Bickford Senior Living

Make sure of the charges and don't sign unless you fully understand them. The room sizes are ok, and also the amenities.

we were very unhappy with the care my dad received. they were short-staffed all the time and was not very attentive. The activity director was very nice and my dad the food was good. They are struggling with covid at this facility I would not recommend this facility to others.

Nice facility, qualified staff, good food but my loved one is bored in the memory care section. I don't think there are activities in memory care, none that I know of yet, other than TV all day or sleeping. Maybe it's because the facility isn't full yet and its still a new facility but I haven’t seen event calendar for memory care but they ought to be doing something to break up their day besides meals

They went through an ownership transition during our 1st 6 months and things have not gone as smoothly as we would have liked. Mom needed in room food service which was an extra (very nice) but very inconsistent

Since Buckford has taken over we feel the care has not been as good. They said they were making no changes but they have including having the family providingcertain necessities. This is difficult for some spouses. Cleanliness of patients and facility have also gone downhill. We have mentioned several things several time but have seen no changes in our case. Not impressed so far

I cannot say enough good things about Bickford of Aurora. I took a tour of this community and fell in love with it. It was new, and I really liked the layout of the community. I liked that the residents have the freedom to come and go as they pleased, and that there were a lot of regularly scheduled activities. The residents all seemed very well-kept and happy, and if it hadn't been for the cost, I would have chosen Bickford for my loved one.

We took a tour at Bickford of St. Charles, and while I thought the community was nice, it was not suitable for us because of the many stairs they had throughout the community. We decided to go with a facility that would be a better fit for us.

Was a resident of Bickford since [Removed]. Contract started two weeks prior so that move in could be completed. The cost of Bickford was almost $2,000 more than a solid rated competitor, but the facility was newer and my family had higher expectations, since less residence numbers and supposedly more “one on one care”. Promises began early, but then it was quickly apparent that the staff was not organized and were not manage well. Many complaints were made in various areas, by various residents, including myself, yet changes were not made and the same excuse of “will look into it” was given. Little was ever changed. The staff lost my original contract and my family had to sign off on a replacement. The move in was hindered greatly since the staff could not disable the backdoor alarm and every 15 seconds the alarm went off, unless the door was closed. To be fair, the actual nursing staff all did a great job, except for the medication ordering as will be discussed below. This comment does not include the CNA’s,. The facility had a great deal of turnover in CNA’s and people were always “in training and were unaware of what to do”, which negatively affected care ion some areas. They did, and still do have some very good people, but some “poorly skilled lazy people as well who are not weeded out or managed properly”. The facility went many months without a maintenance person and many things were not done during this period. The activities coordinator tried very hard to keep things lively and entertaining. She had various things to do each day, which the residents really like. She was always pleasant and did a great job managing all the personalities. Specifically, for myself, the staff was to assist with showers, making bed, house-keeping, laundry services, medication management, transport in wheel chair to and from the dining area and to and from activities. What we found was as follows: The bed frequently went unmade or was haphazardly made. I had to take that task on myself. Staff came by infrequently to ask about showering and finally I had to also do all that on my own as well. The laundry was sometimes lost or misplaced. One time a comforter was returned wet and the person just put it on my bed. Hard to imagine why anyone would do that. The facility always seemed understaffed and it took long periods to move people who needed help getting from place to place. The facility was also about three months without a housekeeper and many times the rooms went uncleaned during this period. It got so bad that the director actually started to clean rooms herself after all of the complaints. My family also had to clean my room as well even though that is a paid part of the contract. The medications were quite a challenge for Bickford to transition over and the dispensing had to be taken back by my family to manage on daily basis. Bickford was left with doing the ordering, but on multiple occasions either it was not ordered timely or the pharmacy did not deliver timely. There were shortages of medication on three specific occasions. On the last one, my family had to pick me up and take me to the emergency room as my blood pressure shot up to over 165 and I was visibly shaking severely. The most horrific part of Bickford Tinley park is the kitchen staff. Many complaints from many residents have been made on this aspect, yet nothing seems to improve. Finally, the Heath department was called and the facility cited for delinquencies. Those delinquencies however do not cover the poor quality of what is being served. The dishes are not washed properly and the residence had to rewash to use. Many time’s in the morning the utensil setups are not dispensed and residents wait so they can eat. Some servers stand around and do little while the residents are left to fend for themselves without even getting coffee. On more than one occasion, the servers were observed brushing out their hair in the kitchen. All these examples show a lack of training. There have been many poorly made meals. Lots of examples of undercooked or overcooked items being served. One example, soup was made with clear water and some undercooked potato’s and no broth to speak of. On other occasions, the food was raw inside as if it did not defrost before cooking. Many meals go un eaten due to being improperly cooked and there is a great deal of waste. The residents cannot cut through some of the meat to eat it. All of this was passed on to the cooks and then to management. The cooks, really do not know how to actually cook food and simply claim “they follow the recipe from corporate”. If food is sent back due to being undercooked or overcooked, nothing is re made or served to the resident. At dinner, the cooks, leave right at 5:15. Sometimes they do not make enough portions to feed the approximately 45 residents and some people had to eat just a roll with butter for dinner. On a number of different evenings, pans of vegetables and other items sat out after the cooks left. When staff was questioned, we were told that it was left out for the staff, however it was observed being out for hours without refrigeration and not touched. The floors in the dining area were not cleaned daily and many food particles were found under tables. The tables and chairs also do not appear to be cleaned very well even when cleaned. The staff allowed animals in the dining area. These pets do not fall under the companion dog certification and one in particular has open skin sores on its body. Another health code violation. This same dog actually wipes it butt on the couch, chairs, and carpeting in the living area. CNA’s seemed to have access to resident personal information. More than one CNA, who are no longer there, mentioned my financial information as far as what is in the contract paperwork. Personal financial information should not be allowed in the hands of low level staff members. The last incident at the facility was when another resident struck me in the shoulder. This occurred in front of the new director, who took no action and claimed it did not occur, even though it was right in front of her. She also did not even write the incident in the log book. One of the nurses did follow up afterwards and logged the incident. My family had tried to be patient on many of these items, but finally it was evident that things were not improving at all. The family provided Bickford with its 30-day notice and moved her out that same day.

