Ventana By Buckner

Lori C

July 12, 2023

Warning: Long review but want others to be aware.This review is for “Healthcare” only. First, a couple of positive highlights in what was otherwise a horror story: Betty Hernandez (Asst Dir of Nursing) & Sherri Slagle (Dir of Social Services). Both were caring, responsive & true professionals. The OT, Sarah, was great! Professional, concerned, very competent, knowledgeable. Mom was seen by a few different PT’s but they were all competent (but continuity would have been helpful). Remember: DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER! The facility is beautiful! The healthcare floors are clean, well maintained, none of the typical Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)/Rehab smells. Spectacular artwork. Nice living room style seating areas, a long dining table, & fully equipped kitchen in the common area. The rooms are a comfortable size with the typical hospital style bed & a hotel style dresser/armoire. Food was ok. This is where the pretty storybook cover ends though. Then, you open the book. We showed up with my mom at the requested time (7:00 pm on a Friday). Having previous experience with SNF’s, my expectations were low, and realistic. And my low expectations were met. We went to Mom’s room & weren’t acknowledged for 3 hours! When a nurse finally came in,she was mad at us because she didn’t know we were there. I tried to find someone 3-4 times but there was never a staff member in the hallway when I looked. Rather than go into too lengthy a description, I’ll summarize: 1) Please, if your loved one has more than 2-3 simple meds, hire your own CNA to stay with them. We had a private CNA with Mom 24/7 and either myself or my sister were there daily/nightly for several hours at a time. Thank goodness we went the extra step & hired our own CNA (expect to pay about $20-30/hour). During the 3 1/2 weeks Mom was there, her meds were NEVER given correctly. Wrong dosages, missing critical medications, given at wrong times. And we were argued with by the med techs & nursing staff when we tried to get corrections. Changes to orders took DAYS when it should have taken hours, at the most. 2) If your loved one needs help getting to/from the restroom, I hope you followed the advice above. Without our own CNA, there’s no way anyone would have come to her room in time. 3) Forget the instructions to call the nurses desk if no one answers a call button within 5 minutes. That phone was NEVER answered (Ventana-hint-WIRELESS PHONES). 4) If your loved one appreciates being clean, don’t count on the staff to assist with a shower or bed bath. It was DAYS before they offered to assist Mom with a shower. They are supposed to receive a shower 3 times/week. Because we had our own CNA, we took care of this essential need on our own. 5) There is ZERO continuity of care. Most of the med techs & CNA’s are “agency” personnel, not employees of Ventana. So telling a med tech to be more aware of a patient’s med requirements was futile; there would be new med techs the next day. Same with CNA’s. Many commented that they wouldn’t come back to work there. 6) There were many times when clean bed/bath linens weren’t available. Even on other floors. 7) The Health Services Administrator seemed very dismissive and disinterested when we met to discuss the various issues encountered during Mom’s stay. This may simply be his persona though. Hopefully he will take steps to make some very necessary changes/improvements. 8) LeCreatia, one of the Asst Directors of Nursing, is one of the least caring, least professional people I have ever met. Anytime we asked for help, her attitude was awful! When confronted with the truth of our experience, she got up & walked off in a rage. How can improvements be made if you turn a blind eye towards the problems? Epilogue: Mom is back at home and we are looking forward to continued improvements with our private CNA and OT/PT via home health. I know that the staff of SNF’s are overwhelmed, overworked, and do a job that many would run from. However, facilities must be held accountable & provide an adequate level of care. Ventana doesn’t provide proper care at all.