Sante of North Scottsdale

My mom (81) was at Sante for 5 nights after a hospital stay. She was wearing a heart monitor and had an IV for a UTI. I was lucky to be visiting her when she started vomiting. The nurse on duty took my Mom’s blood pressure and it was 202/134. We asked the nurse to call 911. She said she called the doctor and they would get her a transport to hospital. I was told it was AMA (against medical advice) if I called 911. I was also told because it was AMA, If I called 911, her stay would not be covered by Medicare. By the time the paramedics got there (about 30 min.), they asked why there was not a 991 call and rushed her code 3 to Scottsdale North Hospital. They were very worried about stroke with that high of blood pressure. She was in critical care for hours and then admitted to the hospital for 5 days. Her heart is still fragile and being closely monitored. No one was there from Sante to meet with the paramedics or even walk us out. Just me and I was so glad I was there. The nurse was rude and very unresponsive. My mom also had difficulty earlier in her stay. The transport, arranged by Sante was very late in getting her to her Dr. appointment on time. She was very late to the appointment and it caused her so much stress. This is just not fair treatment.

My Mother was transferred to Sante of North Scottsdale from Honor Health Scottsdale Shea on a Friday afternoon. Over the weekend my siblings were unable to contact anyone by phone to see how our mother was doing. On Monday morning at 8:32 I called Sante of North Scottsdale to discuss some of my Mother’s medical issues. I spoke to the Director of Nursing and the Administrator. Because of a clinician meeting that morning I was told they would call me back about the medical issues. Instead, at 11:00 a.m. I received a phone call stating that my mother was being transferred to an ER in Sun City, 50 minutes from my home in Scottsdale. I then spoke to several Sante employees on the phone as to why my mother was being transferred to an ER in Sun City. No one was able to tell me why this hospital had been selected. As I live 10 minutes from Sante of North Scottsdale I asked that someone call me when my Mother was ready to be transferred so I could be there when she went in the ambulance. In the midst of a very difficult situation I have nothing but praise for AMR Ambulance services. They were kind and caring but also quite confused as to why my Mother was being transferred to an ER in Sun City other than that is where they generally refer to which seemed odd as it the farthest away from Sante of North Scottsdale that you can get --- at least 50 minutes away!When I arrived at Sante and met the EMTs from AMR Ambulance they informed me that it was my choice as to what ER my mother would go to. The EMTs were also surprised that they would be transporting here to an ER in Sun City. When I explained that my Mother had been at Honor Health previous to being at Sante, AMR said we will take her back to an Honor Health ER. After speaking to health caregivers who have been involved in my Mother’s care since she moved to Arizona from Oregon in August, I was told that Sante was dumping our mother. The part that has upset my siblings and myself is the major lack of communication from Sante of North Scottsdale. There seems to be a direct correlation between the clinician meeting in the morning and the decision to dump my mother at 11:00. There was no indication prior to the call at 11:00 am that Sante could not handle my Mother or help with her recovery. We had no idea that it was so bad that are my Mother needed to be transferred to a different facility that was capable of treating her. Instead Sante made the decision to dump her at another hospital. Due to what has happened to my mother, I would recommend that you never place a loved one at Sante of North Scottsdale.

My recommendation is to read reviews before choosing a placement for your loved one. I didn’t do my homework. Very disappointed with Santé North Scottsdale ConsAppears to be very understaffed-late to pick up at previous facility to admit to Santé, didn’t empty urinal sitting on tray with food,long wait time for meds, CNA rarely checked in,rarely changed sheets,help with shower twice in 3 weeks terrible communication-case managersrarely returning phone calls to family members,different PTs OTs so no consistency, Lost 2 weeks+ of progress because of missed Ortho doctor appointment,then discharged because of no progress, Sent to next placement without pain med prescription (and has two broken legs, broken pelvis, broken ribs to name a few)Prosattractive facility, patient liked the food

