Tendernest Assisted Living

Karen Z

My mother was a resident at Tender Nest for almost a year. With only a few exceptions, I had no problems with the caregivers. Most were caring and compassionate with the residents. Unfortunately for both the caregivers and residents, there appeared to be a lack in training in essential areas. In addition, it appeared to me that the caregivers had so many additional responsibilities placed on them that the most important duty of caring for the residents became second to their other chores. At one point, my mother received another resident’s medication in error. I requested a meeting with management to discuss what happened and how it could be prevented going forward. Management minimized the severity of a medication error and the ramification of this type of incident. They never offered an explanation nor expressed a concern about the incident. As a result, I found that I became much more attentive to the process of medication distribution and if I saw things that concerned me, I brought it to the attention of management. On more than one occasion, these concerns were also minimized or blamed on another party. The last incident involved bubble wrapped pills that were compromised. Two days after addressing this issue with management, my mother was given a 30-day eviction notice, which I understand is unheard of in the industry, and we were forced to move to another facility which has resulted in a deterioration of Mom’s dementia. The reason given for the eviction was that my mother required 1 on 1 care; however, I personally think that management didn’t want me to scrutinize or question any of their operations. It is truly unfortunate that a family member cannot be an advocate for their loved ones without facing these types of consequences.

Renee

Tendernest Assisted Living is very nice. It is a small community with only 16 people in that little community, so you don't get lost in the amount of people that are there in that cottage. The staff who gave me the tour was very good, very knowledgeable, and very pleasant. We saw the dining room, and we saw food that was being prepared. It was homemade pizza that was being prepared for the residents that night. We weren't there in time to eat dinner there, but we were offered. The dining area is family-style with tables and chairs. You overlook the living room and the kitchen, so very open and just comfortable. The facility was a little bit on the dark side, like the dark woods and the heavy, dark furniture. It just presented itself to be more dark than light and airy. The location was convenient and attractive, and there's plenty of parking.

Lorri

My mom had actually stayed in Tendernest Assisted Living, so we already knew about the place, and that's the reason why we chose to put her there again. They don't have a lot of activities for the residents for now, and they are really trying to keep qualified workers. That's just kind of everywhere across the board right now, and it's just been kind of the condition since COVID hit, but the staff has been excellent. The little gal that cooks for all of them is an excellent cook. So, the quality of the cooking and the quality of the food has been exceptional, and their price is pretty close to the national average for the type of services that they provide. Their rooms have private bathrooms, but they don't have showers in the room. They're nicely decorated and the houses are really beautifully done. As far as carpeting, the woodwork, and everything, it is really pretty. They have a big common area that's got a fireplace with a flat screen TV and leather sofas and stuff, and I think each house only holds either 14 or 15 people. It is more like a great big house versus apartment living. I personally really liked it because each resident has their own private room. It's decorated more like a home, so it has a very warm and inviting atmosphere to it.

Dennis

TenderNest Assisted Living is a very, very small community with maybe about twenty people. They have little cottages, a staff nurse, and I'm pleased with them. My aunt is in a private room that is much like a hospital room. She's got a bed, dresser and drawers, and a night stand, but they've already furnished it for us. We just had to move her in and we only gave her a television. The staff is very kind and my aunt loves them. They are very good and have taken really good care of her. Every time I call they're very warm, friendly, and I do not have any issue with the staff. They call me anytime if there's any kind of issue, keep me updated, and I'm happy with them so far. We can't visit because of COVID. You can just go to the outside area to visit, but it's gone cold in Montana right now, so they have a visiting place that you can go to and talk to the residents. Once it warms up in Montana then you can go in. She just got a COVID shot and she's gonna get another one in the couple of weeks, so they took care of that for her. They called in, asked me if it'd be all right, and I said, "I have no problem with that." The food seems to be all right. I've asked my aunt and she says the food is OK. I think that she gained her nutrition because they're giving her vitamins and keeping the pain under control. She can now get up and walk around. TenderNest is kind of a small, personal place for patients. It's not like a huge community with hundreds and hundreds of people. The billings clinic at the hospital where she stayed at highly recommended this place because they have used them before. The community is not doing any activities right now just because of COVID, but I think they will. They told me they have activities, but they kind of turn tailed on that right now. For now all she does is walk around and watch TV, but as far as things to do, there aren't any. I know that there's a place for them to go, sit, and watch TV. That's in the main room is what I was told. Anybody who will go there will be very pleased.

Hmmmmmm

Rooms were very nice and kept clean. The turnover for the 3 years my parents were there was unacceptable.We started out with 2 wonderful ladies. After a year the care givers were never the same, not trained well in elder care. Having new faces constantly was very upsetting to my Mom. Covid mess came in 2020 and there were no consistency on rules. There communication between staff and Mgmt. was terrible, It was a very frustrating time for my Mom and our family. Once my mother became ill and passed away, she was finally at peace. Her things were packed in boxes and left in the parking lot for us to pick up. It was a very sour note that we left on at Tender Nest.

BY

My aunt stayed at Tendernest Assisted Living. It was a very small place, but there's more attention given per resident. I saw active people; they were not just sitting alone in a corner in a wheelchair. I used to visit some of them. They were always nice and friendly. Nobody was rude or mean. The residents didn't look like they hated being there. The staff was wonderful and always acknowledged their residents. They never just walked by and pretended they didn't see them. They were good caregivers. They had one room for dining, and they don't separate out people, like those with Alzheimer's. They put them together, and it's like a big community.