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Cynthia “Cindy” Hecox Johnson

I’m not impressed! My father fell 3 weeks ago and he was hospitalized because he fractured 2 vertebrae, tore ligaments and has a great deal of swelling. This causes him severe pain. Things went well at the hospital, but they did all they could for him and he needed to go to rehab. Unfortunately, they told me that the best available option was St Barnabas. I later learned that this wasn’t true, but there’s nothing to be done about that now. At St Barnabas, the physical therapist (Chris) is wonderful! He has dad walking (with a walker and a wheelchair chase) in the hallway and to the restroom. Dad is now classified as a “one person assist” which opens up a lot of opportunities for care going forward. I was worried that dad would be bedridden for the rest of his life! So, this is beyond my wildest expectations. The facility is clean (it doesn’t smell like a nursing home). Everyone I’ve come into contact with has been very friendly and helpful. The food is good. And, the cost to order food from the kitchen for myself is very reasonable. They accept his insurance. However, the actual care he is receiving leaves a lot to be desired. He wears hearing aids which need to be charged every night before bed. That hasn’t happened. He hasn’t been offered the opportunity to brush his teeth yet as far as I can tell. He has to ring for an assist every time he needs to use the restroom. However, the response to that ring often comes far too late for him to be helped. When I mention this to the staff, the usual response is that “I wasn’t aware” or “nobody told me “). That is disappointing and frustrating, but not dangerous. I understand that there are other patients competing for their time. However, he is not to be raised above 30 degrees when his brace is not on. On one occasion, I entered the room and he was almost vertical! When I told them that they were concerned about him chocking while eating. I guess that is a reasonable concern, but not when there is a danger of displacing his spine! That is not okay. The response was “nobody told me “. I have posted signs stating all these things that are not being done. I don’t think anyone has even read them. I don’t know how I could ensure that he be properly cared for, short of staying here day and night. I don’t think that I should have to do that. The insurance company is paying a lot of money to see him cared for. When they no longer are paying, the responsibility will fall on me. I am not willing to pay for care that is not forthcoming. In general, there is an appalling lack of communication within the staff. There is also a lack of communication with family. I’m not clear about what the his prognosis is . I do know that I am unable to give him the kind of care that he will need myself at home. I originally thought that I might make this his permanent home. I don’t know if the care is better in skilled nursing than it is in rehab. I don’t know how I would find out without actually committing to it. So, I’ve decided to not consider keeping him within this community. There is a sign in the lobby saying that St Barnabas is one of the best nursing home in the country in 2024. I beg to differ.

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Matt Zirpoli

My mother recently spent several weeks at the St Barnabas nursing center in Gibsonia. It was a wonderful experience I can’t begin to tell everyone the level of care my mother received from the nursing staff to the CNAs to the Social Worker to the administrative staff, the Executive Director and the Director of Nursing, the care was outstanding. I highly recommend St Barnabas nursing center to anyone requiring skilled nursing home care. The facility was clean the staff was outstanding and the level of care provided from the nurses and the CNAs on the first floor nursing station was absolutely fantastic. Thank you all for taking care of my mother. Thank you Matt

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Amy

ZERO STARS! True story- My mom fell out of bed in her room ant St B in Gibsonia and had a huge contusion on her forehead. I went out to see her immediately and she wasn’t well. She was confused and vomiting but they said doc said she didn’t seem to present with a concussion? Say what now?? My sister ( a real nurse) had to call an ambulance because they wouldn’t and they “had to follow protocol”. The ambulance came, took their time getting my mom out, made nasty comments to my sister about “protocol” and took my mom to the wrong hospital!!!! My sister stressed AHN, drove to the AHN and they weren’t there….they took her to a UPMC!!! where she died an hour later. ER DOC said she had a brain bleed and concussion among other things. The people employed at St B…. I wouldn’t trust them if they were the last “professionals” on this planet. Horrifying! Still having PTSD over this experience and probably always will. Please take better precautions when hiring people to care for our loved ones.

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sharon Lewandowski

My father fell in another St. Barnabas facility. He ended up at St. Barnabas Nursing Home for rehab and it was a horrible experience. When released from the hospital he was in a lot of pain. Within 5 minutes of being in the facility, a staff member was yelling at my father to sit up and when he said he couldn’t she got nasty. I tried to explain that he was in pain and she got nasty with me. This showed us this place was not a caring kind one. A few days into his stay he was put on heavy drugs that caused hallucinations and it went on for 3 days. No one was problem solving to find the cause. I had to ask for the meds list and gave it to a family member who is a clinical pharmacist. Right away he identified 3 drugs that were causing interactions. I demanded he be taken off them and I was told that I was not ethical. Well, a few days of detox did wonders. But why do I have to be the one who does the problem solving? When I watched the rehab of PT and OT sessions I was appalled at the lack of compassion, lack of interpersonal connection and rough way of talking to my father. Another time we witnessed a staff member giving PT say If you don’t participate you are going to go to Hospice. This was a message we all received loud and clear. My dad cried and said they were giving up on him. I felt the same way and was so angry with the lack of compassion and kindness to another human being. Medicare coverage was dropped because he was not able to participate in PT/OT due to pain. When Medicare will not cover you any longer you do not receive rehab but you can appeal this decision which I did every single time. I won each appeal, however, when this occurs you lose time for rehab services. My father was not even getting out of bed. Finally, they were able to get him up to sit in a chair. But he was only getting up once a day. Again, I had to ask why isn’t he getting up in a chair for every meal? No answer of course. I realized that this facility is not working to care for people and the Medicare system is harming people. Together, they did a huge disservice to my father and harmed him! I moved him to a private facility 3 weeks ago and upon his arrival they told me he had a bed sore. He developed a bed sore in the St Barnabas Nursing Home and no one ever called to tell me. That is inexcusable! This place set my father back 2 months. I have stories about food and cleanliness of the room along with the time we entered the building and my dad was on the floor yelling for help. I wonder how long he was on the floor? I received a call today from our new facility and with 3 weeks of therapy my dad no longer needs a Hoyer lift to get up and he is strong enough to get around using a walker. I am grateful that I was able to move him out of such a harmful place. There are better options out there. Research them thoroughly and I pray that no one else has to go through what our family went through.

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G B

My father was there for rehab while being nonweight bearing due to an ankle fracture. The therapists and nursing staff kept him moving and built his strength so he was able to discharge home once he was able to walk. Thank you for the gestures of kindness over the holidays to keep his spirits up. Many thanks to Geena Cna and her daughter, and Karen on 1 south, therapists Chris and Ashley, and all the nurses who helped coordinate his labs, meds and kept us well informed.