The Reserve at East Longmeadow

I’ve been working here for 7 months, and I can honestly say we are a tight nit community. We are a family!

My father lived at the reserve in the reflections unit, aka their Memory Care unit, for just over 2 years. For the first year we were there, we did not have many concerns regarding the reserve. Yes, they were not on top of toileting him, in his room was smelling of urine, but we were still getting to know what kind of care he needed, and we were struggling with his incontinence. While that was unacceptable, there were improvements. About a year ago is when things changed for the worst. We learned that the reserve staff was not nearly as supportive as they had presented themselves. I recommend before you sign a residency agreement with The Reserve, that you go over it with the help of a lawyer. The residency agreement will tell you just how little their staff can help your loved one. The executive director, Tina, and the resident care director, Angela, are very comfortable telling you falsehoods if it means that they can avoid accountability. They had told myself personally falsehoods regarding state regulations and policies, laws, whether or not our hospice services had been called, times he's fallen, etc. The Reserve even ended up having trouble, and may still have trouble, with the East Longmeadow Fire Department, specifically related to their reflections unit, and overuse of using EMS. Their executive staff is not friendly, not kind, and not empathetic. They only care about saving face and making excuses for their lack of quality Care. Many families have made complaints about this to local advocates and the state. When I had to make my reports, I was told that I was definitely not the only one, and that they were a big problem. If your loved one is at all medically needy, if you believe they will ever need more than the assistance of one staff member, if you ever consider hiring private Care, if you believe your loved one will have to be on hospice, please do not sign an agreement to move your loved one here. I cannot speak for the normal Assisted Living side of the building, but the Memory Care side of the building is far worse than anything you can expect anywhere else, for a lot more money. Seriously, if you were expecting any more care than basic personal care, and maybe Wheeling your loved one down to the dining room, they cannot offer anything more than that. The executives will tell you that they can take very high levels of care, but please do not believe them. It is unsafe that they allow people who are more medically needy than they are able to support. We had to hire overnight private care due to the fact that their staff was leaving my father soiled at night, causing him to leave his bed and fall on the floor. Staff members would ignore the care plan that we had in place for him. We added private care, and then the reserve RCAs started to refuse to help the private care with my father. I have witnessed many good staff members that extended care above and beyond leave the reserve. I truly do believe that if you are looking for a good place for your loved one to stay, and they have concerns regarding dementia, do not allow your loved one to move here.

0/10 – Do not recommend The Reserve at East Longmeadow (Memory Care Unit) On the surface, The Reserve at East Longmeadow looks like a beautiful, high-end facility. But once my mother became a resident in the memory care unit, it became clear that the level of care was far below what any family should accept for a loved one. When we toured, the building smelled strongly of Pine-Sol. Staff told us it was to bring a sense of comfort and familiarity — but I later realized it was being used to mask the overwhelming odors of urine and feces. The nursing staff showed no compassion. They were simply medication dispensers — no meaningful interaction with residents at all. I never once saw a nurse check in on my mother, ask how she was doing, or even speak to her beyond handing her pills. Staff were supposed to check on her every hour, but they didn’t. She was left alone in her room for hours at a time. Eventually, she fell while trying to go to the bathroom by herself and fractured a vertebra in her back. Even before the fall, she was often left in her room during mealtimes. I had to call and ask staff to go get her because she was hungry. After the fall, she could no longer feed herself, but staff still left her alone during meals. My family had to go in at mealtime just to make sure she was eating. We raised concerns repeatedly with administration. Our complaints were brushed off. There was no accountability. There are many other issues with this facility. We ultimately moved her to another facility — one that actually provides the care and dignity every resident deserves. I would not recommend The Reserve at East Longmeadow to anyone.