Brightview Danvers

BrightView Assisted Living in Danvers is the real deal. You would be hard pressed to find a more professional, compassionate, and collaborative team to greet, assist, support, and watch over yourself or your family members. This starts with the leadership team of Candace, Adam, and Stephanie and the professionals they lead and manage.
When our 92 year old father moved into the complex he was shown the courtesy, friendship and overall support anyone would need moving into a new community. Candace’s team guided all of us, my father, my sister, and myself into the world of assisted living where residents are respected and offered the opportunity to stay as young and active as they think they can be — and to do it in a way that puts their safety and dignity as a top priority. This is part of the organizational DNA at Brightview and makes it an incredibly positive environment.
For us, this is critical as both my sister and I are working professionals. She lives hours away and my work requires travel. When we began looking for assisted living Dad was in Florida and constantly battling pneumonia, extensive stays in rehab and a diminished life style. Our concern was good supportive care, access to great hospital and medical care and most of all a community that believed in their members living life to their fullest. We got lucky.
Here is how lucky we are.
On Thanksgiving evening I brought my father back to the facility and we happened to meet up with the aide Dad has and the nurse. The first thing they did was find out how it went and then the aide noticed Dad was flushed. They said they would take him to his room and I left.
10 minutes later I got a call from the nurse on duty informing me that Dad had a 100.3 temp and they thought it might be worth having it checked out at one of the 3 ER’s in the area (Beverly Hospital, Lahey North, and Mass General, Salem). I agreed immediately with the suggestion, as this has been an indication that the pneumonia is back. By the time I got back to BrightView the ambulance arrived, Dad was taken to Beverly Hospital (part of the Lahey Group) where he was seen immediately. Within hours he was admitted and treatment began. He was released three days later and went to rehab for another condition that was identified while in the hospital. At all times the BrightView medical team was in the loop and was a great assist to us.
Compare this to his treatment in Leesburg Florida where he could wait up to three days on a gurney in the ER and then spend up to 3 months in Rehab.
What was the difference? The BrightView Danver’s team, under Candace, were on the ball. Even though he had been their only three weeks, they had taken the time to get to know my father. They knew he had been having recurring bouts of pneumonia in Florida and they made sure that if it reappeared on their watch, they would get on it.
Why did I choose BrightView Danvers over the 4 other top tier facilities? In my visits, I saw:
Professionals who listened to me describe my father’s goals for as much independence as he wanted.
Professionals whose experience helped me understand they were committed to providing ways for 90+ year olds to be independent in ways that kept them healthy and safe
A clean, orderly, quiet, pleasant, and convivial physical environment where activities ranged from daily exercises, a movie theater showing first class current and classic movies, trips, access to malls, shopping.
And pleasant, happy, professional staff, who knew each other and the patients by name.

There are so many reasons for the bad review… beware the tour with the beautiful theatre and nice common areas. My Father came to BV 2 years ago. They have continually raised his fees. He is at 7800.00 per month now. He sits and watches tv and goes down for one meal a day (on his own). His room is filthy… I used to go in and clean it myself but stopped. Moldy food is left around, and worse in the bathroom, no need to go into detail. The staff is unfriendly or indifferent. This is a for profit establishment and you can feel the «cut cost» meetings. Just horrible place, and we have to move him… they can not take your loved one to the end… well, at least not if they get sick. I will search for a governing body or an agency who cares. Sad, sad, and Candace in the office is an idiot (sorry for the word, couldn’t think of another).
The dining room staff is very good. Nurses are non-​involved. So very sorry we ever fell for the «sell» of the tour. No doctors visit the building, nursing during daytime and very limited in what they can help with or are wiling to help with. Lists and lists of what they will NOT do, basically, they do nothing but lay clothes out (not always) and complain that he tells them he does not want to change. when I complained about the cleanliness of his room, they punished us by raising his service fees. Beware, I hope you do your homework and thought I did. It is difficult to move an elderly person and they are leaving us no choice.

At this facility my mother has contracted camphylobacter requiring hospitalization for dehydration. She routinly reports that the quality and preparation of the food is inconsistant to the point of unappetizing. Brightview is not a good value for the cost.