Sign in

Better Living

Get personalized guidance

For pricing & availability

Better Living is a partner with A Place for Mom. Learn about Better Living, and browse Better Living reviews to find top-rated providers in your area.

6.4

Review Score

79 reviews
13 communities
Starting from $X,XXX/mo

Better Living community listings

Showing 0 communities
Sort by
Filter by
Awards
best-meals-and-dining
best-meals-and-dining
Review Score
Care Type
See communities with

Reviews
for Better Living

6.4
Review Score
168 reviews

Review Score

168 reviews
6.4

Out of 10


5 star

58%

4 star

28%

3 star

5%

2 star

4%

1 star

7%

A Place for Mom has scored Better Living with 6.4 out of 10 using our proprietary review score based on 26 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time, Better Living has 168 reviews with an average "overall experience" of 4 out of 5.

Overall Experience
97
46
8
6
11
Date Submitted
11
17
26
Reviewer
27
111
23
3
Care Received
19
9
140
121-140 of 168 reviews
Sort by

4.0
Anonymous - Toured community
Memory Care
July 17, 2017
Verified Review
A nice visit

The people we met at this community were friendly. The community was clean and looked well taken care of. They did seem to offer a lot of daily activities and they allow pets. This community was just a little out of our price range.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Toured community
Memory Care
June 26, 2017
Verified Review
Lovely Place!!

I have no complaints with how things went during my tour at this community for my loved one. The staff where on time to our appointment and where very professional during our visit. They did not make us feel pressured and really took the time show us everything they had to offer in there facility. I liked the floor plan and thought they had a lot of great amenities available to all of the residents. It was just not the right location in the end decision.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Toured community
Memory Care
April 19, 2017
Verified Review
Friendly tour guide!

The lady that took me around Emery Place,[Removed], was awesome. She was very good at what she did and she was committed. she met with me on a Saturday and the facility was clean and well maintained. It was a good experience but not the best fit for my loved one.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Toured community
Memory Care
April 6, 2017
Verified Review
A good experience!

Back when we looked at this community, it was mostly memory care and there were only a few residents. They have since opened more rooms and are able to accommodate more residents with different levels of care.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Resident/client
Memory Care
March 9, 2017

I have lived here at Sunny Brook for almost 2 years. I enjoy getting my room cleaned and my laundry taken care of. I come and go as I please. I love the trips we take to the different casinos every month.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Resident/client
Memory Care
March 9, 2017

Sunny Brook fits my need perfectly. The staff is always friendly. I love not having to worry about my laundry or housekeeping needs, they take care of it all for me.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Louise Hope - Resident/client
Memory Care
March 9, 2017

I'm very well taken care of, the staff is always friendly and very helpful. I'm very lucky to be able to live here. I have made some wonderful friends as well.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Family/Friend
Memory Care
January 27, 2017
Verified Review
An improvement...

From the community that my mother came from, the Bickford has been better in many ways. They're still learning, but they are willing to solve problems and they contact me for anything. I like that I can see that they are trying and they are taking good care of my mother.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Toured community
Memory Care
December 6, 2016
Verified Review
Searching for a 'right' place.

In the search for an appropriate place for my Mom, "A Place For Mom" was helpful, in that they took our information and made several appointments for us to check out. It was during that experience that I gained the knowledge about the kind of place that would be best for My Mom, and that being one that is smaller and had a more 'hands on' approach for her care. That is why we chose Brookdale Blaine for her, and so far it is working well. It is soon to be sure, she has only been a resident there for a little over 7 days. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness

2.5

Friendliness

3.5

Care Services

3.5

Activities

4

Value for Cost

3.5


4.0
Anonymous - Family/Friend
Memory Care
August 3, 2016
Verified Review
Mom seems to like living at Bickford!

The staff at the community are friendly & helpful. I have not eaten there but I have been there at meals and mom seems to like it. There seems to be a good selection and variety. She likes to participate in bingo, exercise classes and community meetings. The community is clean and I would recommend this community.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Family/Friend
Memory Care
July 6, 2015
Verified Review
Better than our previous place

Our loved one with Alzheimer's has adapted really well at Emery Place. It's been an easy move compared to other nursing homes, probably because of the staff and the environment of the facility.

