Cathedral Village Philadelphia, PA

Dox

Have no problem giving credit where credit is due, but unfortunately this establishment deserves none. Came to visit my grandmother today and walking into the rehab area alone was atrocious. There were dirty linens on the tables, no one was around to let me in so I could bring her some fresh toiletries. The hallways had different carts all over the hallways that held soiled sheets and what not. Went to the bathroom while I was visiting with her and it was obvious that her bathroom nor toilet had been cleaned in days most likely as there were urine stains running down the toilet. During my visit another patient started yelling "hello, can anyone hear me?" I stepped into the hall way and it stoped. Again the same woman started hollering again. Finally after about 10 minutes, some one tended to the patient and began to give her an attitude because she was calling for someone. The first two days of my grandmother staying here, they forgot to feed her twice. It was only after my father complained multiple times was she actually paid attention to. The very first time I came to see her, the nurses were rude and not very friendly. They were frustrated that my grandmother had just come from the hospital and didn't have any pants, only night gowns, for them to use to hoist her up. Overall, she has been her just over a week and she might as well be sitting at her house with the kind of care around here. Just because it looks clean and looks fairly nice, it scores terribly because of he lack of attention to the patients. And ultimately, this was very upsetting as I had read many great reviews - BUT TRUST THIS ONE!

Fleur1

My information applies only to Carepointe which is the short-term skilled nursing center at Cathedral Village. I was very grateful when there was space for my relative to be admitted to Carepointe because I had had experience at another nursing facility that was definitely inferior. Nevertheless, I found 3 things that seemed important enough not to give an overall rating of EXCELLENT to Carepointe. 1) We had 2 staff conferences about the treatment plan for my relative and neither of the 2 physicians attended either. (Generally, the physicians alternate the days of the week that they are present and they have additional responsibilities for patients on the 2nd floor of the building, as well.) 2)Three key staff members were either on vacation or left Carepointe's employment within the month, making continuity of treatment and continuity of communication difficult. 3) Although an alternative physician was supposed to be available on weekends, I was told this doctor could not make changes in medication, even when there seemed to be very good reasons to do so. (The solution is a patient may refuse to take a medication.)

Anonymous117029150

The rooms were smaller at Cathedral Village. To get to them, there was outdoor access or you had to weave through the building to go to your residency. I like the activities more and thought they were better than other places; I liked the pool, health center, and the library, and had trips to the orchestra. They have a really good horticulture program and greenhouse program for residents to plant, dig, and garden.

eg215

The sole reason I am writing this review is to warn other families considering Cathedral Village as a place for their loved ones about our negative experience. My mother was a patient in the Short-term "Skilled Nursing" wing of Cathedral Village this Spring. She was in need of a place to recover from major surgery, and after asking all of our friends and family in the area for their suggestions (and then of course finding which had availability), we settled on Cathedral Village. I learned from many people that while Cathedral Village had a good reputation in the past, that it had gone private fairly recently and some had heard about problems since then. The source of the problems (and in my case as primary caregiver, extreme stress and upset) was two-fold. First, the nursing care is extremely un-even. The first night of my mom's arrival, she had a nurse who not only had limited English language skills, but also knew shockingly little about basic diabetes care. For my mom, a Type 1 diabetic, to have a nurse who did not even grasp the basics of blood sugar monitoring was absolutely terrifying. That brings me to our second problem. When I brought this issue of shocking incompetence to the attention of THREE administrators, each one gave me lip service about how sorry and concerned they were, promised look into the issue, to remove this particular nurse from my mom's care, and yet as I later found out, did absolutely nothing. Several days later, I was leaving my mom's room after dinner time and the next nurse arriving for her shift was - surprise - the same one who we complained loudly about, who jeopardized my mom's care. I still do not know if the administrators we spoke to simply didn't care enough to remember to address the problem, or if they thought we were too stupid to notice this nurse on my mom's care again. When I followed up with yet another round of phone calls, they blamed each other. Either way, they left the impression of a facility that cares little about its patients and is entirely disrespectful of their concerns. The "recovery" period at Cathedral Village was cut short because of these issues - we demanded her discharge the next day. The only reason I am giving a two star rather than one star review is because we did encounter two good nurses on staff. In fact, those two nurses were far better clinicians, kinder, and more responsive than their Nurse Supervisors - not to mention the Social Worker and head of the facility. The entire experience left me, as the caregiver, feeling overwhelmingly helpless - how can you ensure your loved one is getting even basic, decent nursing care in a situation like this? I have since told everyone we know in the area - friends, family, co-workers - about our experience, as well as spoken with the Pennsylvania Ombudsman for Aging - who said she could have stepped in to help us if I had called while my mom was still a patient at Cathedral Village. I wish I had known that during that awful week. The Ombudsman also confirmed that she has received negative feedback about Cathedral Village since its privatization. Why look out for your patients and their families when you're looking out for your bottom line?

