Medilodge of Traverse City

My husband has been at MediLodge of Traverse City for 13 months. His care has been stellar. The care is given with tenderness and love.
The activities are so diverse-field trips to seeing gardens and going on picnics. The Activity Director, Kasia, along with Barb and Georgiana (great supportive staff) have planned and carried on an Art Show (profitable) from art the residents have done. The residents were so proud of their accomplishments. A lot of the family members and guests to the Lodge attended.

The activity staff and transporter have taken residents on Fall color tours, Christmas light tours and also to see the orchards blossom in the Spring. They have brought residents to enjoy live music and a meal at the Senior Center (the Gathering Place) in Honor.

My husband wanted to first stay in bed. Kasia encouraged him to get up and help her. He now has helped put flower decorations (or posies as he calls them) on the dining room tables and picks them up. He takes that very seriously and that he’s needed.

I have been at the Lodge different times during the week. I have yet to see dirty hair or find food on resident clothes. Residents are clean and cared for. CENAs –Martha, Becky, and Tina care so lovingly for the residents that can’t feed themselves. Hugs and forehead kisses are a daily thing. All the staff are wonderful. I see how caring and wonderful they are.

Now, my husband is a very picky eater. He is constantly teasing the cooks, complaining about the food as he’s cleaning up his plate. The staff takes it in stride and hug him anyway. They are real treasures.

Then there is Travis-maintenance man/BBQer and many other things he does. He is so busy but always gets everything done and done well. Travis takes the time with residents that want to help as he’s working in their room. He is ever so kind.

Now, all that being said, I can’t leave the office staff out. Lisa, Amy, and Wanita-they are my go-to folks when I feel like my world is caving in because my husband isn’t here. They understand and listen to me and offer their supportive caring.

Again, let me reiterate this Medilodge of Traverse City is stellar and should be held up as a standard by which all health care facilities should be held! I’m so thankful I found this treasure!

The folks here at Medilodge of Traverse City have been pretty quick to help me.  The food has been really good.  I would suggest having more fresh fruit like blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and apples.  The staff is friendly and kind.  The facility is clean and it’s nice and warm here!

My stay here was even better than last year. The staff works as one cohesive unit with the sole purpose of making sure the patient is the most important person here — my compliments.

This facility met my every need. Everyone was so friendly. It’s clean, and the food is good. After a few days, I got to know the CENAs, and I like the laughter and comfortable home feeling. I shared a room with Linny, and when I leave, I will have a corner of my heart where she will always stay. The doctor, nurses, and staff all looked after me. I would recommend this place to anyone.

This place is very clean and the staff is very friendly.  The food was very well prepared.  Therapy was very helpful and full of jokes and smiles. Our family felt that our mother got awesome care.  We would recommend this facility to friends and family to care for their loved ones.

This was a very positive experience. The nurses and CNAs were attentive and helpful. The therapists made the workouts fun. The food was tasty and plentiful. We especially loved Kasia – such a sweet person! The only suggestion is the larger name tags for the staff.

Your therapy personnel is excellent and knowledgeable. Positive staff like yours brings about pleasant, relaxed residents. I especially enjoyed the high ceilings and lots of windows in the Dining Room, set up like a restaurant. I would have liked a more Mediterranean style menu. I was impressed with the cleanliness of rooms; sanitation was evident. Residents were treated with respect no matter their condition — a happy, friendly atmosphere like a family. I was impressed with how far some staff drove and how long the team has worked there.

I would like people to know that I received the BEST CARE I could have ever imagined at MediLodge of Traverse City. The staff was phenomenal in the way they acted and treated me there. They were always there to help and do anything possible to make your life as comfortable as they possibly could. They also need to be commended on their empathy and compassion when it came to be treated there. Yes, I would recommend Traverse City MediLodge to anyone who needs health care.

MediLodge of Traverse City was a very enjoyable place to be to help in my recovery from surgery on my back. The nurses and people were awesome. The staff in Therapy were just awesome. I have had the best care here that I could ever ask for. You guys are all awesome! If I ever need to go into rehab again, I would come here before anywhere else. Thank you all so much.

I have stayed here twice in the past two years. Both times for rehabilitation. I have found everything that I was looking for, and the staff is excellent. Everything has met my standards, and I would recommend anyone to come and stay. Great staff, good food, crafts, Bingo, etc. I could go on. Just come and check it out for yourself.

I would like to thank all the great staff here at MediLodge. All the fun, joking around, and fun times made things a lot better in a bad situation. I want to thank everyone for letting me hang out at the nurse’s station for company. Thank you to the cooks for good food! A special thanks to certain people who really helped me out: Barb, Resident Advocate, for helping to make sure my clothes got back to me. Also, Dena, nurse, Tina and Briyanne and Bobbie, CNA’s, who, when I felt really depressed would just talk to me and joke with me and really bring me out of it, and cheer me up. Thank you!
I will miss you all.

I am married and my husband Alvin is here too at MediLodge of Traverse City. Your staff has been very friendly and accommodated our stay here. Everyone is very friendly and joyful. It has been a good experience being here.

