Merrill Gardens At Green Valley Ranch

Rich G.

2021-08-10

What started out in January 2020 as a promising 5-star beginning for my parents has since significantly degraded. Not, to be clear, because of the pandemic through which I steadfastly supported this facility and its staff and management. They navigated a tremendously difficult and unpredictable event and, by and large, succeeded in keeping the residents, including my parents, safe and secure. My reason for this one star rating is the active and protracted negligence that facility management has demonstrated regarding staff retention and hiring over the months since the pandemic has eased. While the physical property itself is first-rate, Merrill Gardens' crown jewel was its staff, the people entrusted to interact with and care for its residents daily. One cannot overemphasize how critically important it is in the business of senior living to have a trusted team vetted over years and loved by the vulnerable residents under their care. They cook for our elderly, serve them, clean their homes, come when they call, and make them laugh and feel loved and safe when they are lonely or scared. I am fortunate to live close by and so have personally gotten to know many of those outstanding individuals who weathered the pandemic along with its residents and stepped up as others left to shoulder greater and greater responsibility. Those who remained should be honored and rewarded. Instead, residents have seen service and their experience plummet as their caretakers are not only left unappreciated but allowed to leave over a couple bucks an hour to take their talents elsewhere willing to pay what the market requires. Staff retention and quality is a metric that may not rise to the level of profit, free cash flow and return on investment at MG's board meetings but its absence there is most keenly felt by its most important stakeholder, the customer. The resident. I hope a real effort will be made to address and solve this problem, soon and with the care, commitment and focus it deserves.

Cathy L.

2021-07-26

When I checked out this place two years ago to move my Mom into, I had glowing reviews not only online, but from friends at my temple who had family members there. I toured, reviewed, spoke to the then Director, and presented to my Mom.She finally agreed to move across the country here, and everything was just as expected - very good meals, weekly housekeeping, daily car service and plenty of activities.Then Covid hit.I expected certain disruptions, and they did make sure they took all the basic precautions necessary to keep the residents safe. Almost.But now?Only one housekeeper for the first floor, cleaning on the other two floors is done by the two maintenance people since they won't find quality housekeepers - or pay them living wages - and the apartments are sporadically cleaned, but sometimes goes for weeks without being cleaned.The chef that was originally there has been gone for a while, and whoever is there is so below par, some residents are doing their own cooking or going hungry.Car service is down to 2 days a week due to lack of staff.High staff turnover.And some of the staff (including the head nurse, General Manager, servers and others - despite bringing in CVS to provide the Covid vaccine to everyone - refuse to be vaccinated - IN A FACILITY THAT CARES FOR ELDERLY WHO HAVE UNDERLYING HEALTH ISSUES.When the average rent is $5500/month, this is unacceptable.Unfortunately, they are the only assisted living in Henderson, and I cannot fathom moving my Mom again at this stage of her life.Run - do not walk - away from this facility. It's tired, needs renovation and no longer lives up to its promises.Corporate only cares about the bottom line.

Candi H.

2020-04-07

I want to write an update to this review.  These people that work at this place are fantastic heroes to sometimes very lonely people.  Every time I go to see my friend I feel like I visit with extra family.  She has been there three years now.  She was hospitalized just Saturday night and we are praying that it is not Covid 19.  I do believe it is just her heart.  I can't go see her now.  I guess I would say she is like my older sister.  A sweet lady that will give her shirt of her back to someone.  This place is clean, caring and take there jobs seriously.  I think they all deserve a raise.  I pray that her heart will get better and her and her little dog will be back soon.  Her dog is with a foster during this time.

Natalie S.

2018-03-23

the coffee is undrinkable .. incredibly bitter.  they must use cheapest available.

Willow J.

2016-12-08

Our youth group wanted to sing and visit with some folks! We came across this home and we're so happily welcomed!  Our youth raved about what a wonderful time they had visiting with these sweet people!  The staff, the residents and the environment was beautiful!  Thank you!  We look forward to coming again!

Amy T.

