Brookdale Charlotte East

Letha

Brookdale Charlotte East was very personable and engaging, and they went above and beyond. I met some residents, and they were very nice. They seemed happy, and it seemed like they liked it. It seemed that they have more amenities available than the other place I toured. The one activity that meant most to me, even though I didn't need it, is the wellness button. The residents push that button when they got up, and if you didn't push the button someone would come and check on you around lunchtime to make sure you are OK. I noticed that in other facilities, it may be a day or two before someone checks on you. They called ahead of time to see if we had any food allergies, which my daughter did, and they addressed that and sent home a very delicious meal. Her name was Michelle; I loved her. It was like when you meet somebody who's going to care for your loved ones. The fact that she cared so much with the little things that she mentioned and took note of, and the amount of information that she took in about me was awesome. Brookdale seems to be the best fit.

Misty

My mother moved into Brookdale Charlotte East. Everybody there has been really amazing as far as answering everybody's questions, it's a really nice place, and the residents seemed pretty happy and pretty settled. They definitely have their own culture among the residents; I think that's really cool, they encourage them to be independent. They do have a list of activities up, they weren't as many as they normally have, but they still do grocery store trips and get them out. They have to buzz you in, take your temperature to get in, but they still have stuff going on like bingo. I think they still have art classes. They have dinner in the dining area, lunch is pick up if you want it, and breakfast is pick up as well, but they have two different times for dinner, and you can pick which one you prefer. The dining room is really pretty, all the tables are six feet apart, and they're doing a really good job keeping the residents safe with all this COVID. The food is really good, they have lots of things that you can choose from for each meal, you put in your order each day.

AP

My client has moved into Brookdale Charlotte East, and it's very nice. She's having fun. The place is beautiful, and she loves the garden. Every activity is on the ground floor so it's easy to walk around and find everything she wants. There's also a main area where everybody can meet. She has an apartment in independent living. The staff is very nice, helpful, and smiley. They have a very nice butterfly garden. My client also likes the food. This was the best price and was more than what we were hoping for.

Lisa

My grandmother is at Brookdale Charlotte East Independent Living, and the number-one best thing about it is the staff. They have a tremendous staff who cares a lot about their residents, and that makes all the difference. I highly recommend the facility. It is not in a very nice location, though. It's kind of in the bad part of Charlotte, which is why it's one of the most affordable options, and the facility itself is very old. It's an old building, but it's not run down. They take care of it, but there have been a lot of issues over the years about water or outlets not working -- you name it -- and it's just because the building is probably thirty or forty years old. I'd give the layout of the facility a "five," and I'd probably give the cleanliness a "three" or a "four." The other complaint I have is they keep raising the prices, which I think happens everywhere. Once or twice a year they increase the rates, which is really disappointing for my grandma, who is on a fixed income. The activities have been limited since COVID, but they used to do outings and go out to restaurants one night a month. Sometimes they do field trips, like going to a museum, festival, or fair. They still regularly go shopping right now. A majority of their residents are still very mobile and still pretty active, so they try to keep them as busy as possible. Whenever I go every holiday, they're having parties, guest speakers, musical performers, and instrumental groups. They also do all kinds of crafts, exercises, and plenty of games, and they try to make big parties out of sporting events. Before COVID, they did a lot, and I think they're trying to bring some of that back. It's just been hard because there are still a lot of protocols in place.

Kathy

I like Brookdale Charlotte East. They have a 24-hour courier service which I liked; there's someone on staff 24 hours a day. We sign in and out and they know who's on the property and who is not. We tasted the food and it was good, the apartments were good as far as the size and the closet sizes were large. Anyone who we saw or spoke were nice people. They have movies, exercising, a hair salon, a chapel, a bird sanctuary in the back that had cages and everything; it was really pretty and I like that.

M. G.

The only facility that I toured was Brookdale Charlotte East. I was contacted by the salesperson, and he was great. He understood my mom's health issues and he told me what kind of care she would be able to receive, both there and at their sister communities that have Medicaid beds once her spend-down period is over. He gave me a tour of the facility. They're obviously under COVID restrictions right now. They have a community area. It seems like they have a very lively and active social life there. There's a community board and it's obvious that the residents add things to the community board. They have regular activities but not during COVID. There's also a small courtyard. I wouldn't say the location is lower cost independent living simply because of its location on the eastern side of Charlotte. It is tucked back in the woods, and it is gated. They contact their residents daily to make sure they're up and about by 11:00 a.m., whereas other places that I talked to don't contact them at all. This facility contacts them once a day or has them pushed a button in the morning to let them know they're up. The facility is three stories. We looked at a couple of different rooms, and they seemed pretty nice. They were basic. Obviously, the lowest cost is a studio, but there's a full kitchen and a dining/living area. It has a large open area that opens into the living room. However, when you walk in the door, you can't see directly into the bedroom. If you have a friend over and just want to have tea with them, you could sit at the table and not see into the bedroom. I thought it was nice. We also saw a one-bedroom and it had a door for the bedroom part. It was really nice, too. The price-value ratio is great. It's a lot less expensive because of the location, but it still has all the basics. They have a newly renovated dining room, which is gorgeous. The value is good. The staff was great. I didn't try the meal, but I looked at their menu and I was impressed. The facility was old but well kept.