Caring103688750

Experience was really good at Cathedral Village. I felt the place and overall staff were excellent. The dining facility was the best I have ever seen, and I have eaten there. They have arts and crafts and a wonderful library. The rooms and apartments were very nice, but they are older and their ceilings are low. I would also like to see their marketing staff be more honest instead of just trying to sell.

Linda107614150

I like Cathedral Village. It had an urban vibe, and the people there had very urban associated careers; I like that. They are also very interesting people. They have a greenhouse, and they are also involved in the farm to table program, so they grow food that they eat there. They have a lot of activities planned for the residents, and they have a big campus where the residents can walk around. Their staff is friendly and know the residents by name.

Caring98036650

We visited some my father's friends at Cathedral Village, and we had dinner with them. It was excellent. It was kind of an upscale restaurant. The food was good, and you had menu and a choice. I remember the waiters and the waitresses were very professionally dressed.

BoSox

My mom visited this community & loved it for herself. She had her heart set on it, with a move imminent. The booklet gave monthly prices & we were sure she could afford it & would be accepted. They courted her. THEN she applied. It was THEN that they told her she needed to have enough money in the bank for the rent of the number of years they figured on her life expectancy PLUS what they determined would be her rough addl expenditures, PLUS $130,00 per year for the last two years of her life, an additional $260,000. They presumed she would need skilled nursing for 2 years & required that money in the bank before they would accept her. The place may be very nice to live in, but the lack of this up-front financial disclosure (telling us only what her monthly rent would be for each size unit, and the cost of the meal plan) is borderline unethical. So as a warning to anybody considering Cathedral Village, do your homework before you get your heart set on it.

Caring65937750

Cathedral Village was a beautiful place. It was also close by. I went there maybe four times and it wasn't until the fourth time that I was there that they started talking about the price. I found out that you have to have enough money over time to be able to stay there. I thought they were wasting my time because they didn't tell me this in the beginning, say my second or third time that I visited their place.

S.Haury

The village is very home-like. Residents have their own furnishings and privacy is respected. Meals are served either communally or in rooms, I often assisted residents in filling out their daily menus. They have daily activities such as movies, Senoir Olympic participation and excellent social activities. Medical care is available and the nurses were attentive although frequently at the nurses station. There are various levels of care at the facility and holiday activities and events open to the entire community. The staff of social activities seemed energetic and enthusiastic. Nurses were adequate in number and treated the patients with care and kindness. Sanitary conditions were excellent, the facility did not smell of urine or the typical old folks home cliche odor. Meals were small portioned and bland, but a kitchen was available for those who desired to prepare their own meals and in the units for the less able-bodied, meals were standard and bland. Parking was ample and handicapped spaces were available. It was a family-friendly and well-lighted open environment and the campus allowed for outdoor exercise and walking about the well-manicured property. It is much nicer than a stereotypical assisted-living center and provided what seemed to be excellent care.

Protecting dementia patients

Before you take a loved one to Cathedral Village, please check out this news release from the Justice Dept. http://www.justice.gov/usao/pae/News/2012/Nov/cathedralvillage_release.htm

RetGrandad

I have been a resident at Cathedral Village for the past five years and am glad that I made the move. Being in my seventies when I moved in, the home that I had lived in for almost forty years became too large for me to handle. It was a chore to keep the house functioning and my wife and I made the decision to downsize. Cathedral Village offers us the ability to live independently while still providing a safety net that we need. It is great not to have to worry about things breaking in the apartment, having to cut the grass or best of all not to have to shovel the snow. I was even surprised to find out that the facility cleaned the snow off of my car for me when it snowed. All of the things that I was struggling to keep up with in my home are now easy to get done. I also have use of all of the facilities that I used to have to have a gym membership for. I am thoroughly enjoying the decision that I made with my wife to move to this location.

ExegeB0x

Cathedral Village is a very good facility. It allows for graduated care that ranges from independent living to full nursing care. The apartments for independent living are fairly spacious. They include a kitchenette so the residents can prepare their own meals. There are also meals that are prepared on site that a resident can go to. A resident is charged based on how many meals they eat at the facility. The interaction of the residents is also encouraged. There are many different activities to choose from that are both intellectual and physical in nature. There is a library and computers available for the residents. There is a pool and exercise room. There are also many local amenities that are easy to get to either by public transit or by automobile. It is really good that the staff encourages the restaurants to be active in the community. They check on residents who are not as active or who do not show up for any regularly scheduled activities. The biggest downside is that the doctors on staff do not have admitting privileges at the area hospitals. This means that the residents must go through the emergency room to get admitted to a hospital which is not a convenient way to do it and can take a long time to occur.