2015-02-13

This place should be shut down by the Nevada health dept.Housekeeping is almost non existent. Food untensils are always spotted and have residue.The icing on the cake was this past month when I called the general manager, Linn Thome to ask why no one from Merrill Gardens had enquired about my mom, who had been in the hospital for the previous 5 days and was still in the hospital for emergency heart surgery. Linn had NO IDEA that my mom was not there at Merrill Gardens!!! How about that? Would you want a loved one somewhere where they don't even know you've been gone due to a medical emergency?Check the records with the health dept. about the horrible way that they handled the mystery virus outbreak last March/ April.Do not even slightly consider this dump unless you truly want to suffer!!!

Dave H.

2014-10-01

If you don't have an unlimited budget, I suggest you avoid this place.  Rent increases of 6 - 10% per year are common, and the cost for home health services on top of this can really rip into your budget. After enduring numerous personnel changes, an unexplained Grade C from the Health Department, and a two week "lock down" of all residents this past year due to a mystery virus, you would think that this Seattle-based company would have a little more heart when it comes to raising its residents costs.  Afraid not. Their attitude is "take it or leave it". Unfortunately, moving a loved one in her 80's is not easily done, and management knows it.

R P.

2013-03-19

This is a great retirement community. I cannot review it much because I do not live here; however, My grandmother is very happy here and well taken care of.They have a daily list of events in which residents can partake in including things that are not on site. Meals each day as well differ and that gives residents chances to change things up. I've ate here several times and the food is very good especially with the plethora of different things cooked up on holidays.Residents are allowed small animals on premises as well which helps with companionship. There is a gym and activity center so that residents may also get exercise. Lastly, my grandmother's favorite----a beauty salon!

Greg K.

2011-04-05

OK, most of you are gonna be way too young to even think about this place, a senior assisted living place, but hey, we all know someone and this is the creme de la creme!Location - Very nice location in the heart of Green Valley Ranch. Amidst the walk paths, greenery and very cool ambiance.Staff - Awesome. The people here are the greatest.Feeling - This place feels like a luxury cruise ship, instead of an institution. Activities - How cool. You can do a lot of stuff here and they take you around!Facilities - Top class. No shortchanging here.Price - Start saving now. A bit pricey, but if you want to be pampered as you age, COME HERE.If you got the dough, this is the place to go.

Joe Boocheck

2021-12-01

My Mom has resided at this facility since May 2018. When we visited MG@GVR it was, visually, more impressive than other similar, yet less costly facilities. The apartments and common areas were larger, built with better finishes, offered more amenities, and the facility appeared well maintained and clean.We received the tour and the obligatory free lunch. Lynn, the GM, made an appearance presumably to inspire confidence in management. It's the most work I've seen her do.When the time came for my Mom to move in, the unit she was told was available magically was scooped up right after her inquiry. But a more expensive one was conveniently available. She had no choice at this point and leased it.Ever since there has been a steady decrease in the quality of care, food and amenities, not attributable fully to the pandemic. It started well before. I hold top management solely responsible. Past and present employees who report(ed) to Lynn are professional, dedicated, friendly and compassionate and doing the best with what they are paid and provided.If you've read other reviews you'll have read "I'll look into it." If you interview residents they would tell you that is Lynn's catch phrase - if she'll meet with you to discuss anything or come out of her office. She is very good at making it appear she is busy, when she is there.That was her response when residents, pre-pandemic, rightfully started to complain about the quality of the food, the food service and the limited transportation to doctor appointments (again all in a contract and cheerfully highlighted on the website). Many times my Mom told me that she and her friends, pre-pandemic, waited over an hour for food service, only to receive food of such poor quality it was not chewable or edible. During the pandemic, food was delivered to each room (understandably), but because of limited staff, it was often late and cold, or sometimes not delivered.My Mom has gone without contractually agreed housekeeping for nearly all of the pandemic. It's ironic that a facility that is at higher risk for infection would decide to cut back, or not appropriately address cleanliness. That's on top management. Going back to my earlier comment about the employees, it is because of their valiant efforts that this facility weathered the pandemic with minimal impact.In the past few months MG@GVR has experienced quite a bit of turnover. Many have left for better, higher paying positions. And they left with their hearts in their hands. I fully understand and respect their decision and this rating in no way is impacted by this. That's on management.Yet despite all of this, rents continued to rise and services previously touted as free suddenly resulted in ala carte charges. Really?Recently my Mom's room flooded and for ten days she went without heat or hot water. She was provided a space heater. Lynn offered to move her bed to another apartment. My Mom declined because she wouldn't have her other belongings and she feared injury because of unfamiliarity with her surroundings. She did request a rebate in her rent but was declined.A short while ago another company acquired Merrill Gardens. Leading up to the sale there was quite a bit of vacancy and in order to improve metrics (vacancy and revenue) and optics, rumor has it that material rent reductions were offered to new residents (at the same time rent increases were imposed on existing residents). That's on management. After complaints a slight decrease in rents occurred.On October 29, 2021 I left a message with Lynn's manager that I wanted to lodge a complaint. I have yet to receive a return call.

