The Village at Mission — Local services in Prairie Village

I hope people considering Brighton Gardens now The Village at Mission will read this. I wonder if the name change is due to bad feedback.

My mom is currently at The Village for rehab after a fall. Right after they moved her in, Lucinda called me to tell me they had moved her in and wanted to let me know I could visit the next day. She asked what time I would like to visit, and I said 10 am. She said she’d let the receptionist know.

The next morning I got a call from somebody at The Village to “offer a visit” with my mom and ask if anybody had shared their visitation policy. I said that I knew I needed to set up a time to visit 24-48 hours in advance, but I didn’t need to set one on the phone with her because I had set one up when Lucinda called me. Turns out she didn’t let the receptionist know I planned to visit the next morning. I couldn’t have the 10 am visit I told Lucinda I wanted because somebody else had taken that spot. The woman on the phone set up an 11:30 visit for me.

The first night my mom was at The Village, I had received several texts from her and some in the middle of the night. She said the food was awful and barely edible. She also pushed her call light several times with absolutely no response. We are talking hours. After about an hour waiting, she got herself to her wheelchair and made her way to the bathroom. She is very lucky she didn’t fall. Unfortunately, she waited too long and didn’t make it to the toilet. She ended up peeing on her clothes and had to get changed, still without help. I think it was another hour before somebody finally responded to her call light.

The next morning she needed help to the bathroom again, and again no response for probably thirty minutes. The worker told her that she was helping somebody in the shower. I don’t know the staffing ratio, but that is unacceptable that one person is expected to respond to the needs of several different patients.

They are also very strict on their COVID protocols. You need to fill out two pages front and back about where you’ve been and if you’ve been exposed to COVID. They only allow their patients one thirty minute visit per day with 1-2 people. Only one visit is allowed during that thirty minute time frame. So if I’m visiting my mom, no other visitors are allowed in the building. I understand COVID is still a concern, but that seems like overkill. Also they will kick you out at exactly thirty minutes, so if you think you’ll get away with staying a bit longer, think again.

Last Friday as I was leaving after visiting my mom, I asked to set up a visit on the following Monday to visit. They told me they couldn’t do it that far out. I was told I needed to call 24-48 hours in advance to set up Monday’s visit. I called Sunday to set up a visit, and the woman I spoke to on the phone said I couldn’t set up a visit on Monday because I could only do it 48 hours in advance. I told her that wasn’t what I was told. She said they told her it had to be 48 hours. She wouldn’t budge on the issue. I talked to my mom, who said she’d ask. She spoke to a nurse who said they still had spots available on Monday. I called back and talked to the same woman as I did the first time. I told her that my mom talked to the nurse who said they still had appointments available. I guess she didn’t want to argue with me further, so she forwarded me to somebody who let me set up an appointment for Monday. She confirmed that it was 24-48 hours, and I told her she should make sure the woman answering the phones knew that policy. She said she would.

My mom will be moving to a new rehab facility on Wednesday, fingers crossed. She’s so relieved to be moving to a new facility. Frankly, so am I.

Avoid Brighton Gardens/The Village at Missions if at...

Today, July 25, 2024, is an important marker on my road to recovery from Covid. Just before Christmas, 2021, I entered the Village at Mission rehab wing on a gurney. I was unable to stand or feed myself. Performing most of the normal personal daily routines was a challenge or impossible. Covid had left me like a stick figure with no upper-body strength and little lower-body muscle-tone. Enter Brad and Aaron, my physical/occupational therapy team. They explained what I needed to do to regain mobility and daily pushed me gently toward physical independence. Their dedication to my well-being and skilled, unrelenting progress in the numerous therapy sessions, to say nothing of their personable and humorous demeanor, prepared me for the next step in recovery. (They also went beyond their required duties and listened to my occasional voicing of frustration with the difficult situation of staff shortages regarding my care.) These guys taught me how to stand, walk, feed myself, and become more independent in performing daily personal tasks. Their goal was to get me ready for acute rehab -- and they did it in just over a month! On January 25th, two and a half years ago today, I was able to leave the Village in a wheelchair leaving the gurney behind to be transported to an excellent acute rehab facility having been well-prepared to fit right into their intensive program. Three weeks later I went home! Oh, yes! One more thing about Brad and Aaron: they loved the daily Bad Dad Jokes I shared with them and Brad's family now supplies him with his own on-going...

Sometimes we find ourselves in a position where we need to find a safe place for our loved ones to be cared for 24/7 due to declining health, medical conditions, or dementia. This was the case with my dad.

After a search of what would be best for my dad, we found The Village at Mission. I was immediately impressed by Valorie, who was my first point of contact. She set-up a tour, talked to me about insurance and costs, and provided information on a unique "enhanced assisted living" section of The Village at Mission, which provides a higher standard of care, including hourly check-ins with each resident.

Valorie was an amazing partner with my dad's transition providing options for everything from a way my dad's significant other could occasionally dine with my dad to getting items from his home moved into his new room at The Village to make it feel like home. She is an incredible asset and I am incredibly thankful for her partnership in helping my dad feel "at home" at The Village at Mission.

My dad's room is nicely redone with new flooring and a new paint job. I met several members of the staff that were equally helpful with his initial assessment and I am incredibly pleased and relieved to have found The Village. I know I sleep better at night knowing that he is being cared for there.

Thank you to the entire staff on the enhanced assisted living wing for their caring and attention in taking care of my precious dad. And special thanks go out to Valorie who made this difficult decision and transition so much easier on our family as...