Conrad Vanderlely
Aug 2026
If you are considering The Palms at Plantation for a loved one—especially MEMORY CARE—please read this.<br><br>My mother ELOPED FROM THEIR SECURED MEMORY CARE UNIT without staff realizing she was gone.<br><br>She made it more than five minutes away ON FOOT before a bystander found her after she had fallen. She was taken to the hospital and remained hospitalized for THREE DAYS.<br><br>The Palms did not find my mother. The hospital ultimately alerted The Palms that she was there.<br><br>Let that sink in: a vulnerable resident walked out of a SECURED MEMORY CARE facility, traveled that far on foot, fell, was found by a stranger, and ended up hospitalized while the people entrusted and PAID to keep her safe apparently did not know where she was.<br><br>SHE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.<br><br>According to the timeline provided to us, my mother left at approximately 6:48 p.m. Our family did not receive a call from Memory Care Director Ruby Kaur until approximately 9:02 p.m.—more than TWO HOURS later.<br><br>And the Executive Director? We NEVER received a phone call.<br><br>After this happened, our family was left dealing with the medical, emotional, logistical, and financial consequences. Despite my mother being able to walk out of their secured memory care unit without staff knowing she was gone, The Palms has refused to contribute financially toward the consequences our family has faced.<br><br>We also repeatedly requested that surveillance footage from that night be preserved. Despite those requests, we were not given the opportunity to review the footage.<br><br>After my mother’s elopement, I began paying much closer attention to staffing and supervision—and what I personally observed was deeply concerning. We personally observed situations where approximately 17 memory-care residents appeared to be relying on ONE staff member/helper responsible for multiple resident needs. When you are charging families for MEMORY CARE, adequate supervision and resident safety should be the bare minimum.<br><br>I would also caution prospective families against assuming the glowing Google reviews tell the entire story.<br><br>One recent positive review praising The Palms and its staff appears under the name "Ruby Kaur"—the SAME NAME as The Palms' Memory Care Director who communicated with our family after my mother's elopement. If that review was written by the facility's Memory Care Director, prospective families deserve to know that when deciding how much weight to give these reviews.<br><br>This isn't about bad food, housekeeping, or poor customer service.<br><br>MY MOTHER WALKED OUT OF A SECURED MEMORY CARE FACILITY AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS GONE.<br><br>A stranger found her.<br><br>She was hospitalized for three days.<br><br>And our family was fortunate that the outcome wasn't even worse.<br><br>Before placing someone you love here, ask exactly how many staff members are physically supervising memory-care residents, how residents are accounted for, what safeguards prevent them from leaving, and how a resident can exit a supposedly secured unit without anyone immediately noticing.<br><br>Most importantly, ask yourself:<br><br>WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THAT BYSTANDER HADN'T FOUND HER?<br><br>Based on our family's experience, I would NEVER entrust someone I love to The Palms at Plantation again.
