The Pavilion Health Center at Brightmore — Local services in Charlotte

It was a most stressful 4 week experience for us and mom decided I should do a review to point some things out to help the next families who are considering The Pavilion.

*The arrival process is not a welcome party… you are another person they have to now care for. There is no orientation to the facility. You will be taken to your room and put in the bed. The staff person we had did not smile or say hello and introduce herself. We were close to leaving but soon a shift change brought a beautiful kind soul who helped us consider the benefits of staying… the rehab she was there for.

*So let’s talk about that… the rehab staff are amazing! She was there 4 weeks and had OT and PT 5 times a week. You will not know when they are coming for your session each day but they will come and you will have excellent results and care from them. I can not say enough about how wonderful the rehab team is! Mom is now home and living independently again 5 weeks post fall!

Back to the things to be aware of:

*There is no communication with patient or responsible family member on anything. You will not know of anything unless you are there like I was everyday to monitor. If you call the main number and are connected to the nurses station… no one ever answered the phone there and when I left a message they did not call me back. When I asked for emails as an alternate way to communicate… I was not given them. An example of not knowing anything is bloodwork… you will be awakened at 1:00am with all the lights on in the room. You will not know results or why it is even being taken.

*Next… your medication can be changed based on the bloodwork… you will not be aware of this. Mom had a medication added and one stopped. I only discovered this when I requested a copy of the bloodwork and medication list.

*You will have 3 meals a day but you will not know when the food will arrive. There will be days when the food is running later than the scheduled times… but no one will communicate that to you so you’ll think you are not getting food. And if you have dietary restrictions they do not follow your requests/guidelines and will serve you foods you are not supposed to eat… for example mom can not have red meat or sweets due to her liver disease… she was served red meats many times and dessert every lunch and dinner with sweet tea. And only occasionally did they fill her cup with fresh ice water each day.

*Your personal items are not safe. Mom had clothing taken from her room. I did her laundry each day. I went to the facility laundry room to look through lost and found… it was not there. I reported this but the damage was done and we never got the clothes back.

*The thermostat in the room will be adjusted or turned off without you knowing it. I put a note on hers asking the staff to not adjust or turn off. This worked.

*The button they give you to push if you need anything is as mom put it… a joke. Mom pushed the button and it would be 30 to 45 minutes before someone would come if they came at all. Mom was required to have someone help her to the bathroom but she ended up doing it carefully by herself and she is very lucky she did not fall… I lost sleep over this one.

*Cleaning of the room was done a couple times. There is a cleaning person who is supposed to do this daily but this did not happen in Mom’s room.

*Mom was offered a bath only 2 times while there.

Now I know this is a lot to digest. We made it through by staying focused on the end game of getting mom better with rehab and getting her home. She did just that and is home living independently again. We are grateful for the rehab staff and all their efforts as they were truly amazing. 5 STARS! I’m not saying don’t go here b/c if you need rehab… you will get exactly what you need to recover but my review is to make you clearly aware of the facility and for you to not to have high expectations on...

A pressure sore was discovered on my elderly father’s heel and he was hospitalized for a week of antibiotic treatment. Once released, he required a stay in a rehab facility where the wound could be treated until it healed.

He was admitted to The Pavilion and, from the beginning, there were problems. I was forced to be heavily involved, finding it necessary to follow up with the nurse’s station daily to ensure his bandage was changed and he was showered on his scheduled days.

On the night of October 29th, my father called and said he couldn’t feel his legs. After three calls to the facility someone finally called me back to say they checked on him and he was fine.

The next morning I received a call from my father and his speech was slurred. My wife arrived at the facility at noon to check on him. She arrived to find him lying in his bed, unclothed, feverish and agitated. The foot with the wound appeared purple. He looked up and called out for water, in a scratchy voice. The temperature in the room was set on heat, it was 85 degrees in the room and the window was open. She pushed the help button, but no one came. She searched hallway carts until she found a cup and water pitcher.

My wife found a nurse who looked at my father and said they would run some tests, which could take three days for results, but could start him on antibiotics. They then stated they didn’t have the antibiotics and they would need to be ordered. At that point we were not comfortable leaving him in the facility and requested that the nurse call an ambulance.

While we were waiting for the ambulance, my father asked to go to the bathroom. We pushed the help button, but no one arrived, and after 15 minutes, he soiled himself. My wife walked the halls, found the nurse and told her he needed to be changed. Her response was that “they’ll change him when he gets to the hospital”. After a brief contentious exchange, the nurse and an aide came in to change him.

He was taken to Novant Presbyterian where they determined he had sepsis and it had spread throughout his body. After discussions with the doctors, and family, he was placed on hospice and passed away four hours later from septic shock.

In our experience, the apathy and unpleasant demeanor of the Pavilion staff, in general, was horrific.

Without our active intervention, it is our opinion my father would have passed away unclothed, soiled, dehydrated and sadly alone, as not one person stopped to check on him over the several hours we were there.

I filed a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and they have opened an...

From the time we were greeted at the front door by Seronica his day, it’s been an AMAZING experience! Our room was sanitized and cleaned each morning/ afternoon and often when needed due to a spill or bathroom messy oops! Arlene, Doris, Gloria, Lisa, Rodney ,David and sooo many others I can’t begin to name made his experience for 6 plus weeks so so pleasant , calm and easy to adjust! We were wowed by the Nurses in each shift that attended to him and his medication! At times he was stubborn , but their smiles and respectful greeting him to answer “ why am I taking this??” … gave him such ease and trust that he looked forward to seeing, Cleo,Rene’e, LaKeta, Kathy, Tanisha, and ALL the nurses on that Third floor wing!!! Each meal tray that was brought to MB’s room was hot and accommodating his favorite dessert or drink and when we requested anything, EACH person who brought his meal in, were special to greet him and mention the menu and ask MB how he was doing this morning/ afternoon or dinner!! Craig especially went out the way to do so!!

We can’t begin to thank you soo very much for your staff of Aides as well!! MB was especially fond of Lisa! EVERY SHIFT AIDE was unique to recognize something they could connect with MB( although he memory as well as having dementia) he smiled or found a way to acknowledge them! So so considerate and thoughtful!! MB felt it truly!!

You have such an AMAZING REHAB DEPARTMENT AND BRUCE, ERICA, MIMI, ERIC, oh my I please forgive my forgetting the names but NEVER FACES off ALL THE STAFF !!! The quality care , conversation, exercise tailored to his needs were what encouraged MB each day! Their explanation of why it was important to his daily activity , healing and recovery helped push MB as well as his Caregivers to follow through having and encouraging his to complete his goal! I think soon MB started initiating the exercise before we could !! Lololo!! Your ENTIRE Rehab staff that worked with MB and us truly made his recovery painless( if there is such a thing!)emotionally, physically by the end of his stay there.

Thank you so much for the travel to and from his doctor appointments in such a safe, friendly and smooth transport!!

There isn’t enough space or words to express the gratitude of MB’s family and Caregivers for what The Pavilion does to welcome , care, endear as well as partner to give residents self worth , dignity during their stay!

Thank SO...