Merrill Gardens

My favorite thing about my tour of this community was that it was very modern and bright. They however where very expensive and was the most pricey out of all the different tours I had taken for my mother. I just did not see the value of the money in the facility.

The staff we met during our tour were lovely. We like this community, however they would have wanted mom to be in the memory care unit and she was not ready for this move. The community seemed clean. We did not like the layout of the room we were shown. They had a more restrictive food plan compared to the community we chose which has a more open dining policy.

The staff at this community have been wonderful, they took really good care of my loved my one during her stay at this place. She was only there for a short time because she needed more care then what they had to offer but overall I have no complaints and would recommend it.

This community severed its purpose to us and it was an okay experience in the time my friend did stay here. The community is very nice and looks good. The staff was helpful and nice to her. She didn't really get out much to social. They do offer good activities for residents and the food is pretty good. There isn't anything special about this, but it is okay so I would recommend it.

I thought the staff are very friendly and professional

My mom has lived there for 6 weeks.There are many positives about Sheldon Park, but two big negatives are the mediocre food, poor dining room service and the inconsistent quality of the medical care. Some med aides are really on top of it, but others have forgotten to give her the right med or have walked into the wrong apartment and offered her someone else's med! That's a serious problem, as it could affect someone's health and/or safety.

Chose this place because of the activities they offer for memory loss patients. I find my mom a lot of times not doing the activities, she's in her room for hours. I liked the idea of the Bridges Program which is for memory loss which needs improvement.

The Residence at Glen Riddle is a good place. There are a lot of good things about it however there are some down sides. The person that is in there is outgoing and social person under regular circumstances. They put him in memory care because they felt he needed it. He is so in between categories that it is difficult. He has become slow in walking but he is mobile with his walker. He is just so really borderline. The director is wonderful at that place. She goes about and looks in on the residents. A lot of the personnel are very good too. The staff has been wonderful about working with me. I think they do a good job. Almost any time I have mentioned anything that needs correcting they are right on it.

This was one of the places we considered when we were looking for options. It was more expensive and didn't offer as many things, so the value wasn't there for us. It was newer and they have some great technology. I liked it and it was closer to us so it would have been very convenient. They didn't seem to have anything going on, we called it sleepy town.

We moved my 90 year old mother in law to Merrill Gardens in August 2014. It's a lovely place. Lots of activities. They do pay attention if people do not show up. The food and food service staff is excellent as is the resident handyman. Early steps of moving in were smooth and supported by staff. There appears to be problems at the management level. Whoever is on main front desk person needs to be better trained to be more helpful and informed. The fact the paid for TV service went out in August and three weeks later is still out, with continually changing timelines for restoration and no explanation for what is happening is frustrating at best. Points to a lack of foresight /organizational planning at higher levels and suggests a lack of concern for resident's experience as a prime priority. I have had family in other similar facilities in the area as well as out of state. Merrill Gardens would still be my first choice. This is clearly a bottom line focused business first and senior residence second: occasional cracks in the facade of outstanding service can be seen. I worry about the future of the place, as I have seen a constant flow of managers in all previous places we have experience with. On balance, many in house staff do go the extra mile to make sure residents are respected and treated with kindness and personal attention. It always helps to have an outside family member paying attention and keeping track of things.

This is a great place if you can afford it-however, during the first month, there was a tremendous amount of staff changes. The food was excellent when we went to look at the Bedford, but they are now on their 3rd chef and the quality of food has gone WAY down. Also, my mother was NOT given her tour of the place after she moved in, her name tag and also STILL does not have a key that works her patio door! She moved in 6/21/14! Seems a little long to wait considering the price they charge!

I stayed here a year and returned to my home. It was a good place to stay but with every year 5% rent increases it gets expensive. I wanted to get a bigger place as all I had was a single room but the prices quoted were terrible and the rooms didn't have any more sq. footage than what I had. Food was good, activities were enough, and the servers were courteous w/ housecleaning done efficiently. A good place to stay if you can afford it.

The staff at Merrill Gardens in Willow Glen are extremely helpful and cooperative. The facility is clean and well maintained. The menu in the dining room varies but is limited. The lunch and dinner menus are the same, but sandwiches, hamburger and hot dogs are always available. Some items are quite tasty and high quality, but overall the quality varies from mediocre to good. Little attention is given to the presentation of the food, which makes it less appetizing. There are activities and entertainment, but there is little to do in the evenings.

Only concern is disorganized nursing services.

Overall the staff is very focused on making the residents feel welcomed and cared for. Horoko, the fitness instructor and Charlie, the event coordinator, are both exceptional!! However, the Maintenance dept is inept as it takes forever to get ANYTHING done. Even the smallest of tasks take forever! Whoever runs it should be replaced by someone who actually knows how to run a maintenance dept.

Competent, talented, caring staff. Good day trips, pretty good food. I wouldn't recommend. We left, as had others, and some staff. Merrill (owners) made sudden changes that affected staff and residents 1. Fired sales manager [Name Removed] without any notice 2. Overnight removed all tables for 2 in dining room, replaced with 4 seaters 3. Elevator on one side of building broke and down for days. Wheel chair and walker users were stuck upstairs 4. Dug up the inside courtyard, and left a dirt mountain in its place. Don't know if it's still there

The people living there are the some of the most caring and supportive That's what keeps us there. The administration needs some guidance. I would recommend Merrill Gardens at Columbia. They are trying to fix the food issues. But most people don't care they get three meals a day and that's important. My mom arrived at 95lbs. She is up to 115. That's great my mom looks forward to eating which is really about socializing. I've learned so much through this experience. The wide range of people there from independent living to assisted livings keeps the less active younger.

Be sure to check in on your family member to make sure they're okay. I'm very disappointed. I was hopeful that things would get better. I was not planning to have to move again but will have to. I don't hold it against you, just my circumstances.

Make sure you know the limits of what the caregiver can do and other rules that might come up during their care. Some you might not expect to happen and when it does the solution is problematic

You do not get the services you are paying for . They assign levels of care and charge a lot of money for them and your loved one does not receive the service’s . The rooms ( some of them ) do not get cleaned thoroughly , depending on who’s assigned to them. Meds assistance , random times the meds are given . Sometimes at 7:00 am , then the next day you need to track down the med cart in the hallway at 11:00 am! Shower assistance, they stand by and watch , that’s it . Random charges to your credit card, or bank account . Check it every month . Stomach virus going around the facility and family members not told , you show up to visit only to find out from your loved one that there is a contagious virus going around , and they had to ask if there was a virus going around !!!! I’m sure there is more I could write . The only thing is that they are all like this and worse . The care industry is broken , the people who care for our elderly do not care !!!