Colonial Gardens San Antonio

Lynn

Mom-in-law is at Colonial Gardens San Antonio. They seem to be extremely caring about all of their residents. They offered activities daily. They are a smaller community and they offer not only memory care, but palliative and hospice care, too. My mother-in-law's room is smaller, but she has a room to herself. There is a private bath. They offer a credenza in which she can keep clothing and hang clothes. They offer furniture (the bed and the credenza) where other places didn't offer that. We were in a short window to get her out of the hospital and move her into this place. So, that helped us as well. They made sure that she was fed on her first meal when she got out of the hospital. She's kind of picky, but I saw her eating. The staff is very friendly. They offered lots of advice and they have a Facebook page where they post regularly, activities for their residents. So, for those of us that are not in town, we can see our loved ones in an active environment, which is helpful. We can see their hair is clean and they've got clean clothes on and they're active. Their activities are not high quality, but they have them. So far, they've offered puzzles, exercise activities, and some drawing activities. They had some pets that came in a day ago, where they brought somebody in with animals, and that made them all happy and smiling. They got to hold a turtle and there was a hedgehog. It seems like they're very caring and very attentive. They take Medicare also, which is another reason why we chose them. They have two different areas, one for dining, and one for activities where they could sit, do puzzles, and have coffee. Then they have an outdoor area where they can go work in the garden. They have a walking path that and chairs outside that they can sit on. They encouraged them to not only be inside but to get out and get some vitamin D. They check them every 2 hours, which is another plus. I like that it's smaller and that they care.

KB

I toured Colonial Gardens San Antonio. The tour experience was great. The gal who toured me around was very nice and very helpful. She answered everything I needed. It was a nice place. They had just been renovating a bunch of stuff, so it was very organized and fresh looking. People were working on doing a craft of some kind and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. The dining area looked clean and easy to manage for what I was looking for, which is people in a wheelchair. The outdoor spaces were clean and well-kept. The rooms were nice sized.

Lauren

My grandmother is at Colonial Gardens San Antonio. The staff is very welcoming and friendly. They cater to your needs. From the very beginning, they made our family feel like my grandmother's home. The facility is very clean. I have absolutely no complaints about it. It's been great. They play games like card games and dominoes. They are very interactive. They have a courtyard.

Patricia

We looked at Colonial Gardens. I love the staff there, they were really quite lovely and quite wonderful, but I'm not sure of the turnover rate there. They just had a turnover in their director of nursing who had only been there for six weeks, but she was very nice and very lovely. The facility needs some upgrade and some work, but the staff seemed lovely. It was not just my decision. It was my sister-in-law and myself making the decision. My sister-in-law just felt real comfortable at the other facility and she's had two friends there with their spouses, and it was a toss up for me. They seemed to be conscientious at Colonial Gardens, but the facility was just not as modern and updated and needed some work. The building was a little older, but for some people, that might not put them off.

observant mom

I love the small house. My brother has Parkinson's disease and has been there three years. Colonial Gardens has had a wonderful and caring administrator for the last six months and this great leadership has changed this home for the better. They allow cameras so I can check on him and bring an issue to the attention of the administrator if it is needed. The food is good and the activities great. The staff is caring. It feels like home to him.

TeddieGough

My mother was placed in Colonial Gardens Assisted Living Alzheimer's Lockdown Facility by my brother. She first went to the rehab unit as she just came out of the N E Baptist hospital where she was hospitalized with septic pneumonia. She spent 3 weeks in the rehab unit and then was transferred, by my brother, to the Colonial Garden's Alzheimer's Lockdown Unit. My mother neither had a doctor's statement stating that she was incapacitated nor was there a court order declaring her incompetent, nor a court order appointing my brother as her guardian. My mother was placed in this facility. Her cell phone was taken away from her. Her wallet was taken away from her. All her money was taken away from her----and the doors were locked. I attempted to call her. First the phones were not answered for over a week. Then I contacted the corporate Hq for Colonial Gardens and was told "there was an IT problem" and they were fixing it. After another week of the phones not working, I contacted the CEO for Colonial Gardens (an attorney) and asked him to facilitate contact with my mother. An hour later, a "nurse" (there are no nurses as Colonial Gardens) contacted me. She stated that she was my mother's nurse but that I was not allowed to speak with my mother at my brother's direction. At this point I contacted the Texas State Elder Abuse Department, and they initiated an investigation. After 2 or 3 weeks I was allowed to speak with my mother. Then I went to San Antonio (I live in Arizona) and visited my mother. I tried to take her to lunch but was told that I was not allowed to take my mother out of the facility. I contacted the Texas State Ombudsman for the rights of the elderly in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. After a month, the ombudsman told the nursing home that my mother had the legal right to leave Colonial Gardens with me. Then my brother put a Temporary Restraining Order on me and we went to probate court. The Probate Court Judge stated that there are no legal reasons my mother could not leave Colonial Gardens. I would like to point out that it is the law in the state of Texas for Assisted Living Facilities to Post the Residents Bill of Rights, which include access to phones, access to family. The only way these rights can the usurped is by the Probate Court taking these rights away. Colonial Gardens took this access away from my mother at my brother's request. Personally, I see a real problem when a corporation locks a person in, takes away their access to others, without a doctor's statement of incapacity or a Probate Court Judge declaring incompetency. (In the meantime, my brother moved into my mother's home.) During the week while I waited for the Temporary Restraining Order hearing, I stayed in San Antonio and spent each day with my mother at Colonial Garden's Assisted Living Alzheimer's Lockdown Facility. It was eye opening. The staff was kind and considerate and worked hard, however, there were so few of them that the residents went without care. Specifically: I saw people who did not eat because there wasn't anyone to cut their food. I saw that there were 3 or 4 employees who helped residents eat. However, there were, at least, 8 who needed assistance. I saw that the food was cheap and overcooked. And 90% of the food was fried and much of it deep fat fried. Fried fish, French fries, deep fat fried (and overcooked) hush puppies, etc. I was personally asked by residents to wheel them back to there rooms or assist with dressing as all the Colonial Garden employees were busy assisting other residents. I saw one resident start to "act out", which amounted to saying she did not like the food. The person feeding her asked the person in charge of medications to give her a sedative, which arrived promptly and was ground up in a bite of food and stuffed down her mouth. I must have looked a little shocked, because the person feeding her said to me "they get used to it". I saw my mother actually helping other residents eat. She would cut resident's food and, even, help feed some residents. I saw that there were a few other residents who regularly helped other residents eat and with cleaning up the dining room. The week that I was there, there were no activities. During this week Colonial Gardens did not have an activity director and the residents sat around and stared at the walls. I saw that there was only one community TV and the staff was in charge of the remote. I saw that there was limited seating for the community TV. There were 2 couches, but residents regularly slept on these couches. I personally saw that my mother was never given a glass of water to gargle after she was given her inhalator. I personally questioned the "medication professional" about this and she said "I am not allowed to discuss this with you." I brought this up with the facility manager, and she never got back with me on this matter. I personally saw that my mother's room number was written in big black magic marker all over her clothes. I could actually see the big black numbers on her underwear through her blouses. Colonial Gardens online advertisement states "our employees receive an unprecedented 20 hours of training".