6 Memory Care Communities in Charlotte County, Florida

Jenny V

If you are reading this because you’re interested in continuing care then this is NOT the place for you! South Port Square / Harbor Health promises a "seamless transition" to the next level of care. Their marketing claims "when there is a change in health, the resident can directly enter a care level that matches their needs". Don't believe this. My mom was in Assisted Living at Harbor Health when she suffered a UTI that caused dementia to take over her mind. It was clear she needed the supervision and locked doors that came in the Memory Care unit, but there were no apartments available. If you think South Port Square has a plan to deal with this situation, you'd be wrong. My mom was forced to stay in her Assisted Living apartment. She was required to pay a home health agency (owned by South Port Square) for 1-on-1 supervision at $33 per hour. Their instructions were to keep her in her room for her "health and safety". Administrators at Harbor Health then increased the amount she paid monthly for her apartment by $900 because her dementia was such that she needed more help and made their jobs more difficult! Mom's move to Memory Care didn't happen within days or even weeks.....she remained in Assisted Living for 28 days! The cost to her for the 1-on-1 supervision they required exceeded $10,000. During the month she waited for an apartment she was isolated, confused and depressed. Her hallucinations and delusions were at their worst, and she threatened to kill herself....that's how sick her mind had become. The help and counseling she desperately needed in the dementia unit was just down the hall from her Assisted Living apartment but was not available to her. Mom lived only 4 weeks after moving to Memory Care. She was so ill by the time she was relocated that she quickly entered Hospice and passed. I have great guilt about placing my mom at South Port Square. It was not a nurturing environment, and the final months of her life were miserable.

Donna

My parents are staying at Sandhill Gardens in Punta Gorda. It's been great; everybody there is wonderful. They seem to be happy with everything. The food, there's lots of activities, and the fact that we can actually visit them is really cool. It's just a really nice and clean facility. They're in a one-bedroom apartment and it's got a little kitchenette with no oven or stove, but it's got a microwave and little refrigerator, and plenty of cabinet spaces. It also has a beautiful screened lanai that they share with four different residents that opens up into a beautiful courtyard. I'm not sure if they have two-bedrooms or not. I just know they have the studios and one-bedrooms. They have activities every day and their activity director, Brenda, is awesome. She does a lot of fun things with them. They stay so busy that my stepmother complained today that they're so busy they don't get much done at home. They don't really have much to do at home because they're doing everything for them. I'm not sure if they have a salon but they do have someone that comes in and does my stepmother's hair. I don't know what their facility is for that. I didn't ask, I just know they have someone that comes in and does that. They don't allow families to have dinners with the residents right now because of the COVID. My dad really likes the food, he doesn't complain. They're one of the least expensive ones of the ones that we've tried, so I would say the value is good.

Donna

My stepmother was at Solaris after she had fallen and broken her pelvis. We weren't allowed inside because of COVID so we visited outside. She was in a screened room and we sat outside of the room and visited. It was like a lanai at their main building. It was great, they were awesome, and I thought they did a great job taking care of her. My mother-in-law has been there before as well, so that's why we chose it, because they were giving the right care. The staff was very helpful any time that I would call. They would take care of whatever issues we had. They were also always very courteous and pleasant. From the outside it was nice and clean. I also think it was beautifully laid out.

Ray

It was very nice. They showed me the apartments and the studio. They'll build a game room where they actually got pool tables, but they've got all kinds of activities. The staff was very good, very professional and answered all our questions. They have both independent living and assisted living, but they're separate. I could smell the food when we were there, but they have no samples. They showed me everything. They had a bathroom, a sink, a microwave, and a small refrigerator in the apartment.

Deborah

We are using Home Instead Senior Care for my mother. They help her get up in the morning, get dressed, and make her breakfast. They give her medication reminders, provide companion care, they do sponge baths, they help her brush her teeth, they give her showers, do some limited exercises with her, and make her lunch. The staff has been very good. The only thing that I requested from them was to get a more consistent schedule of caregiving, if I can limit the number of caregivers in a week, it helps with my mother's confusion. We're working on it, and if I could get two caregivers a week, that would be wonderful.