liked that they had a lot of activities for the residents. It seems like they want to keep them engaged. Everything was nice, including the dining area. The studio in the memory care had a refrigerator, a microwave, and a sink. I liked the staff, she was very, very good, very helpful, and went out of her way to help us. Their calendar of activities is full, they have a movie night, they have people that come in entertaining, there's a piano bar. She invited me to go because my mom likes music. They have bingo, cards, painting, and exercise. They have a church, prayer, and bible studies. They have a lot of things to do every day, so that would be good for her.