Belinda Rathert
May 2026
It was great sadness that I write this review of Silver Birch assisted living facility in Mishawaka Indiana. There once was a time when I called this my home and I was happy about it being my home. It's still my home, but it has changed a great deal. We have an interim executive director and has come into our facility and things could not be worse. They fired our executive director of 7 months who we all loved and now the new interim executive director is here. We have bed bugs. Who was told at a meeting the other day that it wouldn't be unusual because we live in an area that has 25% more bed bugs then anywhere else in the state. And that we need to get used to that and that they're doing what they can to get rid of those bed bugs. I tend to disagree. But if you disagree, they will retaliate. I have tried for several days now to get ahold of one of the people from corporate to let them know about the current interim executive director. But it's no use. We are understaffed and the CNAs are having to serve lunches and dinners and we are eating off of paper plates and using plastic utensils. We are having problems with the food as it is horrible. Most of the time when you look around the dining room as you're leaving, people have left most of their food on their plate. That makes me sad because most people don't have extra money to spend to buy extra groceries for their pantry. Not only are our CNAs serving lunch and supper, they are doing their normal jobs also buy transporting those people to suffer who cannot get there on their own. They have to do laundry at night for those who cannot do their own laundry. We just finally got on our menu where people could have their eggs the way they wanted them instead of poured from a carton. As president of the resident Council I have had numerous meetings with the interim executive director. I want so much for her to be truthful with me. The residents are given false hope about things they have asked for and things that they need. A lot of our residents are wanting to and ready to do a protest. I can't get anyone from management i.e. the interim director to answer me now or the maintenance director from corporate to come and speak with me. I voiced my concerns the other day at a meeting and now all of a sudden no one will talk to me or get back with me. I said I feel better place that I called home with such happiness, I now just say I live here. And it's all do to people who want to give false hope to our people, to make them think they care about them. I watch and have interaction with the most wonderful group of residents. All with a different story and disability they deserve better. And so does anyone who walks through our doors and call this home. Right now, we just exist here. Weird just a number with a Medicaid waiver. And that's the magic word. Waiver! I want so again to call this home and say it with happiness! Received an answer to my post. Residents do have the choice to come down to eat three meals, however, when the meals ate so bad, then we don't go to the dining room to eat. Then we hopefully have something in our cupbards to eat. Others don't. Fortunately they are working on it. Hopefully it will work.
