YOURLife of West Melbourne

My sister has lived here for more than two years. She gets great care. The employees are so kind and caring. They treat the residents like family. And the food is fantastic. 3 course meals with a lot of variety.

Approximately 2 months ago I detailed on this site how horrible the food at YourLife of West Melbourne is. After my review was posted 2 weeks the “owner” responded with their concerns and expressed they would seek to improve. This was certainly not my first food complaint. I removed the review and now it’s back again. The food remains terrible. Tasteless tiny portions at dinner that would not be adequate for a child. Last night the so called BLT had barely 2 slices of bacon on stiff white bread. The previous night ice cold stiff as a board egg rolls. Inedible! While some of the lunches are ok many require much more flavor. The soup is watery, tasteless and/ or horribly seasoned. Recently I asked a staff member to try the grossly seasoned chicken that was served. Their facial expression upon taking a bite said it all. For $7700 a month decent food should be expected! A reality is that many of the residents cannot remember minutes after the meal what they ate so the cost cutting can continue without major complaints. Aren’t they still entitled to quality food? I asked a resident what she thought of the food last week. Her response” it sucks.” We were promised “ fresh and delicious meals.”I feel so guilty it’s now necessary for me to bring my mom one meal, either lunch or dinner everyday. Other family members I’ve spoken to agree with me. As a hospital based health care worker of over 40 years I witnessed the positive transformation of institutional food. It is quite possible to feed a large population very well. It’s also very important to safeguard residents and even visitors.There is a wide range of mental issues and acuity amongst the residents. Over the last 2 days I’ve witnessed the same resident who clearly had no intention of eating enter the dining area and wreak havoc. 2 days ago while a woman was peacefully trying to eat this garbage this highly compromised resident came up behind her and vigorously pulled her chair every which way. I had just moved my 98 year old mom from that exact seat minutes before so we could eat together at another table. With my moms life threatening terminal spine metastasis this shaking and pulling to her could have been catastrophic. Last night the same woman entered the dining area again with no intention of eating and started a major tussle with staff in close proximity to the residents after grabbing someone’s walker. Unsafe. Unfair. Disharmonious.As an aside the same resident put her hands around my neck while I was playing cards with my mom a month ago. How about management pushing a proactive safe policy in common areas instead of a reactive one. When this woman enters the dining area it should be immeadiately recognized that she needs an escort. We’ve seen and had similar issues with other difficult residents and spoken to management about it but there remains a reluctance to be proactive and put a system in place that prevents such incidents from occurring. Please YourLife don’t respond with more empty promises. Fix your place. Safeguard the residents. Serve decent warm food and if cold sandwiches then make them good and nourishing and not baby sized and family members I strongly recommend you come at lunch and dinner and see and taste what your loved ones are being served.I do not blame any of the caregivers for the issues I’ve expressed. It’s the policies and practices that the management and corporate leadership ensures that are the cause.

My brother spent over four years at YourLife of West Melbourne. While it was unfortunate that he needed memory care, he could not have been better cared for or cared about while he was there. The entire staff “adopted” him and he was never happier than when he could interact with them. If we EVER need memory care again, we would not hesitate to return to YourLife.