Optalis Health & Rehab–Sterling Heights

I was debating between a 1 or 2. My mom's 1 nurse was very good and she got physical good therapy. The food is lame at best. They serve oatmeal and French toast w/o any condiments, which seems just lazy. The patient call lights seem to stay on for a long time w/o anyone coming. They have a lot of turnover amongst staff, which isn't a good sign. It seems impossible to get a return call from most of the management staff, which is really frustrating.

I would not recommend this facility to anyone looking for rehabilitation or skilled nursing care for a loved one. Our family entrusted this facility with my grandmother’s care, and our experience was deeply disappointing. While there are a few genuinely kind staff members, they were overshadowed by repeated delayed care, poor communication, dismissive attitudes, and serious concerns about medication management. Communication was consistently frustrating. Nearly every time we asked questions, we were interrupted before we could finish or given answers unrelated to what we asked. This happened repeatedly regarding her medications, prescribed diet, and our request to use a PureWick device. We explained we would provide the machine and supplies ourselves and only needed staff to place it and empty it when family wasn’t present. Before I could finish explaining, I was cut off and told, “I’ll send a manager.” No manager ever came. Medication management was alarming. My grandmother repeatedly had to ask about medications she has taken for years because they simply weren’t being brought to her. One LPN questioned whether she could take her prescribed Lantus and Novolog together and repeatedly admitted she didn’t know what medications she was giving. The same nurse frequently interrupted my grandmother, walked away while she was still speaking, and acted irritated whenever she asked questions. Pain medication was also repeatedly delayed. One morning my grandmother began requesting Tylenol around 8:00 a.m. She continued asking for hours, and I reminded staff multiple times. It wasn’t brought until around 11:00 a.m., disrupting her prescribed pain medication schedule. Call lights often went unanswered for hours. I personally overheard nurses at the desk complaining about another resident’s call light, saying, “Turn it off, it’s every five minutes.” My sister also overheard a nurse say, “I don’t know how they deal with this for so long. My head is bald and I would be ripping out my hair.” Hearing staff speak about residents this way was extremely unprofessional. On July 5, my grandmother notified staff around 7:00 a.m. that she had soiled herself and needed to be cleaned. I arrived at 9:48 a.m., and she was still sitting in urine. My mother arrived at 12:17 p.m., and because staff still hadn’t helped her, we cleaned and changed her ourselves. Her sling became soaked with urine, requiring us to buy a replacement. Another aide told my grandmother she wasn’t comfortable transferring her alone, which we appreciate for safety reasons, but instead of getting another staff member to help, my grandmother was left waiting for approximately 11 hours. That same day, Nurse and supervisor Melissa checked her blood sugar at 11:30 a.m. (263) and gave insulin. Later, the chart reflected that melissa took another blood sugar reading around 3:00 p.m. (288) despite my mother being with her the entire time and witnessing no blood sugar check. She claimed that she did not know how to access my grandmothers chart history, then claimed again it was at 288. Later that evening, her blood sugar was checked again (188), but Melissa never returned with her prescribed Novolog. We have reported these concerns to the appropriate authorities. Despite meeting with the dietitian and kitchen staff multiple times, she continued receiving meals that did not follow her prescribed cardiac, diabetic, diverticulitis, and low-sodium diet. She often couldn’t eat what was served, and our family regularly had to bring food. We were also told one LPN was responsible for 11-14 patients and simply worked from one end of the hall to the other, meaning my grandmother, whose room was near the end, repeatedly experienced delayed medications and care. Our family spent countless hours advocating because we felt my grandmother’s needs would go unmet if we weren’t there. She has since been readmitted to the hospital. We have filed complaints with the state and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and hope no other family has to endure what ours has.

Experience has been great here the staff has been great I feel i have improved so muc. Food is good facility is clean. Out of all the rehab places i've been at this is the best one thanks to everyone i would reccomend to family, friends or anyone looking for a good place to come to.

This Octalis location has been neglecting the care of my grandmother. She was supposed to be getting showered AT LEAST twice a week, and she did not get one for TWO WEEKS until I spoke to the supervisor. I was told that sometimes they wake patients up at 2 AM to shower them, which is poor practice for a facility where people are recovering and rehabbing, as sleep is so important to healing. I have also been told by the family of another patient that a family member has been going to shower their loved one because the staff has not been. This is unacceptable, particularly for a facility that is meant to be rehabbing people. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

My cousin sister was just recently transferred to this location from another horrible facility. Of course my family and I had LOTS of concerns, and want to make sure our this is a good fit for our loved one. My Mother and I made a surprise visit, and everything was clean, everyone was hospitable and more importantly our loved one was in great spirits, comfortable and motivated! I stopped by the front desk and asked for the Admission Director Nicole. And when I tell you, she came right out, answered EVERY QUESTION, and addressed any potential concerns. Nicole is heaven sent, THANK YOU!!!!