Alderson Convalescent Hospital — Local services in Woodland

My mother who has dementia stayed for almost 3 months in 2021 -2022. It was the most horrifying experience I have ever had in the healthcare system. The staff always seemed pleasant and nice but my mother did not receive good care. They didn't help her eat, so she lost 10 pounds. They let her go from a person that would go to the bathroom with assistance to someone that laid in bed in diapers. When she finally got out of there she went back to using the toilet within three months. I came in one day around 6pm to visit and found my mother sitting in the hallway in a wheelchair wearing her clothes inside out AND backwards. She was also wearing someone else's glasses. As I wheeled her down the hallway to her room to change her clothes I heard a lady from a room close to hers yelling for her glasses. When I took in the pair my mother was wearing it turns out they were hers. She said "Thank you so much, I have been asking for my glasses all day but no one could help me". I also brought my my mom a new Toothbrush and toothpaste to be used. The staff told me they were brushing her teeth every day but when I checked her toothbrush after a week they hadn't even opened the package with the toothbrush. I also have doubts over them bathing her because her hair was always filthy and I could not get confirmation about her bathing schedule. One week they told me one day and the next week they told me another. The staff at the desk would tell me she had been bathed on a certain day and when I asked the person who was supposed to have done it she would say "No I didn't bathe her today". Lastly she caught Covid while in the facility and they put my mother in isolation for 10 days in an empty room without any furniture except a bed. She was not allowed any of her own things, not even her favorite blanket or her Teddy bear that gave her great comfort. I was not allowed to talk to her until I went nuts on the staff about 5 days in. When I finally was allowed to speak to her she was confused and crying because she did not understand where she was or why she was alone.

All in all my mother went backwards in this facility. She stopped using the bathroom, lost a ton of mobility, and was far worse on verbal communication. After three months at home she was much better on all three. I would not recommend...

I am grateful to the staff of the Aldersons for making me feel safe and clean and cared for. I want to share the news with others who may have doubts. I am a 57 year old woman and spent time at the Aldersons on two separate occasions. I had two total hip replacements and my recovery was made so easier thanks to this facility. The entire hospital is kept immaculately clean. There is none of that “old folks home odor”. Meals are good and nutritious and always on time. Laundry is done and delivered to the room. Visitors are made to feel comfortable in the recreation room where we played games or I played the upright piano. The nurses really do give personalized attention to each patient. In fact, once while outside the building doing my Physical Therapy, the head nurse hunted me down to give me my pain medication! Talk about personalized care. The Physical and Occupational Therapy staff are dedicated and experienced therapists who have incredible patience and often a great sense of humor. My greatest debt of gratitude, however, goes to the CNA staff. The CNA's are always there when I needed them, ready with a smile and gentle care, to bring me ice, or a warm towel, or help with in the shower, or change my surgical dressing. I often hear people afraid of skilled nursing facilities and see them as depressing or creepy, as if old age or infirmity is contagious. I found the place to be joyful and good. When I get old and senile, I WANT my kids to put me in the Aldersons, because I know I will be safe and cared for.

Grateful Patient,...

Absolutely terrible care management team. The nursing staff was nice but overworked like most places. Andy in social services was extremely unprofessional. He tried to prevent my mother from transferring to a memory care assisted living for dementia. He caused our family so much undue stress. He regularly ignored my emails/ phone calls & delayed our process for months. He also called my brother (who was NOT my mother’s medical POA) to consult with him & actually told my brother he could stop/ deny transfer! My brother & I were both seeking the transfer so it was really just shocking & beyond unprofessional! Not to mention I was administering all my mother’s affairs & my brother lived 400 miles away. They also tried to deny my mother reentry after a hospital transfer. I had to appeal. My mother walked into this facility but they would NOT allow her to get out of her bed or walk because of dementia. They have no memory care unit & are completely ill equipped to care for patients w/ dementia. As a result of being confined to her bed, my mother lost her ability to walk. The administration here is so unprofessional, disrespectful, petty, and most importantly do not have the best interest of their patients at heart. Caregiving is hard enough without added stress from people are supposed to help families...