Riverside Care Center

My sister is at Riverside Care Center for long-term care. It's a very nice place. They are well-equipped for the patients that they have there, and they are very helpful as far as any information that you need. They call me with different questions that they may have about my sister. They also call me for updates that they do from social services to find out different things about if she can have a flu shot and if she can have a Covid shot, so, they're very much in touch with me to let me know what's going on all the time. The facility is always very clean. My sister is well taken care of and she's able to move around. I was very well pleased. The room that she has now is a shared room for two. They have activities downstairs and a group. They have exercise and they have games. Sometimes the staff don't understand what I'm saying, so I have to get somebody to translate.

I have been visiting Riverside Care Center practically every day or night for close to five years now when both my parents became patients there. My parents were put in a room together as several other couples were and pretty much had their own little apartment there for a while. My dad passed away in 2016 but my mom is still a patient. Overall I have been extremely pleased with the center. They have a lot of staff working there which means that the patients are often checked on and when they need something it's not long before staff show up. It's NOT easy working with elderly patients which often are nearing the end of their lives. The patients usually have physical disabilities or are completely incapacitated. Often their mental faculties have deteriorated so they either exhibit symptoms of senility or Alzheimer's or are simply depressed or angry at their physical frailties. The staff are extremely patient, compassionate and understanding and don't tend to take things personally when patients are angry or rude or mean. The center is not a state of the art facility. It's a four story older building. It has a dining area where patients who are mobile either on their own or with walkers/wheelchairs can go to have their meals in the company of others. There's another large room with a large screen TV where the Center holds activities such as Bingo, Yoga Classes, religious services, etc. There's a small sitting area outside in the front area and then in the back there's a large gated area with trees and benches where patients visit with family members. Staff often take the time to take patients out so they can get some fresh air and sun. My mom and dad liked to feed the pigeons so staff would help them out to that back area so they could throw seeds I purchased for them or leftover rice the staff had gotten for them. Every holiday the activities staff decorate, prepare special meals and encourage family to attend. They sometimes take patients out on field trips. In terms of the medical care, the staff are very proactive in caring for anything that could potentially get worse. When they clean and change the patients they always check for any potential sores or other issues and immediately start applying creams and medications to head off the problem. My mom spends all her time either in a wheelchair or in bed and she has never developed any long term sores or other pressure point problems. The staff move her around from chair to bed and shift her positions and also make sure she has chair cushions and these booties for her feet which protect her heels while sleeping. Staff take most of the patients out of their rooms during the day so staff can clean the rooms but also so the patients can interact with others and don't spend hours alone. Each floor has a small section right by the nursing station where patients can watch TV or sit and talk. The Center holds monthly meetings at which they go over the care of each patient. Family are invited to attend the meetings to discuss the care of their loved ones and share any concerns or issues. Staff call family when patients have doctor's appointments and generally follow a good medical care program for residents, making sure they get any vaccinations they need and any age appropriate tests that need to be done. It's not easy for people to be in a nursing home. For many elderly individuals, it's depressing and sometimes frightening and it makes them realize that they're nearing the end of their lives. It's also not easy for the people who work in these places - some of which don't get paid anywhere near what they should. In our society we reward people who are good at playing with balls with millions of dollars but those who care for our elderly - who change them when they soil themselves, and feed them and are there to listen to them when they're lonely or to be the target of an angry tirade when they're frustrated or upset - those people often are just paid a bit above minimum wage. Still, in the years my parents have been at Riverside I have seen the staff at all levels treat them with nothing but respect, dedication and lots of patience. Recently when Hurricane Irma hit the area, the staff started moving ALL the residents to the nearby Victoria Nursing Home which is a much bigger facility, a couple of days before the storm was to hit. My mom was put in this large area which I believe was a cafeteria along with many other patients. There were scores of staff looking out for them throughout the storm. This may not be the fanciest nursing home with the best state of the art facilities but in my experience it has THE most important thing a nursing home needs - good, caring staff. I recommend it.