My wife has recently made the move into this community but is currently in the hospital due to health reasons for a short period of time. I am a little disappointed in the staff right now as it is impossible for me to communicate with them. Every day when I call I seem to get the run around and passed around instead of the answers that I need for my wife to return.

Most hot meal items are not served hot, sometimes warm and like today, meat pattie cold and did not have gravy and mushrooms as on menu. Reported a roach in the apt when I first came to see my apt 3 weeks ago. Killed another one today.

This community wasn't a good fit for my father and his needs. I was not happy with the community and the staff here. The building is nice and pretty clean. The staff wasn't very attentive to my father. I feel his level of care was to much for the staff. I would say if your love one needs more care then the average senior, this would not be a good fit for them.

I hesitated writing a review too soon-but my Mom has been there more than 5 weeks. What appealed to us was the size and atmosphere of the facility. Mom's room is lovely- great bathroom facilities. The front office staff has been very responsive to various needs. However, we had a major mistake with over-billing for meds. The pharmacy (Valumed) that Bickford contracts with are not responsive to phone calls. Nurse is aware of this as well - said they don't return her calls either. Mom's physical condition has declined - she was transferred from rehab for a broken hip. She is not as mobile as she was when she arrived - she is receiving rehab as an outpatient with an outfit selected by Bickford's nurse. She has lost a lot of her mobility- we are considering other options. The food is marginal - mom is also not eating. We were very optimistic about mom thriving here and now find ourselves looking at other options. We really feel that Sue and Tonya are doing a very good job, the nurse seems disconnected. I know these first few weeks can be very difficult- but as I see my mom decline physically at an assisted living facility - I feel in my heart that Bickford cannot meet our needs.

My mother moved into this community and just loved it, until the ownership changed. The transition has been rough for her with new restrictions and many staff leaving. We are still giving it some time to recover to the happy and resident friendly place that it was for one month after her move.

We toured this community and nothing was very memorable. The staff were not friendly, didn't look up at us while we were walking through. There were no residents out and about which seemed odd for the time of day and considering they were full. I liked the dining room and home-like feel of the community but there was a smell that was displeasing throughout the community. The community and the apartments seemed small and dark overall. I would feel sad leaving my loved one there.

Bickford is attached to an Alzheimer's wing, and so the doors are locked and there was no easy access. I came a little early for my tour, but the doors were locked when I got there, and there was nobody at the desk, I didn't see any staff around. It was very dark inside, dark wood, and hunter green. It was a newer facility, and the apartments were nice, but it wasn't warm and welcoming.