Cleanliness

5

Friendliness

5

Care Services

5

Activities

5

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous
Memory Care
June 19, 2015
Verified Review
They are very accommodating.

They are very accommodating. The place is still new so they still have some working out to do. The facility itself is very clean and well kept. Everyone has been very welcoming. The staff has been very friendly and helpful. They seem to be very caring people. The value is excellent for the services that you get at the emery place. The care services and activities are excellent as well. I would recommend this place.

Cleanliness

5

Friendliness

5

Care Services

5

Activities

5

Value for Cost

5


4.0
Anonymous - Family/Friend
Memory Care
July 2, 2014
Verified Review
Small community

One thing is that I really do appreciate how friendly the staff is. The food is pretty marginal. There are outside areas for residents. Parking is a bit problematic. One thing that I think is really good is that there are only nineteen residents – so it’s a small community.

Cleanliness

3

Friendliness

5

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Maureen Heuer - Family/Friend
Memory Care
March 11, 2014
Verified Review
Memory Unit - Muscatine, IA

My mother moved into the 7-bed memory unit at Bickford Cottage in Muscatine, IA. The unit is lovely and the staff tries very hard to make things nice for the residents. They adjust to the individual needs of the residents well. My oldest brother and I appreciated the quick response to our interest. My mother was evaluated on Monday after I called on Sunday. She moved into the facility on Wednesday. Probably the biggest positive I see is the small size of the unit. The memory unit is at the back of the facility and the entrance is not well setup for visitors. Luckily my father is still very mobile and enjoys walking. We were a bit spoiled by their previous assisted living with a covered drive-up entrance at the front door for picking up or dropping off residents and guests. My mother initially did not see "her place" at Bickford but she adjusted quickly, expressing her comfort with the care provided by the staff.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4.5

Care Services

5

Activities

4.5

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Dale S. - Toured community
Memory Care
February 25, 2014
Verified Review
Nice place

When we had a chance to visit the Sterling House there were a few things that stood out to us, we likeed the more homey feel to it. It was very small with nine men/women and the friendliness from th residents and the staff made it more comfortable to what we were looking for.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Anonymous - Family/Friend
Memory Care
February 21, 2014
Verified Review
Small Enough to Know Residents

My father-in-law is not happy with his health situation, but he says this is the best place for him. It's small enough so he knows everybody.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

4

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


4.0
Terry - Family/Friend
Memory Care
August 29, 2013
Verified Review
Friendly and Helpful Staff

My brother was there for mabye 5 days and he just fell apart when he was there. We don't think it had anything to do with Sterling House at all. It was more to do with him and what was going on in his life. The staff was friendly and helpful and stuff like that. It just didn't fit.

Cleanliness

4

Friendliness

5

Care Services

4

Activities

4

Value for Cost

4


3.5
Evy Harris - Resident/client
Memory Care
October 23, 2020
Just Like Home

The people here are so friendly. I think the thing I like most is that I can come and go just like my own home! [name removed] is always keeping me involved in activities and I like that I can give back to Ottumwa while living here.

Cleanliness

5

Friendliness

5

Care Services

3.5

Activities

5

Value for Cost

3.5


3.5
Deloris VanDenBerg - Resident/client
Memory Care
October 23, 2020
Honesty Opinion

Staff have a fast response time and step out of their roles often to help me. There are some staff that I cannot relate to but they all care about the people they take care of here.

Cleanliness

5

Friendliness

3.5

Care Services

3.5

Activities

5

Value for Cost

3.5


3.5
Anonymous - Toured community
Memory Care
September 7, 2017
Verified Review
Really LIked This Place

I really liked this community but for what we were looking for they only had a studio apartment and I didn't feel like my mom would have liked that sort of floor plan. The staff was nice and the community itself appeared clean and well maintained.

Cleanliness

3.5

Friendliness

3.5

Care Services

3.5

Activities

3.5

Value for Cost

3.5


Viewing 121-140 out of 168 reviews

Frequently asked questions

There are 0 total Better Living Facilities.

More questions?

Ask an A Place for Mom local advisor at no cost.