Talamore Senior Living

They are understaffed, even though they are not at full capacity there are still not enough staff for the people that are there. My loved one has one of the most expensive packages and breakfast is at 8:00 am, a lot of times they don't come to get my loved one until around 10-11 am to get breakfast so she misses it. Then they charge $3 to deliver the food to you. Some of the staff are amazing but some of them are not there to take care of these people, most of them are good but some are not. The RN on staff is terrible. The residents are sent to the ER for anything. They recently lost the head chef also so at this time the meals are not good at all and a lot of residents dislike it. There is also a bistro that is supposed to be open but it has not been open since the time we have been there so we are not able to go eat with our loved one. It is a beautiful facility and if it was how it was advertised it would be good.

The facility itself is beautiful, and I think people would be very lucky to be able to live there. Some of the other kinks could be worked out with more communication from the staff that are helping the residents. We've had couple of main concerns. First, they went over my head when they made the decision to put our loved one in memory care, which was totally upsetting. Second, they initially told us that after about two weeks they would hold regular conferences with our family, where we would have feedback from the staff and talk about how our family is feeling and how they're feeling about our loved one's care. We initiated trying to get together to talk, and that has not happened yet several months later. We've had no meetings with the staff so far as promised. I feel like they're not fulfilling what they marketed to us. Some of the employees are very pleasant, but some are abrupt. We've had an encounter with a rude person at the front desk. The care our loved one receives seems to be pretty top notch. But I've been concerned that we talked a lot during the enrollment process about our loved one being able to attend Catholic mass, and that hasn't happened yet either. When I visited my loved one about a month in, I noticed that she had little pieces of paper - half a napkin here and there that she had saved - in every drawer in her kitchen, bathroom, and dresser. That seems like hoarding behavior, which is concerning to me. She had all these napkin remnants everywhere, but there was no toilet paper in her bathroom, or anywhere else in her room. I told the staff there was no toilet paper, and the woman I told was very abrupt in telling me they don't furnish toilet paper. I can't believe we're paying all of this money, and they don't even furnish toilet paper, a basic necessity. I thought that was absurd. One of the staff members quickly ran to Target though and picked up some toilet paper, and our loved one still has toilet paper in the closet, so that's a good thing But it seems like we've been checking on her continually to make sure her needs are met, and it's been one thing or another. It seems like they're understaffed and just can't take care of all of these things for as many memory care residents as they have. One day we were in the memory care unit and wanted to leave, and the person who was there monitoring the unit didn't know how to unlock the door to get outside. She had to call someone to ask how to do it, which I feel is totally unsafe.

Haven't seen care available. Several side options do not make up for a seemingly premade entre. If you do not eat by 5:15 ish the entre is out & you get sandwiches. Uncertain on this, my "parents" have only partaken in 1 cocktail hour thus far. Neither are crafters. Their schedules with Drs & Home Health have been controlling if their time. They thought some care assistance was provided by Talamore. Doesn't seem to be the case. There were repeated issues with maintenance prior to actually moving in. Communication seems to be an issue or "in-charge" rely too much on housekeeping & maintenance to resolve concerns. They still have not gotten their thermostat regulated. It's 77 or warmer all the time so the patio door is cracked open. I'm listed on the files there but had to ask how I was to gain entrance after 4pm. My key fob was never given to me. I had been in & out of that bldg 2-3 times per week for 5 weeks before this was resolved. Sales apparently do not follow up.

With the quality of care - Disappointed that mom went into hospital shortly after moving into Talamore. Medical staff at UW hospital found her to be dehydrated. Another trip to hospital resulted from Talamore staff giving her two (one because deemed mom didn't take properly) nitroglycerine tablets. Med staff at UW hospital deemed that may have done more harm than good. She hasn't taken a nitro in over a decade and we have since removed that med from her list with concurrence and advice from UW health. Hind sight (20-20), I would place a high value on a place that staffed a RN (on-site) 24-7, which Talamore does not. Positive side: I feel certain overnight staff (aids) have done an exceptional job easing mom's anxiety and fears the first few nights. Disappointed that no value placed on keeping HFCS out of residents' diet. Example: pop is the default beverage for residents at lunch and dinner (my mom gets MILK, at our request and many reminders). Another example: syrup used for pancakes and waffles has HFCS as key ingredient. Also disappointed that Soup of the Day is not a planned soup made with fresh ingredients, which can then be known ahead of time so I know if my mom will eat it- but is instead a make something with leftovers from previous day- so soup for that day is not known until morning of that day. (When I select meals for my mom, I select a week's worth of meals on Sunday for next Mon-Sat.) Even if I select meals one day at a time, I have to turn in selections by 6:00 pm the night before, so I don't select soup because I have no idea what it will be. Disappointing because my mom would eat a good basic soup, besides the fact that it would further aid in hydration. Finally, it's a bummer that they don't give memory care residents a knife to cut their food. They get a fork and spoon, and are expected to eat a big piece of meat with those utensils. My mom knows how to use a knife and is no danger...so don't understand this. I don't believe it's a state requirement? Great director and Assistant Director of activities! Love it that assistant activities director also is staffed every other Sunday! He does a great job of rounding up residents for "moving and grooving, coming around to their rooms to cheerfully invite them out! [name removed] is amazing! [name removed] also great, and love that she brings her dog, [name removed], to work sometimes! The ratio of 9:1 residents, is tight, considering all they are tasked with, and that the secured MC area includes a number of enhanced care residents requiring two-person assists. Final comment: Overall, Talamore is meeting, but not exceeding, my expectations. I would not move her because the location is the best for all of us in the family that visit her. Wish dining were better and wish there were RN/oversight provided 24-7. I have given the above feedback also to Talamore and the local management appear to respond where they can. Some of the dining issues are also out of their control because of the third party they use, Unidine, which limits what they can order (e.g. maple syrup choices).

There was definitely some miscommunication between the hospice company and the facility. The facility wasn't as responsive to my sister as they should have been. It's a beautiful new facility which is great for assisted living, but I wouldn't recommend their enhanced care to others. I wish we would have taken my sister to an actual hospice facility instead.

Like so many other places right now, they are dealing with staffing shortages and that is affecting the quality of care that my loved one is receiving.

There are only 20 residents at this time. It is new and beautiful. The apartment is very nice for our loved one. If all amenities were available it might be better. Things are starting to slowly open up here.

There was a lot of staff turnover during our time here. There was a major lack of patient visits and over site. The management seemed to be overwhelmed. Based off our experience, I would NOT recommend Talamore St. Cloud to others.

Talamore Senior Living was not the experience we were hoping for, they were not able to meet the expectations we had. The facility is absolutely beautiful and there is good potential there but they fell short. If your loved one needs very minimal assistance this would be the place for them, but anything more then minimal the care lacks.