I have been a patient here for 30 days and would like to thank each and every one of you. You have not only taken care of my medical needs but my physical therapy as well. The staff is always in a good mood and very important to the patients as well. Today I am being discharged and I’ll miss all of you very much. Thank you.

Dear MediLodge Staff,

We’d like to express our deepest gratitude to the entire team at MediLodge of Traverse City. For the past four years our mother, Irene Senkiw, had lived there, and it was the best decision that we ever made regarding her care. We’re sad to say that she passed away on Friday, April 20, 2018.

Irene was diagnosed with dementia in 2011 and had resided at another nursing home in the Detroit area. At that location, she was mistreated by staff and other residents and was so unhappy. She would say “No! I’m not going in there!”, and would beg us not to take her back inside at the end of an outing. As a family, it was so stressful and sad for us to leave our mom somewhere where she wasn’t happy.

However, all of that changed when we moved her to MediLodge of Traverse City (formerly Tendercare) in 2014. Her husband had passed away, so she came north to be near her youngest daughter, Carol, who could oversee her care. As a resident, she was treated as so much more than a patient, she was more like a family member. It could have been devastating for Irene to move far away from the community and family she knew, but that was not the case at all. Soon the residents and staff at her new home were like a family to here. There was a familiar daily routine in which she could participate or there was the flexibility to move to her own rhythm as her body and mind changed with the progression of the dementia. You all have intuitively cared for her in a way that upheld a quality of life that we didn’t know could be possible in a skilled nursing facility.

Whenever we would return from an outing for the day, she would say, “Oh yes, I’ve been here before. It is very clean.” She took comfort in the familiar surroundings and welcoming faces when we came inside. We were always greeted by, “Well, hello Irene! How was your afternoon?” or “How nice to see you!”. She enjoyed the daily meals and activities, parties, music, hand massage, and manicures and the tender loving care she received every day. As her family, we could see that she was happy there. Even though she couldn’t tell us directly, it was reflected in her spirit, her smile, and her health.

So, we give you a great big “Thank You!” to every nurse, CNA, physician, physical therapist, recreation therapist, kitchen staff, laundry staff, sanitation staff, administrative staff, drivers, volunteers, and everyone who made her health and joy possible. Thank you for all of the long hours, late nights, double shifts, weekends and holidays that you spend there. We noticed every one of them and are grateful that you take such pride in your profession.

In much gratitude,

Carol Bell, Joane Slusky, Mark Senkiw
Children of Irene Senkiw

I was the primary caregiver for my wife from 2008 until her death in 2013. During those 5 years, we had been to all available nursing homes. There was no doubt in her mind which facility she liked the best especially when it came to her needs. MediLodge of Traverse City (formerly Tendercare) was much more tuned in to what her specific needs were. Whether it was the nursing care, the PT or OT or she simply felt more at ease with this facility, she was here until her final trip to Munson Hospital. So, when I became ill, there was no hesitation as to where I wanted to rehab. MediLodge of Traverse City was my first choice and I could not have made a better decision. I am leaving here with a new purpose for living. It has truly been a great experience!

Everyone here is thoughtful, considerate and friendly! The care is wonderful. I’ve had visitors and they too say, “the difference is amazing at this facility.” My son checked out all the facilities at Munson when I was getting ready to leave and chose this one. I am so glad he did. It’s been a great experience. Therapy has been painful; but so helpful. I am very impressed with the therapy department. They have given me a list of things to do at home when I leave. The respiratory therapist Sweetlana is so sweet and conscientious about providing care. I really benefitted from her services. The entertainment here was so good too. I attended concerts and socials and had visits from the Life Enrichment staff. I was even able to get a haircut and manicure. What a treat! I would highly recommend Medilodge of Traverse City to others who need such service/rehabilitation.

“Personality, care giving, kindness, patience and determination are only a few adjectives that describe most nurses aides and therapists at the Traverse City facility. When I look back to just 3 weeks ago of how my limbs and body were when I entered the doors of Traverse City, I was very weak and hardly able to do anything for myself. But with the support of the rehabilitation program and the supervision of all the staff, I have a much better outlook about myself. I feel ready to care for myself for the most part, therefore going home to continue my rehab program and get stronger as life continues on.”

I want to take a moment to thank you for the marvelous job you all are doing caring for our son. Rarely do I visit when I find him alone, it seems someone is always in his room, attending to his needs, or just looking after things.

We would like to thank you so much for the excellent care that you provide to our Mother. Daily, you treat her with loving care and respect. Not only do you attend to her physical needs, but you are attentive to her emotional concerns as well. we can truly say that she has never been treated as an ill person, but rather as a person with an illness. You put the dignity of the person on an equal plane with the illness. From bathing to dressing to speech therapy to eating, she is always listened to and her concerns are addressed. Each time we have spoken with you, you have been on top of the issue. Even when some items take time, you continually pursue what is best for our Mom. There is so much you do with compassion and respect. You truly do provide tender care both physically and emotionally.

The commitment to quality designated by this award is a key first step to developing systematic, sustainable, person-centered care and services. We congratulate all of our 2010 winners on this prestigious achievement.