As you may recall, on January 17, 2022, we moved my mother, Erin Burgess, into the Hearthside assisted living community on Wolf River Blvd. in Collierville. To say that we have been satisfied or impressed by the facility and staff so far would be a gross understatement.
From the very minute we brought my mother onto the premises, not only was she made to feel welcome as a community member, but the attention from staff has been exemplary. Having been actively employed in the public and private sector, military, and law enforcement for over 40 years, I recognize excellence and am able to easily discern from temporary ‘good service’ when an organization exposes themselves to you initially.
The process of doing the paperwork for residency could not have been easier. From our beginning conversations, you as the facility director went out of your way to answer every question we had, despite being relatively new to the facility yourself. One of my key recollections from our conversations was asking difficult questions and on a couple of occasions hearing you say, “I’m not sure, but I can get the answer to you quickly on that.” And you DID – in every case. In my experience, it takes a very brave and competent person to do that. So many are afraid to – and they answer with what you want to hear and live with the fallout later. Additionally, you are and have been, a superb communicator – despite not being able to be in the facility when you were working from home, COVID positive. Questions I sent you via text message were nearly always answered in less than 10 minutes – I cannot remember the last time I could depend one hundred percent of the time on any person in any organization to that degree. For that, you have my gratitude.”
Cont…
“Each and every one of these ladies and gentlemen has bent over backwards to make my mother’s first few days not only bearable but actually enjoyable. My mother is extremely satisfied with the staff as well – and she is a 99-year-old woman with very high expectations, who frequently uses the expression, “Well, I can remember when they wouldn’t have done things this way …” I haven’t heard her say anything like this since her residency began. Each of these staff members should be commended for the fine work they are doing for the community. I don’t recall which staff member it was, but one of them had been with Hearthside for over ten years. My wife was amazed, as she has extensive experience interacting with nursing homes and assisted living environments. She assured me that was the exception rather than the rule and my takeaway from this is that Hearthside not only takes care of its residents but apparently offers a working environment which enables staff to enjoy what they do. Bravo, Hearthside!