Sunrise Assisted Living Bullies, sunrise, fake, ripoff, assisted living, Virginia Nationwide

I have been reviewing businesses and business practices for almost twenty years now and nothing seems to infuriate me more than those companies that state they are the best in the business at what they do, but really are the most horrible. Okay, so you may have been the best twenty years ago, but now, you're simply one of the worst.

One such business that I believe is on the brink of catastrophic is Sunrise Assisted Living, or Sunrise Senior Living. They claim to be the finest in assisted living for elderly people, offering us to enshrine our beloved to them, but what I found was simply nauseating. If it wasn't hard enough for you to put dear old mom and dad in a place that they didn't want to be in, you may not want to read anymore.

On one visit to a nameless Sunrise Assisted Living facility, I found the crisp, brisk odor of urine the minute I walked in the front door. I thought I stepped in a cat jocko box that someone forgot to put the litter into, but I was really inside the home, on the carpet. It wasn't one spot, or one item that someone had urinated on, no this was the entire building that stunk. It was like walking into a huge catbox, which had been forgotten about for years. It was in the walls, the carpet, the baseboards, and the chairs. No wonder all the residents were sick.

With a few steps toward the concierge, I found myself trudging through a wet sticky mess, that hadn't been cleaned from the carpet. Yuck!

Okay, enough about that. I came to visit a loved one and d**n it, I was going to visit her no matter what I had to put up with. I graciously asked the woman at the front desk what room my loved one was in, and she politely told me. This was the best part about my visit. Had I left at that point, I wouldn't have seen the rest.

Once on the second floor, my nostrils began getting used to the odor so it seemed all was well. On the way up the Sunrise standard spiral staircase, I got a whiff of a different odor. This one was different. This one was a burnt, electrical odor, but I didn't see any flames so I figured I was in good hands. Maybe it was one of the four light bulbs out in the ceiling.

The carpet throughout the building was old, real old. The building itself was ten years old, and my guess is that the carpet was also. Now that's not aged for our standards, but ten years times almost ten thousand people walking across that carpet, plus about three hundred of those people urinating on it, and the shampooer being used three hundred times.that carpet had seen its time.

The chairs throughout the place were old and decrepit. I watched as older folks sat in them, and went down, and down, and down. Hell, I was ready to throw a few life preservers out there.

Okay, so you have a few hallways to go down. All the doors to the rooms are a mess. Scratched, broken, and looking just purely old. The hallways stink like.. how can I say this nicely, the other end of the urine??
The rooms are small, but I guess for dear old granny they are fine. Now remember, I didn't say safeI said fine.

When I walked into my aunts' room, I couldn't believe my eyes. I felt so bad for Auntie D. The bathroom was a disgrace, looking like it hadn't been cleaned in months. A colorful burst stood out at me. The toilet was brown, the tub was black and the laminated floor was split. The sink dripped, the light had a burned out bulb and the toilet paper holder was awoll.

The curtains in the living room were full of grime, someone else's blood, and hairs that were blonde. Of course Auntie D had silver hair. The walls were cracked, the kitchen sink was broken and the cabinets were hanging off their hinges.

It makes you wonder about getting old. Did Auntie even notice any of this? Was she satisfied with it? Or was it just that she was scared to say anything? But why would she need to? Housekeepers come in here once a week. A care Manager comes in five to six times a day, and the nurse is in once a day. No one noticed any of this??

Okay, so was it just this room? Nope, I went into a friend of Auntie D's down a different hall but same stuff. I asked housekeeping how often they come in. Once a week, a little girl said, But we're only allowed fifteen minutes in a room.

Fifteen minutes? That's like two hundred dollars isn't it? HA! That's a joke I had to say because had I not, I may have went down and body slammed the Executive Director of this building.

So I kept my eyes open for future visits. I found outdated fire route plans, faulty electrical outlets around the building, and the overbearing sound of the reminiscence residents crying out in their locked areas. The Executive Director was laughing behind a closed glass office with another character, the housekeeper for the downstairs hall was worried about her jeans not fitting and the guy serving food had just come out of the bathroom where I found no soap.

Yep, they probably are the oldest assisted living facility around, but so are their homes and everything inside them.

Why would I drop dear old mom or dad off to Sunrise, where a room cost between five and seven thousand a month, and have them live in filth and stench, when I could drop them off down the block for the same amount, but everything is brand new?

Sunrise opened its doors years ago, and believe it or not, those same buildings are still around. They have to be crumbling by now, don't they? The paint has to be peeling from the walls, and the carpeting has to be a little old and moldy by now, or is it just me?

Down the street a few blocks? A huge beautiful brand new building, with an indoor spa, nice dining area, recreation center, and bigger, nicer rooms that don't come with urine smells. And look at thatIt's a retirement center for assisted living!! The cost is around the same, but why not go there instead of the old run down, crummy, broken, stinky place? You be the judge.

Oh! As for me. I yanked Auntie D out of Sunrise within a month, set her up at a rival assisted living, and she's much happier as am I. Did I mention it was costing her less, and she was getting more?

Barbara
North Wales, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.