I have always heard that Franciscan Woods was a "nice" place and even had my husband's aunt and uncle as residents until they passed away. My mother lived in Stone Mountain and had always been very independent. She would win awards for her beautiful yard and was very active and volunteered for the library, book sales, church and what ever came her way that needed a hard worker. Slowly she started having more and more physical problems and finally was confined to a wheel chair until she was able to get a motorized chair. Unfortunately it is hard to work in your yard or do much volunteering from a big motorized chair. She became more and more dependent with certain tasks like bathing and dressing. She always enjoyed being on her own but it had become evident that she could no longer live that way. Even though there are 3 siblings that live close to mother it was getting harder and harder for anyone to stay with Mom. One sister visited a number of assisted living facilities but they were either way too expensive or way under staffed and not a good environment. I decided to visit Franciscan Woods and felt very comfortable. My Mom came down with my sister and visited and really liked the facility. It offered so much more and was affiliated with St Francis Hospital. We moved her down on 2/27/2010. I was so impressed with the amount of attention we got from everyone but one person in particular stands out as one of the most caring and conscientious young women I have ever met. Her name is Claudia Haines. She is on top of everything. She is a perfect Guardian Angel and I feel so blessed. She has removed a lot of the stress I had when Mom had no one taking care of her medical needs. Claudia can always be counted on to fight for the resident and will go the extra mile to help. She has called after hours just to update me when we were unable to speak during regular hours. She makes sure her meds are available and keeps on top of Mom's pain meds. Mom has inoperable shoulder, spine and back problems. She lives in constant pain. Claudia takes better care of Mom than anyone else at any hospital or nursing facility. She knows when Mom needs something and works till she gets it accomplished. Claudia truly loves my Mom and her other residents. When Mom was recently hospitalized at St Francis she was crying for "her Claudia" because she was afraid, based on past experience in Atlanta, that she would not get help when she called and would not get her pain meds. She knew that Claudia knows her schedule and needs and never lets her down. Claudia always calls and keeps me up on appointments or things she has noticed about Mom that might be a potential problem. She is quick to come to Mom's aide and recently went above and beyond when Mom had a horrific nose bleed that led to her having to go by ambulance to the ER @ St. Francis. I wish I knew the perfect word to describe how wonderful Claudia is and what a fighter she is for her residents. I know I can be very aggravating because I am trying to shop for a local doctor for Mom. We have had one bad experience with a group. With the new healthcare program it is hard to find someone who will take her with Medicare. Claudia has been patient with me as I try to navigate and has worked with me on appointments for Mom. I don't know if all this makes sense but what I am trying to say is that when Claudia is not there it seems that things don't go as smoothly. When Claudia is there, you know you don't have to worry because Claudia is already on it and it will be taken care of.(not trying to say that the other staff is not great because there are a lot of "stars" there) She is such an asset and wish there was an award we could give her for her dedication, compassion, conscientiousness, grace and caring. Claudia Haines is the BEST!