526 Altamont Ave, Schenectady, NY 12303, United States
My grandmother was admitted to the Schenectady Center for rehabilitation—not by choice, but because it was the "lesser of the two evil" available options. When she arrived, she was still mobile, walking considerable distances, and able to recognize her surroundings. Within less than two weeks, staff reported that she could no longer participate in physical therapy due to vague "safety concerns." It became clear she was no longer ambulating—not because she refused, but because the care plan failed her. During her stay, we noticed she wasn’t eating. She frequently asked for juice, sometimes from multiple staff members, and was consistently left alone in her room with no follow-up. On one occasion, her aide brought what appeared to be a child to work and spent more time attending to the child than to my grandmother, who was simply asking for something to drink. Despite clear signs of a declining appetite, no one acknowledged or addressed it. Every time family visited, her meal trays were untouched—only the liquids had been consumed. No substitutions were offered, and no one checked to ensure she was eating. The day before her discharge, we found her unable to move her hands or arms, which were resting in a cold plate of mashed potatoes. No one had even removed the tray or checked on her. We watched her decline from a functional, alert individual to a near-vegetative state in a matter of days. After reporting our concerns to Adult Protective Services, she was discharged the same day and placed in Hospice, where she passed away less than 24 hours later. The care my grandmother received at Schenectady Center was, in my opinion, nothing short of neglectful. To charge $650 a day for this level of oversight is absolutely unacceptable. I hope this review helps other families make more informed decisions about their loved ones’ care.
Read More ReviewsMy grandmother was admitted to the Schenectady Center for rehabilitation—not by choice, but because it was the "lesser of the two evil" available options. When she arrived, she was still mobile, walking considerable distances, and able to recognize her surroundings. Within less than two weeks, staff reported that she could no longer participate in physical therapy due to vague "safety concerns." It became clear she was no longer ambulating—not because she refused, but because the care plan failed her. During her stay, we noticed she wasn’t eating. She frequently asked for juice, sometimes from multiple staff members, and was consistently left alone in her room with no follow-up. On one occasion, her aide brought what appeared to be a child to work and spent more time attending to the child than to my grandmother, who was simply asking for something to drink. Despite clear signs of a declining appetite, no one acknowledged or addressed it. Every time family visited, her meal trays were untouched—only the liquids had been consumed. No substitutions were offered, and no one checked to ensure she was eating. The day before her discharge, we found her unable to move her hands or arms, which were resting in a cold plate of mashed potatoes. No one had even removed the tray or checked on her. We watched her decline from a functional, alert individual to a near-vegetative state in a matter of days. After reporting our concerns to Adult Protective Services, she was discharged the same day and placed in Hospice, where she passed away less than 24 hours later. The care my grandmother received at Schenectady Center was, in my opinion, nothing short of neglectful. To charge $650 a day for this level of oversight is absolutely unacceptable. I hope this review helps other families make more informed decisions about their loved ones’ care.
I am being generous with giving it a 2 star. My mother was there 2 times previous and she received great care. Since the owner was sued by NYS for sub standard practices to the tune of 35 million he then decided to continue to sub standard practices at the Schenectady Center on Altamont Ave. There were times she would wait from 1 hour to as long as 3 hours on second shift to be brought to the bathroom. They would run out of food or run out of clean dishes and she was served dried up chicken finger on a see through paper dish.My dog eats better than what they were giving the patients. It was shameful. I would bring in food from home and her own ice cream cups. One night they gave her another patients half eaten container of ice cream. No clean covers on the food tray. 3 rd shift CNA told her to not put her light on again, During 1 st and 2 nd shift the CNA' s after being elbow deep in bodily fluids had to dish out the patients food, mind you with contaminated uniforms. They eliminated dietary aides to save money. Staff was also extremely short due to cuts. The patients were the ones that suffered. I was there daily and advocated for my mother, however think about the people that do not have anyone to advocate on their behalf. The DOH needs to go in and investigate. I sent emails and met with administration several times to complain about what was happening on a daily basis. They are losing staff now due to poor working conditions. The CNA's would have 15 to 30 patients for 1 CNA. Absolutely unacceptable. They are no longer taking long term patients strictly rehab and it is a good thing because I don't see how this place can continue to provide appropriate care under these circumstances.
We had heard nothing but negative experiences of this facility. My cousin decided to place my aunt there, due to their location, to get her strength back after being in the hospital. Sadly, the center lived up to its horrible reputation. Night one, she fell, broke her shoulder, and was stuck on the floor because NO ONE CAME TO HELP! Apparently, the call buttons do not motivate workers to help patients. She is in worse shape now than she was before. It is a sad, unfortunate place! My cousin signed her out for her own safety!!😡😡😡
If I could rate a -⭐️star I would. First day was all the introductions of all the incredible staff that will be taking care of your loved one, very impressed and relieved. After that we experienced the exact opposite (except the PT staff is wonderful). Open surgery incision left to ooz and infect, no change in bedding, no insulin tracking, no timely medication administration, etc. No regard for a diabetic’s sugar intake with sugary drinks and foods. After visitation hours, the center became a virtual ghost town with one LP on staff to take care of an entire floor. We had to stay way into the night to get our mother’s medication and have her incision cleaned. Pulled her out of there in less than a week and back to ER to stabilize all of her levels and insulin. SCHENECTADY CENTER IS NOTHING MORE THAN A MONEY GRAB AND SHOULD BE CLOSED!! Our pets get better care at their veterinary clinic! Absolutely disgraceful… Update: 5/16/23. Sending out a standard email response from “owner” is a non-starter. Judging by all the other past complaints with the same owner response ( to send a detailed email) confirms absolutely nothing will change and nothing will get better. You simply don’t care except when those checks stop coming in. You and your “business” is a total fraud. Done with you.
The only reason I gave this one star is because I couldn't post this with zero stars. This facility is the epitome of all that is unethical and wrong with the nursing home/rehab system. There is a handful of staff that is caring and tries their best to be competent- the rest of the staff is abysmal. If you can find any of the aides they're too busy with their nose in their phone to keep patients from reeking of urine or assist the many in eating their daily meals. Every day at lunch 15-20 residents with varying degrees of cognitive decline were wheeled in front of their lunch, received little or no help to eat- staff was too busy hiding somewhere on the unit or on tic toc to notice anyone not able to feed themselves their meal. I raised this concern to administration multiple times and was told to mind my own business. Not to mention the safety hazard if a resident has any issues choking or aspirating. My loved one spent days languishing with a severe pneumonia that was left untreated - no antibiotics and a prehistoric oxygen tank that didn't deliver oxygen. I had to beg for a transfer to an ER- advocating for your loved one will entail dealing with an aggressive nursing supervisor who will then drag you into a meeting with the head administrator - if you dont' attend the meeting you're told you wont be able to see your loved one. When you do meet with administration you will figure out soon enough that he's a smug slumlord to over 200 defenseless elderly and disabled that deserve more respect, care and dignity than this place cares to deliver while charging their residents a bill of upwards to 19,000$ a month. Any nursing home with the word "Center" in it seems to fall under the same umbrella.
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