Brookdale Tulsa South

My mother, age 93 in a hospice program until just recently, was a resident of the Sterling House from about April of 2010 to the middle of November 2011. We chose this facility because it appeared to be a nice facility with the services we required and we were told by a part- time employee, as well as acquaintance, and The Sterling House management that they had only asked 2 people to leave since they had been open, one because the resident required a tube feeding and the other was an aggressive male that was problematic. Not having to move my mother was very important to me as this would very traumatic for my mother. We were asked to move my mother early in September of this year. Needless to say, this was very disappointing to say the least. In the letter demanding we make other arrangements for my mother they stated that if we disagreed with this request we were entitled to a hearing with the Oklahoma Department of Health, which I did. We then received a copy a document submitted to the court by their lawyers ? Motion for Dismissal for Lack of Jurisdiction. In this document they stated ?4. On the Notice, Sterling House inadvertently and erroneously included language informing Resident and her family that they had a right to request a hearing by the Department of Health, despite such a hearing not being provided for by applicable ODSH regulations.? The judge disagreed and the hearing rescheduled. In the original correspondence, from the court, we were required to provide the opposing council any documentation to support our position at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing, which I did. However, I didn't receive theirs until 4:45 pm before a 1:00 pm hearing the next day. I objected to their tardiness of providing their documents and again the hearing was delayed.

As a side note, one lawyer, that came highly recommended for this type of case, refused to represent us as she would not represent anyone trying to stay in a Sterling House facility.

Originally, we were verbally told that the reason they wanted her to move was it took 3 people to transfer her from her wheelchair to the bed or toilet. (Picture 3 assistants, my mother and a wheelchair in most any bathroom). However, the hospice employees were able to do it with only 2 (documentation was provided) and the physical therapist could do it by herself. In fact, even one of their staff members was able to do it by herself. After all of that was pointed out, they changed the story. They said that when she fell (admittedly she had some falls) it took 3 to get her off the floor. However it does not appear at this time they are asking other residents to leave for this reason and there are certainly others that would require 3 to get them off the floor. Issues that were overlooked just so she wouldn't have to move are: 1. Ala Cart pricing ? run as fast as you can from this type of pricing. Average cost in Tulsa for Assisted Living is $4000. Our invoices were closer to $6000 as time went by. Family members of other residents have similar stories. I can only take their word for it, I haven?t seen their invoices. 2. Salon Services ? The operator said she was unable to get assistance to get my mother in a chair, the staff wasn't available to assist. The staff says all she needs to do is ask. Bottom line, mother?s hair didn't get done. For nearly $6000 a month I would think someone could help her in the chair. I complained about this several times, finally gave up. 3. Newspaper ? For those who subscribed to the newspaper, the paper was delivered to the office to be distributed to the residents or picked up by the resident. This seldom got done, I finally canceled the paper. I suspect this is due to the high turnover of employees, new employees just weren't informed. 4. Medications ? This is considerably more serious, one of the employees setting up medications for distributions was observed by my brother once and my brother and me on another occasion having a personal conversation on her cell phone while setting up the medications. It may seem that my mother requires services that might be more than an ?Assisted Living? facility would normally supply however, they were on the list they claim to provide. There are residents that would appear to require similar services as well as additional services that apparently are being allowed to remain in their facility. The good news is, she has now been moved to The University Village and is actually doing much better, getting more attention, requiring less services and for less money. In fact she has been taken off the hospice program that provided showers, physical therapy and other miscellaneous services, as she no longer qualifies. I have to wonder if she ever did or they just didn't want to do the work. I have to say that losing the court battle was a blessing in disguise. Bottom line, stay away from The Sterling House?s, there are 5 in the Tulsa area, and their type of pricing.

by Verified visitor, Feb 2012