The Sanctuary at Brooklyn Center

Pros

• The residents appreciate the variety of activities offered at The Sanctuary, including bingo twice a week and regular movie screenings.
• Groups that come in to provide musical entertainment enhance the community atmosphere and enjoyment for the residents.
• The facility features a beautiful and modern design that residents find appealing.
• There are consistently multiple activities planned throughout the week, providing opportunities for social engagement.
• Residents value the outings arranged by the staff, which contribute to a more active lifestyle.
• The dining room being open for lunch during weekdays is seen as a positive aspect of communal dining opportunities.

Cons

• The dining room is only open for lunch on weekdays, forcing residents to eat in their rooms for most meals.
• Food often arrives lukewarm and comes in Styrofoam containers, creating inconvenience for residents who must reheat and transfer it to their own dishes.
• Orders are frequently incorrect, particularly on weekends, leaving residents dissatisfied with their meals.
• Nursing care is described as extremely poor, with essential tasks like applying TED hose not being done promptly or at all.
• Staff members, particularly nursing aides, are reported to be unkind or disrespectful towards residents.
• Despite meetings with the nursing director aimed at improving care, issues persist and tend to resurface after a brief period of improvement.
• Resident Council meetings continue to address the same complaints month after month without seeing significant changes.

Review

Living Experience at The Sanctuary in Brooklyn Center: A Mixed Review

The decision to move to an assisted living facility is often driven by a desire for community, engagement, and the promise of supportive care. For residents at The Sanctuary in Brooklyn Center, these factors play a significant role in their experience. Many residents appreciate the array of activities planned each month, which serve as crucial social outlets and opportunities for connection among neighbors. Activities such as bingo held twice a week provide routine enjoyment and interaction, while the movie room offers entertainment through film screenings and travel shows. Moreover, the facility brings in guest performers once a month, adding variety to the communal life. With daily activities scheduled from Monday through Friday, including multiple options at different times throughout the day, residents are afforded numerous ways to stay engaged and active within their community.

Despite the commendable range of activities available, there are notable drawbacks regarding dining options that have left some residents feeling unsatisfied with their overall care experience. Currently, The Sanctuary’s dining room is only open for lunch during weekdays—a limitation that forces many residents to rely on meals eaten within their rooms outside of those hours. While menus are distributed several days in advance allowing for planning ahead, meals often arrive lukewarm at best—served in Styrofoam containers that necessitate reheating before consumption. This added layer of inconvenience can detract from what should be a pleasant dining experience. Residents have expressed frustration over occasions when what they ordered does not match what they receive on delivery—especially prominent during weekends when unpredictability seems heightened.

Among the most pressing concerns at The Sanctuary lies within its nursing care services. Residents have raised issues surrounding timely assistance with personal health needs—in particular, the application of TED hose before engaging in daily activities. For some individuals who depend on this care to fully prepare themselves for outings or social engagement, delays can lead to missed opportunities for participation due to inadequate support from nursing staff. Instances where these essential tasks have been neglected often lead to dissatisfaction and discontent among residents who feel overlooked.

Communication between residents and management has been ongoing through meetings with nursing leadership; however, improvements tend to be short-lived rather than consistent or systematic changes that lead to sustained betterment. Following conversations with the director of nursing about care deficiencies or instances of unkindness exhibited by aides toward residents appears insufficient when faced with persistent complaints voiced consistently during Resident Council meetings each month. When resident voices do not result in meaningful changes over time—even after expressing similar concerns repeatedly—the sense of neglect may deepen.

Despite its newer construction and appealing aesthetics that make it visually attractive—the culture within The Sanctuary can sometimes undermine its outward charm due to subpar service experiences felt by many individuals living there. An atmosphere where kindness should prevail instead becomes overshadowed by reports indicating staff interactions fall short concerning empathy and understanding towards resident needs.

As prospective residents weigh their options prior to making moves into assisted living environments like The Sanctuary at Brooklyn Center—they must consider both sides reflected in peer reviews alike: vibrant programming versus disappointing healthcare service quality is critical information that guides potential decisions about long-term stays elsewhere if conditions fail improving over time amid common issues highlighted repeatedly by those currently residing there seeking greater fulfillment from their living arrangement.

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (0.3 miles)
• Park Nicollet Clinic (1.2 miles)
• Walgreens (2.5 miles)
• Walgreens (2.6 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.8 miles)
• Walgreens (3.1 miles)
• Walgreens (3.4 miles)

Restaurants

• Culver's (1.1 miles)
• Big Louie's Bar & Grill (1.9 miles)
• White Castle (2.5 miles)
• Wendy's (2.6 miles)
• McDonald's (3 miles)
• McDonald's (3.1 miles)
• McDonald's (3.2 miles)

Cafes

• Caribou Coffee (1.6 miles)
• Starbucks (5.7 miles)
• Caribou Coffee (6.2 miles)
• Starbucks (6.3 miles)
• Starbucks (6.4 miles)

Parks

• Twin Lake Beach Park (1.8 miles)
• Pinebrook Park (4.2 miles)
• Silverwood Park (5.2 miles)
• Boom Island Park (5.8 miles)
• North Loop Dog Park (5.9 miles)
• French Regional Park (6.1 miles)
• Mill Ruins Park (6.9 miles)

Physicians

• Northwest Family Physicians PA (2 miles)
• Eyeklinic of Edinburgh (3.1 miles)
• Fairview Fridley Clinic (3.4 miles)
• Eye Care Center (4.4 miles)
• Aesthetic Reconstructive Plastic Surgery (4.4 miles)
• Suburban Radiologists (5.1 miles)
• Fairview Clinics (5.3 miles)

Places of Worship

• Elim Church Center (2.7 miles)
• Fridley United Methodist Church (3.8 miles)
• Westminster Presbyterian Church (7 miles)

Hospitals

• Unity Hospital (4.4 miles)
• Regency Hospital (5.1 miles)

Theaters

• AMC Coon Rapids 16 (6.4 miles)