Greenview Place – Saint Luke Renaissance

Greenview Place
My sister moved into Greenview Place a year and a half ago. Last month she died. What follows is my assessment of this facility, based on my sister’s and my experience.
Our initial experience with Greenview Place was quite positive. «Assisted Living Facility», (or, in my sister’s case «supportive living facility») carries a stigma, not to the extent that «nursing home» does, but still, the name conjures up some mixed to negative impressions.
We found Greenview Place to be a surprisingly attractively decorated place, well lit, well maintained, and with lots of nice amenities, like the aviary, a large activities room across from the dining area, and a computer room. And it didn’t smell, as so many such facilities do.
In addition, almost without exception, we found the day-​to-​day staff to be very dedicated and pleasant to work with.
We also appreciated that my sister wasn’t pressured into participating in the many activities that are offered. She was a very reclusive, private person whose life consisted mostly of TV and her cat companion.
She had rave reviews for the breakfasts there, though only tepid reviews regarding lunch and dinner.
Our interactions with Bonnie, whose title I never got clear on (Director of Nursing?), were mixed. Empathy is not her strong suit. But, all in all, she and the medical staff did well by my sister regarding her healthcare issues. Just the fact that her regimen included taking her medicines regularly, as prescribed, was a vast improvement over her previous situation.
The unfortunate part of our experience with Greenview Place came when my sister became very ill and died. At that point, it was as if, for GP, she never existed. This facility has absolutely NO process in place to deal with the aftermath when one of its residents dies or has to leave. How is this possible?
We were pressured to clear out her apartment as quickly as possible, yet were offered almost no assistance in doing so. The only support we got was from the maintenance staff, who carried a dozen or so garbage bags to the trash.
Greenview Place has no relationship with any charity, in order to expedite the donation of possessions. Again, how is this possible? It seems like it would be such an obvious win win for GP as well as the family and the charity.
I finally arranged for the Salvation Army to haul away what was left in my sister’s apartment. I told Greenview Place what day they’d be coming, and when I got there on the appointed day, informed the woman at the front desk that they would be arriving within an hour our so. My hope was that she would inform whatever administrator needed to know so that they could alert the maintenance staff. Unfortunately, it happened that the staff, I’m told, were all tied up in a meeting, which meant there would be no one to show us what route to take to remove things from the building. Jamie, an administrator whose title I don’t know, finally had to do this.
And since there was no maintenance staff, there was no one to ask if we could borrow a cart to carry some of the bags of clothes out. As a result, what would have taken one trip took five trips. And these were epic journeys from her 3^rd floor apartment down the elevator and then through a block long labyrinthine maze to get to the outside. (Allowing people to use the front door would make much more sense, as it’s about a quarter of the distance).
It remains to be seen if we ever see a penny of the security deposit and «pet deposit» that my sister had to come up with when she moved in. We’re not holding our breath.
I honestly don’t understand how a «benevolent» organization like Renaissance (owner of Greenview Place) could be so cold, unsympathetic and unsupportive when one of its residents dies.
A sympathy card would have been a cynical, empty gesture in the face of such detachment from this very emotional, difficult process for the family. But they couldn’t even manage that.
Greenview Place was very eager to welcome my sister when she first came. And just as eager, it seems, to turn their back on us once she was gone. Surely, «assisted living» or «supportive living» should entail some kind of nominal assistance in dealing with the death of a resident.
Their demanding attitude was particularly hard to deal with, since we, the family, didn’t really have any obligation to clear out her apartment. We had no relationship with Greenview Place, and were only trying to do the right thing and be helpful, not because we were obliged to. They didn’t seem to get that.
I will probably continue to give those who ask a qualified recommendation for Greenview Place, due to the positives listed above, but I will always make it a point to say, «Expect nothing but roadblocks from this place if your loved one dies there.»