The Grove at Valhalla Rehabilitation and Nursing Center — Attraction in Town of Greenburgh

On Friday, February 5, my grandmother was admitted to The Grove at Valhalla for rehabilitation services for a broken pelvis and ribs. Throughout the weekend my grandmother spoke to friends and family many times a day. When I never heard from her on Tuesday, I went to the Grove to try to see her from the window but was told by staff that Grandma was sleeping and she was unable to wake her. That morning, my Aunt was told Grandma had been complaining of a headache. Finally someone in the room answered about 5:30 and my grandmother was speaking incoherently. I immediately called the nurse's station and told them I am afraid she is having a stroke. I was put on hold for 15 minutes before someone said they are working on her and would call me back. No one did so I kept calling. Finally, around 8:00 I got through and was told she may have a UTI which will be treated with antibiotics. Over the next couple of days, my grandmother did not make or receive any calls. If a staff member answered they said she was sleeping or not feeling well. My family was calling the facility and not getting much communication back. They asked us to designate only one contact person because they were receiving too many phone calls. Perhaps, if they initiated some calls to report her status this would not be an issue. By Friday of that week I started getting aggressive. After a conversation with a nurse administrator where I was told she was being treated for the UTI and now has pneumonia. I decided to discharge her from The Grove. She was there for physical rehabilitative services but her medical needs are now emergent and being neglected. That day I also learned she was on oxygen, something no one at The Grove thought was necessary to tell us prior. When she was transported to White Plains Hospital they immediately did a series of tests including a head CT scan and informed us that she had suffered a massive stroke. I am certain she had that stroke at some point on Tuesday morning because that is when all communication from Grandma stopped. Upon removal from The Grove, Grandma was a shell of who she was just a week prior. She was unable to open her eyes and her mouth was wide open and very dry. She could barely speak and was confused. I was told then that she had previously vomited so they were clearly trying to feed a stroke victim which likely caused her aspiration pneumonia that WPH diagnosed her with! I was also told that the physical therapists had been seeing her even though they were unable to ambulate her. Instead, they were working on moving her limbs. It turns out she is completely flaccid on her left side due to the stroke. I believe a physical therapist should notice if one side of the body is flaccid while the other isn't. I understand that this stroke could not be prevented and with its magnitude the ultimate result was inevitable. However, I have a huge problem with the misdiagnosis and handling of her subsequent care, which I consider to be neglect at best and incompetence at worst. She was alone due to Covid restrictions and we were not receiving sufficient communication from The Grove - not a good combination. The best thing I did was discharge her because WPH diagnosed her quickly, communicated regularly, let us see her to say our goodbyes, and treated her final days with dignity, respect and compassion. None of which happened at The Grove. At some point after discharge I received two calls from staff at the Grove. One was a conference call with staff who said they were investigating the matter. I never did hear back from them. The second call was from Ari, an administrator. He had the gall to suggest that my Grandmother's stroke occurred in transport to WPH. To insinuate my decision to remove her was the reason she had her stroke, shows a complete lack of empathy, but I suppose I should not expect better. The head CT scan showed otherwise and the missed diagnosis of a stroke is either just pure negligence or greed. I truly hope this doesn't happen to another...

These are the facts : In late September I was in a very serious pedestrian vehicle accident and suffered many injuries to my body. On October 18th, I arrived on a stretcher to the Grove from a family friend recommendation. On November 22, with the help of an elbow crutch I was able to walk out of the Grove to my wife's car that would drive me home. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the people at the Grove in Valhalla.....

