My mom has moved into The Verandah Independent and Assisted Living. We chose them because of the quality of the staff and the communication with the administration. The staff are top quality, very caring, and attentive. They have multiple craft activities during the day, and exercise class once a day. They also have an on-site salon and manicure-pedicure facilities, a gym, a movie facility site, and a swimming pool.

My mother has moved into The Verandah Independent and Assisted Living in Lake Charles, LA in the memory care unit. I was told by the doctor for her not to go home, because she was hallucinating, and one of her hallucinations had her extremely frightened. So, he said for her to go home with those memories of that fear could set her off again. It's a nice place, but the food is horrible. It's been over two weeks, three at least, and yesterday would have been the third phone call for her TV to be hooked up in her room. She's supposed to be listening to music, so she sits in her room in her chair because she hasn't been there long enough to acclimate. She's at the point now where she's very, very angry; but she sits in there, and she doesn't have anything to do, except to stare at the walls. So, with the food and the lack of concern over her, I don't care if it is a television, she needs some kind of entertainment until she's ready to start mingling with people; I have a very big problem with that. The only other thing that I have a problem with, I guess she's the head nurse, and her name is Emily. All the nurses and the aides that have all worked with my mother feel like, she's fallen twice, they feel like she would do better by the nurse's station where they would be beause she's way at the end of the hall. There are empty rooms up there, and this nurse, Emily, has decided that it would be too traumatic to move her again right now; I don't like that at all. They're on lockdown. They have a nice courtyard area, but the weather's not good enough to go out there right now. So, that doesn't do any good. They do a few arts and crafts, and a few of chair exercises, but not a whole lot. They do have water aerobics twice a week, but my mother, there's no way she can go out. Even though the pool is warm, and I know this because I do water aerobics, when you get out of that water, it's like you turn into a cube of ice. I know my mother can't take that. In the summertime, it'll be great, but right now, it's not doing her any good. In the lobby, there's a nice fireplace, but they can't get to anything like that. I went one morning, and they had served some fresh fruit. Some of the fruit was cantaloupe, and it wasn't even peeled. You've got people who have limited dexterity, so what are they supposed to do with the cantaloupe? Pick it up, and gnaw all of it? It was just ridiculous, and no taste in the food. This is Louisiana, none of those people grew up eating bland, and they don't have special diet restrictions. So, there's no reason not to give them food that tastes good or so. Other than that head nurse I told you about, I would say they've been good with her. I think they need someone with a more compassionate personality. Putting her by the nurse's station for her safety, I understand it may not be good to move again or whatever, but we're talking safety. Like I said, she's at the end of a hall and she feels cut off and isolated because she has no television or cable channels playing music; they have music stations and the psychiatrist wanted her to be listening to music.