I volunteer at Christopher House with my school Worcester Tech as part of the Allied Health program and so far Christopher House is just a great place. With nice residents and caring CNA s and staff members.
Our Mom was on the sub acute unit. The rooms had been recently renovated providing a beautiful and spacious area for all our family/friends to visit at the same time without overcrowding. A comfortable bed was provided for family when the time to stay overnight arrived.
The staff was patient and kind. At the most difficult times during Mom's challenging illness , they extended themselves even further.
I cannot say enough about the caring Respiratory and Rehab Departments. My opinion is that none surpass. The compassion shown was everything we would want and need during such a stressful and emotional time.
My aunt have been in Christopher house twice for rehab. Even her third surgery she wants to go back but there's no empty bed. She loves the staff and how neat the facility is. AWESOME
My grandmother has come to this location on a few different occasions for rehab. I could not be more thankful to the nurses and staff that helped her heal. I would and will recommend Christopher House to anyone looking for a skilled, well-maintained, and comfortable environment for a loved one to recover.
If I could give this place a 0 I would . Nine years ago today I loss my beautiful mom in their care. It happened on my daughters 21st birthday...It s finally taken me today to let them know how I feel. They took away my world, my mom. Soon after that my dad passed away. My dad was never the same. I received the worst call ever. They said my mom was in gravesite:( I immediately went to the U-Mass Er and I ll never forget that day. The doctor said my mom died from asphyxiation. My mom only went there due to my dad having major surgery. I remember my mom telling me don t put me into a nursing home I ll die) now I have to live with this the rest of my life. Yes I blame myself. If only I had taken another two weeks off from work my mom would still be alive. Just knowing how my mom died and suffered has killed me inside...I now live only through my children, but I want the Christopher House know what they did to us as a family...you took my dad from me to. My dad told me he wanted to be with his wife again:( I received another call that my dad had taken a fall and went into cardiac arrest. Again I had to face the U-Mass hospital knowing we had to pull another plug. I will NEVER allow anyone even myself to EVER go into a nursing home. This was only for rehabilitation mind you and like I quoted temporary....did I forget to mention my mom came down with Mercer there? Oh and they treated my mom like she had a disease, but she got it from their facility. I remember ringing the red button for them to come in and they never did . I would have to go out and get someone . I will never forgive you Christopher House .
The most important thing anyone wants for their loved one is to be treated with love and dignity. I visit my Mom every day during my lunch hour and see the love and care all the residents receive. I was down the hall one day and one of the members of the care team asked my Mom for a hug. The team member had no idea i was nearby to see such a loving gesture.
We also meet with the team to discuss plan of care and issues for my Mom. Thanks to all you all do for my Mom! The CNA Team, Social worker,s Activity Director and Team, Nurses, OT, Speech, Admissions, Admin, Business Office Team, Dining Services, Case Managers,Volunteer Team, HairDressing, Laundry and Medical Team are all top notch.You are all very special people to dedicate your days to those in need of long term care. Christopher House is a great long term care facility. From the bottom of our heart, thanks to you all. Love The Abasciano Family.
The facility is clean, and the food my grandmother says is wonderful. Why I am giving this place two stars is their patient/family relations. My grandmother has been multiple times to Christopher House and this third time has added to the list of messes. Every visit seems to be a never ending battle with something every visit a different thing. Her last visit I walked in on her with urine and water all over her floor, she had told me that she hadn't seen an aide in over two hours and couldn't control her self. She had just had a stroke and was using a walker and had no pants on, or depends. Her risk of falling was astronomical and there were quarts of liquid both water and urine all over the floor. It wasn't until I proceeded into the hallway to track an aid down that they confirmed my grandmother's story and they thought she was in bed. They quickly cleaned it up, and sent the head of nursing down to save face. However it had happened and could not be ignored.
