Vitality Living Arlington

Although I have only worked at Vitality Arlington for a few months, I have found it to be a wonderful workplace and lovely assisted living community. From day one, everyone was welcoming and patient as I settled into my role. I look forward to coming to work every day because I get to work alongside kind and compassionate coworkers and interact with the sweetest residents. Each day, I am shown examples of our staff doing all that they can to make the residents happy and comfortable, meeting them exactly where they are at that time. It’s been immensely rewarding to contribute to this caring community and to make even the smallest positive impact on our residents’ lives. I cannot stress enough how wonderful our residents are! I’m constantly learning from their rich experiences, which in turn enriches my own perspective on life. Engaging with them daily is the highlight of my job. Whether you’re seeking a career or a new home for a loved one, Vitality Arlington is an exceptional place to find both.

If the resident can self advocate and get out and about, even with wheelchair or walker, Vitality Living in Arlington is a lively home for assisted living and 24-hour care. Their activities are plentiful and well-attended, and the dining room has good food, variety of healthy choices, and waiter service. Furnishings in public spaces are solid and traditional—a big TV main room with many additional seating areas for games and staff-led activities. But if your loved one is unable to self advocate, this may not be the correct setting for them. My sister had increasing dementia and suffered with lack of care such as for bathing, daily hand washing and other hygienic care, room cleanliness, laundry service, and diaper changes. Only a few, long-term staff members are well trained, and the wellness director’s dictatorial management style does not encourage teamwork or compassion. My sister was in a shared suite, and her neighbor in a wheelchair also had declining mental acuity, and was often left for more than an hour without response to her call button for assistance getting in and out of bed. Their bathroom had frequent smears of feces and a filthy floor. Only when hospice came into my sister’s care did she receive decent treatment. If two of us were not active in her care, visiting at least twice a week, she would have received only minimal attention. When she had Covid, we were told not to visit for 10 days. On day nine I went and found a disastrous setting—bedsheet and mattress soaked with urine to the point of being black, her diaper unchanged for days, nor was she bathed, feces on the floor, containers with dried-out food scattered about, and she had bedsores on her coccyx, shoulders, and ankle. She was skin and bones upon entry, so these were pressure points, but it meant no one had changed her clothes, diaper, or had bathed her for these pressure wounds to have developed in that period. Naturally I complained to both wellness director and executive director, after

Great location. Clean facility. Meals are okay. For assisted living, activities available daily. Family member now in memory care, cramped dining area, no outdoor space, only activities I catch is watching tv. Promises aren’t kept, apartments aren’t maintained/cleaned, the lighting is so low, no help with daily personal care (as promised), we have to provide toilet paper because they don’t want them to clog the drains but what about the simple dignity of being able to wipe yourself clean. Constant issues with laundry. The director of the facility is a fast talker that doesn’t listen, more concerned with the numbers (she expressed so once in a brief meeting). The memory care staff hardly seem adequate. Great choice if your loved one is lucid and can manage on their own but If you require memory care look elsewhere, please. At least it’s safe and the staff are genuinely kind. Tips: spend more than 15 minutes in the unit when touring, ask what a typical day is like get the details, ask about help with personal care, follow up with a second/third visit, look at the residents, ask the staff about their tenure, education, experience, expectations. Good luck, it’s a difficult choice but where you ultimately choose to place your loved one matters most.