John and/or Liz Wade

2021-09-01

This review comes from a resident of only two months and was written during the second wave of the pandemic. We are in our mid 80’s and do not need assistance. We chose Merrill Gardens at Green Valley Ranch after several visits and tours of the facility. We have written our thoughts to management and have received no responses. Thus our comments:Upon move-in, we learned a few basic things:1). The residents are friendly, intelligent, and fun.2) The staff is wonderful, BUT they are stretched well beyond capacity - and terribly underpaid.3) The facility is incapable of providing the contracted services because of staff depletion. Too often there is only one person serving meals, the cleaning staff is short and hasn’t learned how to do the job, the activities’ director is leaving and has been overburdened with both her own responsibilities as well as concierge driving of residents to appointments. We have been without a health department manager for several weeks.4) The manager of the facility has basically one answer to reported problems “We’re looking into it.” She doesn’t give specific answers to complaints from the Residents’ Council or individuals. She is rarely visible to the residents, staying in her office most of the time.5) The facility is showing its age and needs some sprucing up. The maintenance department has one person who is capable, friendly, and overworked. He needs help and has lost his assistant. Individuals from the kitchen staff have been brought in to help occasionally, robbing Peter to pay Paul, and leaving the kitchen staff short.What is the answer? Make the jobs worth applying for. In this time of pandemic, we all know that many people have chosen to stay home with government supplements. Wages here are at the minimum and should be made more appealing. Employees must be vetted, and this should make them even more valuable to the company. Their salaries do not show it.We know that getting employees who are vetted is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. Merrill is a business, and should recognize the patterns that lead to this kind of problem. These should have been seen early and dealt with it well before the problems occurred. Management should be advertising and interviewing in anticipation of losses so they have lists of people they could contact when openings occur. They need people in the pipeline.Instead, we have a situation where several of the management staff refused to be vaccinated meaning they were gone with the new state rulings. Merrill Gardens is now without a health director, an accountant, and an activities director to name only a few.Management seems to think they don’t have to keep the residents informed, residents who are not stupid. Many are businessmen or women who saw what was happening and, needless to say, have become irritated or angered by how all this has been handled. I know of many others, who, like us, are upset and starting to think about whether they should leave Merrill. We don’t want to, but when we are not getting what we are paying high fees for - and what the company put in the contract as our due - what other alternative might we have?Merrill Gardens risks losing its rating as the top place for seniors to live in Henderson. If they don’t turn things around quickly, Merrill will lose not only its rating, but its residents as well.