This time around has been a communication nightmare. Some is caused by family problems, others by the nurses and case workers not reading her chart and respecting legal paperwork provided to them. I left word with the nurse every other night for her day team to reach out to me, I work days and can not do it in person, and by 5 when I could visit her "team" had gone home. Not one person had reached out to me regarding her care, progress, or non-progress. One night I had to track down Sandy and the head of nursing. I explained the situation and was given the polite customer service responses that someone would be in touch in the morning. The next day I heard NOTHING. Before this stint in rehab she had been on the floor for several days with out food or water, she was weak and delusional. The Hospital wanted to talk about long term care and instructed their case workers to have that conversation with the family. One I reached out to Sandy after a day of silence I was told that she could not tell me anything because of the paper work and that my grandmother's wishes. Which is understandably not Sandy's or Christopher's House's fault. Christopher House has been most unhelpful in this process, and is sending her home after her medicare benefits had expired. No call, no notice to family, nothing. I only know this happened because I found a letter in a folder stating so. She had no idea about her benefits being cut off, and was confused when I asked her about it. The home did not reach out to us to discuss other options, being in the field my self I would not recommend she go live at home alone again. They are going to blindly send her home to the apartment where she laid on the floor for three days.
They will not provide any help, and the case workers do nothing to help.
Patients roam the home waiting for attendants because they are under staffed, and stretched so thin. My grandmother's roommate was close to 100 years old and was screaming "Momma" for a half hour from her wheel chair because she needed to use the restroom and her call was ignored. I witnessed this on multiple occasions, and had to track down an aid each time.
As I said when I started the review, I understand legally Christopher House and their staff have limitations but when a family member is screaming for help, and a sole care provider to a women in her 80's who has been to the nursing home 3 times in a year and a half, preferably the answer shouldn't be "Your not her healthcare proxy this time around and shes a grown woman she can make her own decisions". When and if she needs Skilled Nursing again I will be using Sterling Village, or another place locally. It is to much stress when your loved one is going through something like this to worry about is she getting ignored? Has her depends been changed? Will they send her home against common sense? Is she getting the PT she needs? Will someone call me if her progress is sub par, or going extremely well? Just because a person is elderly they should not be ignored or made to wander their room while urine is all over the floor.
My mother received 5 star care during her 5 week stay at Christopher House, Worcester. She says "if I ever need care again, I would happily go back there, the staff was so nice and always attentive to my needs"
The care staff never once washed their hands when handling other patients . When one resident left to go home they simply made and prepared her bed for the next resident without changing or wiping down the bed then changing out sheets.. very dirty ! I reported it ..
My grandmother went to Christopher House for rehab twice. The care that was provided was above average and if she ever needs rehab again going forward Christopher House will be our choice. She was treated with kindness,respect and dignity. Rehab staff did a great job getting her to her highest functional ability. Overall was an excellent experience for my grandmother!
Very disappointed in this place. Our mother was always unkempt & dirty when we would go visit her. Dirty body, hair, clothing.... She was always trying to get out of there, trying to get on elevator to 'escape'. She hated it, so we moved her out as soon as we were able.... to a much nicer facility, with a private room, great care, and she is now always clean, well dressed/groomed, and very very happy!! for the same price......
My father suffered a major stroke with right sided weakness . We transferred to Christopher House for acute rehab . We meaning not just my father but my family included in my dads care .... we were treated with respect and dignity from the most caring committed team in health care . The place Was clean ! The food for my dad was good not great but if he had a complaint or concern the staff fixed it ! The PCAs were all attentive and professional! PT,OT and speech therapy were amazing ! Class Act at Christopher House . Thank you all for your dedicated service to my dad and my family . We are forever grateful!
My mother went here for rehab once & it was a good experience for the most part. However, I recently tried to get her into their Long term living. The woman in charge of deciding if they will take you and if you will be eligible for Masshealth or not did NOT know how to read a bank statement. She couldn't figure out the difference between withdrawals & deposits & therefore said that they should not accept my mom. She then proceeded to accidentally leave a message on my voicemail that was meant for admissions saying rude, & condescending things about me & saying that she knows they need to fill beds but she didn't feel comfortable with it. The next day my mom got approved for Masshealth & CH said they would take her but had no beds available, she is now at Life Care Center in Auburn which has been great. Im still waiting for a response from CH
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