These are the details: When I arrived at the Grove in Valhalla, although lying on a stretcher I could tell the facility was modern, clean and well kept. The lobby was impressive and I thought I was in a hotel. I was immediately greeted by a warm and friendly staff. My room was clean and had a beautiful large window that displayed signs of the seasons changing. Soon after I was greeted by Ari L. the senior administrator of the Grove. Ari, in true gentleman and compassionate fashion said to me.... "Not to worry we are going to take care of you! "Whatever you need we will help you with." He was right from the start and kept his promise till my very last day. I remember needing a bigger bed the first day and without any hesitation Ari was able to get me a bigger bed within the hr. He would always check up on me throughout my stay to see if things were going smoothly. The nurses and aids at the Grove are truly amazing! They extended great care to me and I could see that the extension of care was for all of their patients. A few names that stick in my mind are Marie, Sarah, Ruby & Jonathan. They were fabulous. Although I needed the care and help of the nurses to help me with my healing, I was heavily focused on my rehab. I had a goal in mind... I wanted to walk again and I wanted to be home for Thanksgiving! The Grove has a beautiful clean and modern Rehab Gym. It gets busy but the motivation there is self stimulating! The therapists at the Grove are truly amazing. I liked the fact that the supervisor kept me in a 3 team (therapist) rotation. My first encounter with a therapist at the Grove was with a gentleman named Chuck. I could tell from the get go that he was knowledgable and motivating. He had a compassionate side to him that you could tell from the first time you meet him. He is a guy who has a tough time saying no and I could see that his willingness to help out everyone including all of his co-workers is one of his great characteristics. Another great therapist was Hakeem! Hakeem had a wonderful way to understand the moment and make you see the bigger picture. He let you see the light at the tunnel quickly and was always so encouraging. His training speaks for itself, he is well versed in using different techniques to stimulate muscles and to rehabilitate the body. Finally there is Jerry! Jerry added the competitive nature and the comic relief that one needs to rehab. He has a very funny personality and we connected through many topics including sports, music and of course jokes. He likes many of the Philadelphia based sports teams but I didn't hold that against him LOL! I will never forget Halloween Day I was really feeling down mentally and missing my children. The day started out like one of those days that you want to forget, but I will remember it forever. Jerry saw that at I was down and it was still early in my rehab to the point that I wasn't even standing up yet. That day at the end of my exercise session with him, Jerry said to me... "Come on man it's time to stand up!" and with his instruction and motivation I stood up for the first time in 1.5 months. A big smile replaced the tears and sadness on my face! I will never forget that day it was like the turning point in my rehabilitation. This is my experience...

After 1 year a response to my review would have been appreciated! I unfortunately have to rate my experience with The Grove At Valhalla with one star which is generous. CareRite really seems to care about making money while claiming to support renewal for residents. The facility is like a prison. The Administrator, Jake Hartstein and Assistant Administrator/Concierge, Abraham Cohen are all about making money. If you are alert and oriented you will not be liked. I was and paid the price for it. I witnessed staff interactions with residents that were beyond unprofessional. Mr. Hartstein and Mr. Cohen did nothing. For a very long time I was seeking appropriate subsidized housing in the community which is virtually non-existent. The Social Worker, Justina Mante had no resources to help me find housing. Actually I put more effort into seeking housing than her. I would shake my head as I left her office about her lack of knowledge and Administration not caring. The Rehabilitation Department was good to me but it was obvious that Mr. Hartstein and Mr. Cohen were calling the shots not the director, Ramon Lerma. The medical staff was ok but again Mr. Hartstein and Mr. Cohen were calling the shots in that department too. The Nurses and CNA's were rude for the most part. If your family came often you got VIP treatment. If no family came you did not exist. Call bells would wring forever before being answered. Since the facility was clearly understaffed it was a excuse to not answer bells as well as not being in the dining room when residents were patiently waiting for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We would then be served our meals with nothing to drink sometimes until we were almost finished eating. Staff would be conveniently not around when meals were being served creating problems between staff. Finally, I started eating in my room to avoid the atmosphere in the dining room. The cell phone use by staff while working was out of control to the point of staff gathering in a residents rooms to talk. There was never enough linen. Nobody cared if you had a gown and towel. Staff would sleep on the overnight shift. They constantly ran out of my medications due to nursing not ordering my medications. Communication between departments was non-existent. Across the board the entire facility needs a dress code. A bit too much bare skin showing for me. The only staff that treated me well were Theraputic Activities which I was very active in. There is no excuse for any of this but they get away with it because nobody cares as long as they are making money. If your alert this is not the place for you. When you call and are on hold the recording is misleading. It boasts about all these services and amenities like room service for example which does not exist. They make it sound like a high end hotel. When you go on their website trust me when I tell you the pictures of bedrooms, bathrooms and dining rooms is not what you will see in the facility. I hope my brief overview of my experience was helpful. Don't just research the website. Go and see it...