Otterbein Lebanon SeniorLife Community — Local services in Lebanon

My Mom was a resident in independent living and loved it. Great people in her Court that did a lot socially. Transportation if she needed to go somewhere on campus.

Then she had a fall and went to the emergency room. Upon being released, went to Otterbein TCU. She was not eating and mentally not coherent. It was reported, but nothing was done about it. As it would turn out, the UTI she had was never resolved after she left the hospital. Back to the emergency room and another stay at the hospital. Upon release, back to Otterbein TCU. She was there for 10 days, a large portion of which was self pay. She got worse daily until we walked in one day and thought she was dying. There was no sense of urgency, and no one seemed to raise a flag that she was deteriorating quickly. It took multiple phone calls to the doctor on call to have her taken back to the hospital. As it turns out, her UTI was still there, she was constipated, and she was dehydrated.

Upon release from the hospital, we transferred her to a different TCU facility, where things were taken care of properly. Along with the doctor, we had decided she needed to move to an Assisted Living facility.

I looked at 3 in the area. Toured 2 and was given details and the opportunity to ask questions. The one that I did not tour was Otterbein Assisted Living. Not because I didn't want to. I was told to stop in and when I did, was given a packet of information regarding pricing and the layout. The ONLY thing that was made clear was that the financial information had to be filled out before they could get things going. She had filled it out when she moved into independent living, but that was not good enough. No offer for a tour or to speak with anyone else.

At least I had pricing, which I was able to determine that the cost was significantly higher than the other options. I have no idea how the facilities compared...because no tour was offered. I called to find out how to give 30 days notice, and the first question (before I could ask my question) was "did I get the financial information filled out?"

A combination of the TCU and focus on financials only by the marketing department only enforces the perception that this facility has given up its Methodist roots and are more worried about the $$$$. (And there are a lot of $$$$ involved.)

My Mom has moved to Traditions just a few miles away, in a newer facility, with incredibly attentive staff. Anything that happens I receive a phone call. She is very happy.

My apologies for the long post. Independent living seems to be solid, but I would not expect much more than a huge bill for care...

They only worry about the areas that are for independent people they make money on. The have built and renovated those area but take one look at the people who need the most care but they don’t make money from and you will see the difference. The lobby to the nursing area in not welcoming you can see the building needs work as there are leaks on the walls, it’s cluttered and the furniture is a mis-matched mess and no one there to help tell you where you need to go, but go to the lobby for the independent area it is beautiful and welcoming with a receptionist .The nursing home part is neglected. The halls are dreary, the eating areas look institutional and the food is subpar. The rooms are small the showers not functional unless you are able to do things on your own. Old wheelchairs and it is hard to push people around because a lot don’t have the foot rests. What the call their memory unit is even more sad and depressing. They make the nursing assistance do everything in that area for some reason including cleaning and it doesn’t get done well and they only activity they seem to have for them is putting them in front of a TV. They will tell you they are above state regulations for nursing aides but they seem to not have enough. I happened to look at there surveys and it is poor and they are only rated 2 stars which is not a surprise, take a look and you will be shocked there was an aide that took an inappropriate picture of a person that lived there, this is from the report “State tested Nurse Aide (STNA) #1 engaged in an act meant to humiliate and dehumanize the resident by taking an inappropriate picture while the resident was lying in bed with her buttocks exposed without permission and not in accordance with facility policy. This picture was then posted on a social media website, Snap Chat, resulting in outcomes which one would expect a reasonable person in a similar situation to suffer, subsequently treating the resident as an inanimate object having no emotions or feelings and causing embarrassment and shame for the resident.” I feel some of the front line staff care but the management just sees dollars signs. I definitely would recommend...

It’s a long negative review but considering the decision you are making worth your time. I’m in the Army and not around much but I went to Otterbein to visit my grandfather every chance I got. He is 93 years old and lives by himself. The last time I was there I was absolutely disgusted to see the care that was being taken of both him and his rental home. The house was falling apart and his yard was uncut while everything around his was. I’m not expecting pristine conditions, but for $2500+ a month basic maintenance and safe living conditions are expected. My grandpa never complained and kept to himself which is why I think he was taken advantage of and ignored. Other family members have been documenting their contact with management and maintenance over the last year because our attorney advised them to. That’s what it has come to. Their phone calls have either not returned or blown off/lied to. My biggest concern was the concrete front porch that was cracking and uneven. This forced my grandfather to have to use the steep narrow stairs out back to leave the house while using his walker. A contractor randomly happened to come out, after months of complaining, while my dad was there a few months back and said it should have been replaced about a year ago. During the same visit my grandfather needed an ambulance to go to the hospital and the staff at Otterbein sent the ambulance to the wrong house. This was the point we started to look at other places and eventually moved him to the Masonic home. There are plenty of other stories I am now aware of from other residence which have made my family and I regret the decision to leave him in the care of Otterbein. I wouldn’t recommend this place and I would high recommend anyone considering it to talk to family member of residents who need constant care...