Birchmere Retirement Residence

I am disappointed with the organization’s ability to detect and assist with medical issues, the nursing staff’s ability to administer medication is poor and at time dangerous. The food is gross and should not be given to humans at their golden age!!I would never want to be there when old.

Bad kitchen staff :)

Birchmere is the best retirement & assisted living residence in Orillia, especially if you want to retire on the water - this is the BEST place to be!

My diabetic mom's blood sugar was not checked for 2 and a half weeks and she was given insulin and she ended up back in the hospital with a sugar crash of 2.5 the paramedics measured. Staff are nice but overworked. Ambulance was not called for over an hour when PSWs found mom in a bad state because nurse was doing paperwork, another resident had a problem and people were asking for their pills and only nurse is allowed to call ambulance there. One staff complained to manger that I accused her of being incompetent on a break. This never happened. They have video cameras in the hallway and should try to find evidence of this because it did not happen. It's a retirement home. Be cautious of sending people with complex care needs to assisted living. The government system of not allowing people to be sent from the hospital to long term care is severely inadequate for the needs of some seniors. Food was not tasty for pureed diet. A policy that allows insulin to be given without checking blood sugar is negligent. A policy that only a nurse can call an ambulance when there is an emergency is negligent. My brother called the ambulance not the home. My mom almost died from an insulin crash. The nurse at the hospital questioned if she had been overdosed with insulin as it kept lowering despite intervention in the hospital. The paramedics figured out what was wrong with my mom and probably saved her life.

My visit to provide music to Birchmere Retirement was a wonderful experience, a location that is second-to-none, delightful residents, and a courteous professional staff. Thumbs-up.

The nursing staff , PSWs, front desk , dining room staff are all helpful and pleasant. My mom loves the food. Where else can you live on a lake and walk through Couchiching Park everyday. Highly recommended

Nice people and nice place

Love the private cottage accommodations on the lake. This Retirement Home is perfect for anyone that likes the outdoors. Great spot on the lake.

This is not a review of the retirement home but a note about the home’s public response to the review of Benjamin Wein. Since I had to input a star rating I gave it 3 as a neutral rating. I really just wanted to comment.I have no connection with the home or Wein. I was just reading reviews of retirement homes in Orillia and happened upon this one.Benjamin gave a low and not very detailed review and the home had every right to respond. What I was uncomfortable with was the level of detail the home included in their response about Benjamin’s family member.This is a public forum and the details provided were extremely personal about his family member’s behaviour which is definitely related to their personal health and situation and should not be shared in a public post. I would even go so far to say the details were part of personal health information which is breaking Ontario legislation to share. And the details did not need to be included in the response as they went beyond what Benjamin was reviewing. The home’s response could have ended after they addressed the medication actions and the food quality.As someone who works in healthcare, I find the response by the home concerning. I would like to think the response didn’t represent all staff. This may be an excellent home and this one post was an unfortunate mistake. It would be good if the Director of the home could review this with their staff to ensure it doesn’t happen again. It is important to protect seniors, especially those that are vulnerable and cannot speak for themselves.