My Grandmother moved back home on December 15, 2013. She did not have a good experience at Bickford. She is independent with her knowledge but needs help physically. They treated her as though she was incompetent. As a retired City Treasurer of Peoria, Illinois she did not take this well. We eventually had to call corporate to get her billing and Long Term Care straightened out and she has been home with home care.

They're severely understaffed, resulting in poor care and living experience.

To start, my brother and I toured the community and were strongly encouraged to sign the lease that same day, even though we explained that we would not be able to move our family member in until several days later. We were told that if we did not sign immediately, the apartment could no longer be guaranteed. We ultimately signed and were given the keys, with the understanding that the apartment was now hers. Since we were moving her from another residence, I brought a few personal belongings into the apartment, including religious items, framed family photographs, and other miscellaneous belongings. When I returned several days later, I discovered that everything I had brought in had been thrown away. Some of the religious items had been left outside the apartment. I was told that the housekeeper believed the belongings had been left behind by a previous resident. However, the apartment had already been prepared for the new resident, including new carpeting and a welcome sign on the door. It was extremely upsetting to find irreplaceable family photographs discarded, particularly photographs that had been part of our family home for many years. I feel those belongings should have been preserved and the family contacted before anything was thrown away. I also installed a camera in the apartment because our family member is a fall risk and we wanted to be able to check on her periodically, as we had done at her previous residence. Before her first night, I specifically requested that someone check on her during the night because she was unfamiliar with her new surroundings and might wake up confused. I was told that wellness checks would be conducted regularly throughout the night. I also completed a detailed care plan outlining the assistance she needed, including help with her hearing aids, dentures, and other personal-care needs. Based on what I observed through the camera, however, I did not see anyone enter the apartment during the night after she went to sleep. Her hearing aids and dentures were not removed, and she remained in her recliner rather than being assisted into bed. The following morning, breakfast was left for her and staff left the room. Later, a medication staff member came in to administer her medication. She asked for assistance getting washed up and was told someone would come help her. Several hours later, another staff member brought her lunch. She again asked for assistance getting washed up but was told someone would return later. Eventually, I went to the community myself because I was concerned. When I asked about the overnight checks, I was told that they had been completed. I explained that I had a camera facing the apartment entrance and had not observed anyone entering. When I asked why her hearing aids and dentures had not been addressed, I was told staff were unaware that she used them, despite that information being included in the care plan. When I questioned why she had remained in the recliner throughout the morning and had not received assistance with getting up and getting washed, I was told that several employees had called off and the community was short-staffed. All of this occurred within her first day at the community. I found the situation extremely concerning, particularly because she was a brand-new resident and we had provided detailed information regarding her needs. I was subsequently told that cameras were not permitted in the apartment and that I needed to remove it. I was also told that if I was unhappy with the community's policies, arrangements could be made to transfer her elsewhere. I found that response very upsetting, especially given the concerns I had already raised about her care. Another ongoing concern has been the cleanliness of her apartment. I have repeatedly asked whether the room could be cleaned or vacuumed and was told there had been a misunderstanding regarding whether housekeeping was permitted to enter. Regardless of the misunderstanding, I do not believe a resident's apartment should go without cleaning because of an internal communication issue. Overall, our experience has been extremely disappointing. The way her belongings were handled, the lack of communication regarding her care needs, the concerns surrounding overnight monitoring and personal care, staffing issues, and the ongoing housekeeping concerns have all contributed to a significant loss of confidence. Based on our experience, I would not recommend this community to other families.

I really think this place is more worried than filling rooms than the care of the residents, the majority of the residents need nursing home care and don't receive that because the staff was hired as assisted living CNAs, they don't know how to care for the more advanced residents with mobility problems or incontinence problems. My family member that lives there is always having problems with care. I don't have the authority to remove her other wise she would be gone. I am going to report them to the right authorities to help this situation. If your family member needs advanced care, please avoid this place.

The NP is great he really cares. Some aids are great. Some are not. Food good. Can't get anyone to give showers. Rooms are not being cleaned. Bathrooms filthy. Clothes and towels disappear. Had to buy all new towels. Clothes. Sheets not being changed. One aid had real long nails. Takes sometimes over half hour to respond to call button. I don't like writing this because some aides are great. But some aides need supervision and training.