Rich G

2021-09-01

It's with regret that a year and a half after my five star review, I'm having to revise it now down to just one. I have waited months in the hope that it would not come to this but here we are.What started out in January 2020 as a promising beginning for my parents has since significantly degraded.Not, to be clear, because of the pandemic through which I steadfastly supported the facility and its staff and management. They navigated a tremendously difficult and unpredictable event and, by and large, succeeded in keeping the residents, including my parents, safe and secure.My reason for this downgrade is the active and protracted negligence that facility management has demonstrated regarding staff retention and hiring over the months since the pandemic has eased.While the physical property itself is first-rate, Merrill Gardens' crown jewel was its staff, the people entrusted to interact with and care for its residents daily. One cannot overemphasize how critically important it is in the business of senior living to have a trusted team vetted over years and loved by the vulnerable residents under their care. They cook for our elderly, serve them, clean their homes, come when they call, and make them laugh and feel loved and safe when they are lonely or scared.I am fortunate to live close by and so have personally gotten to know many of those outstanding individuals who weathered the pandemic along with its residents and stepped up as others left to shoulder greater and greater responsibility. Those who remained should be honored and rewarded.Instead, residents have seen service and their experience plummet as their caretakers are not only left unappreciated but allowed to leave over a couple bucks an hour to take their talents elsewhere willing to pay what the market requires.Staff retention and quality is a metric that may not rise to the level of profit, free cash flow and return on investment at MG's board meetings but its absence there is most keenly felt by its most important stakeholder, the customer. The resident.I hope a real effort will be made to address and solve this problem, soon and with the care, commitment and focus it deserves.

Mary C. Gesteland

2021-09-01

As President of the Residents Council at Merrill Gardens it is my responsibility to report the problems facing the residents here.We have eighty-eight rooms and only two housekeepers. The problem is two fold. If a housekeeper is ill or on vacation there is no one to take her place. In the more than one year I have been here, half the population has been without a cleaner for more than fifteen weeks and no compensation is forthcoming. Secondly, the housekeeper has only thirty five minutes to do a small apartment and fifty-five minutes to do the extra large apartments.Although the food in the dining room has improved, the service has not. There are three servers for all the residents for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These people are forced to work seven days a week, often for more than eight hours.We have two part-time drivers. All of the med transport rides must be done in only two days. At the end of the week one of the drivers will no longer be part of the team. This is defeating the purpose of assisted living.We have had a wonderful activities director who is beloved by all here. She makes sure that there is something for everyone to do. But, she is leaving at the end of this week, August thirteenth.Now we have no bookkeeper, no head nurse, no director of activities, no drivers, only three servers, two cooks and one dish washer.I have addressed these concerns to the administration. The answer: “I’ll look into it.”The residents are not getting what they were promised, nor what they have paid for.I would rate the ‘remaining’ staff at four, but the overall rating no more than two.

Linda Dean

2021-02-01

Just drop something off for a friend

Arlynne Payton

2021-01-01

One of the most friendly, observing CDC guidelines...I go thete frequently and couldn't feel more safe....they do their DUE DILIGENCE...Resptionist BJ is a DOLL as well as others but she really is very obliging, and courteous and Helpful...

Rachida Tucker

2021-01-01

I used to work there great environment great staff

Trisha Sciortino

2020-01-01

I have been fortunate to come to this facility over the last 10 years as a health care provider. The staff is extremely professional, caring and polite. The staff and resident turnover is minimal. Many residents have been here over 5 years. Everyone is treated with great respect . I look forward to continued visits at Merrill Gardens .

Danny Grady

2020-01-01

I can't say enough about the staff and residents of Merrill Gardens. Always warm and welcoming. The facilities are awesome. Not a thing out of place. Everyone seems to care which is always a good start. Definitely a good place visit.

Manny V

2016-01-01

Great place

Dave Hildebrandt

2015-01-01

Although the facility is very nice, the excessive rent increases as well as dealing with the management has been an unpleasant experience.My mother's rent has gone up $800 since she moved in 4 years ago, and the services an additional $200. We have seen a new general manager nearly every year, and this past year had to deal with a two week health lock down of all residents as a mystery virus circulated through the facility. There was very poor communication from management on what was happening, and my 88 year old mother became almost completely inactive as she was strongly advised to remain in her unit despite her health being fine. The facility also would not adequately explain why the HealthDepartment rated it a "C".Finally, there has been considerable turnover in the support staff who interact with my mother. Continuity of staff is a valuable asset to residents in assisted living facilities, and apparently this facility cannot seem to practice this. If my mother was younger and in better health we'd move her.