Lions Gate Continuing Care Retirement Community

My mother entered Lions Gate five years into their Assistant Living section. She entered Lions Gate very unwilling but because of a very serious fall Mom couldn’t go back to her home.
For the first year Mom was walking and associating with other residents and things were fine. However when she needed a little more attention things started to go downhill. The staff during the weekdays was not as of attentive as the weekend staff. Unfortunately this continued until the day she passed away. Because of this, we were very thankful that she passed away on the weekend.
When she started to wander after being in Assistant Living for a few years, Lions Gate decided that she needed to be in Safe Haven. This is a locked-​door environment.
While in Safe Haven, my mom had another fall and we were told it was time for Skilled Nursing since she was now considered a «fall risk’. We were not given a choice; management said either she enters Skilled Nursing or she leaves. We assumed that she would be more closely monitored and watched. But this was not the case in spite of having sufficient staff to do so. Mom entered Skilled Nursing and from that point she went downhill.
The main problem with Lions Gate is once they reach Safe Haven the residents are treated as a group. This unfortunately hurts residents who all have individual needs and wants. Mom’s dementia from her two previous falls seems to have «pigeon-​holed» her in her treatment by the staff and the doctors.
Management did not listen to our requests. They pretended to care but we believe that since they heard the same complaints over and over again they had grown deaf to our concerns and nothing was done. The only exception to this is the Social Workers they generally care.
If you are thinking about Lions Gate:
1. You must be a hands-​on family; Lions Gate needs to be watched at all times — from medicines the doctors give to the nurses on the floors.
2. Don’t leave anything of value with your loved one. My mom unfortunately had some very expensive jewelry taken. When I told management their answer was that mother threw it away. Management took no responsibility.
3. Carefully monitor and keep records for all financial transactions with Lions Gate. The office staff constantly had problems with billing and was very unresponsive to my inquiries.
Before deciding to have family members call Lions Gate home please do your homework.