This was my second stay at Sante'. The care at the facility has certainly gone downhill since December. This time, there were more dangerous issues, which will be reported to the State. Following is a list of some of them:1. Admission- Got there about 7:30 pm. Room not prepared in advance. There was no walker in the room, which I needed as an ortho patient. When I asked for one, I was told they were locked up for the night and to walk, using the wheelchair for balance, (not seated-NOT safe). Didn't get the walker till next morning. CNA (Tonya) was hostile and more interested in filling out list of what belongings I had than explaining about call button and other facility info. TV not working and not fixed for 5 days. I asked CNA to remove my TED hose and she was so rough that she left me with bruises all over my legs. (I informed her about my neuropathy & issues.)2. Safety-I am a fall risk (had the bracelet on), with a hip replacement, but no one made sure I got to the bathroom safely, even though I later had a walker. Staff should have stayed in room from start to finish. NOTE: Staff is overworked & assigned too many patients to be able to do their job in many cases.3. Medical-When I became ill the 2nd day, the I asked to return to the hospital. The doctor was reluctant to do that. MY LPN, Nicole, was awesome. However, when the doctor prescribed antibiotics and IV fluids, I was given the antibiotics, but not the fluids, until the following day when I said something to staff. I sleep with oxygen, but the condenser provided was so loud that I asked for a replacement and was never provided with one. Consequently, no oxygen at night.4. Training-The nurses need refresher courses in things like how to insert transfusion lines. Every nurse should be able to perform this task. Each time, they had to look for a nurse who could do it, but it always required several tries. (One nurse had not done it for 9 years, but was brave enough to try.) However, the needles kept coming out-so new line needed. Consequently, my hands & arms were also bruised and sore. I looked as though I'd been in an auto accident after I'd been there for a week. I was only there due to a hip replacement. 5. Physical & Occupational Therapy-During my previous visit, I had great physical therapy. This time, I had different therapists every day. One of them would give me an exercise and then stroll around for several minutes instead of observing to see if I did it correctly. The Occupational therapists only bathe patients twice a week. On Tuesday, I was told there would be no OT until the following Saturday. Thank goodness I checked out before then.6. Housekeeping-My room was not cleaned by housekeeping once in the 10 days I was there. My daughters had to empty trash some days. LPNs & CNAs are assigned to what should be housekeeping tasks like trash & sheet changes. My sheets were only changed once (at my request). Carpet never vacumed - I picked up the detrius from IVs. Since I developed an intestinal issue when there, the bathroom should have been disinfected- possible staph or other infections. 7. Discharge- No one walked me out or saw that I could even get into the car. Another safety issue. 8. Staff- I LOVE most of the staff. They are hardworking and willing to do what asked & what they can, given resources, lack of continual education, and assignments. They are not being used appropriately.9. Kitchen-The kitchen is abysmal! The food is truly BAD! I wouldn't feed my dog with some of the food the kitchen provided. Even the staff jokes about the coffee, which is an easy fix. When delivered, the food was very frequently not what was ordered. My family had to bring in meals everyday. That is the least problem, although it was mentioned during a satisfaction survey last time. 10. Management-Management was only interested in me signing the legal papers and are apparently not concerned with staff allocation & duties, safety concerns, kitchen, or other issues . The facility looks pretty, but until management addresses things instead of following the status quo, I do not hesitate in saying STAY AWAY FROM SANTE'.

The therapy department and Care Manager were incompetent and discharged my parent without proper medical equipment, failed to provide proper prescriptions. Failed to send home health staff to the right address. Overall failed to provide a safe discharge plan. My parent has fallen and been found on the floor 3 times within 2 days of being discharged, it took over 24 hours to get his prescriptions filled, the home health nurse came 2 days after discharge. They ordered the wrong wheelchair and didn't order any other medically necessary equipment. I have reported them the the Arizona Health Department and plan to pursue justice through an investigation for my parent or anyone else at this facility. As a health professional, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS FACILITY