Merrill Gardens

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.

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.

Activities ...basic...they hold them weekly. Will celebrate holidays or special events. Usually involves snacks ànd or music. They could do more to encourage resident participation Food... the food is great but they need more servers. It takes awhile for people to be served and food can be cold. Staff..front office, maintenance reception desk are great. Pt and ot are very good. Nurses are good but overworked and pulled in many directions. Med techs are mostly good but there are a few who are not very friendly. The care givers are hit or miss. A few are super great but most are average below ave. They seem to just do what they have to ...if that and are very slow...take there time. They can be hard to understand Cleanliness màin building is very clean ...there is urine smell in residence hallways sometimes...but it is taken care of pretty quickly. The cleaner who does the rooms is thorough and friendly. Maintenance man is superb! Room size is fine...just wish it was more of a square or rectangle hard to furnish on all the angles or closets in middle of the room

Apartment size is small, 1 bedroom 648 sq ft. EXPENSIVE, $[removed]per mo. Parking is EXPENSIVE $[removed]per month. Food is erratic, and not so good. Kitchen is a mess. Inconsistent, and erratic. I'm considering moving out due to the food situation. Housekeeping staff are pleasant and adequate. Rating is because food is so important.

We are mostly disappointed that they had a Medicaid bed available when we arrived, and have now changed their policy to no Medicaid beds. Because of this change, we once again need to move my parents. The room size seems larger than most facilities, which is a positive. The staff is wonderful overall, with the exception of the director, [name removed]. There has also been a lot of turnover with the chef, so the food is sometimes good and other times not so good. Overall, we are disappointed that the change in Medicaid policy means we have to move my parents again.

Although the staff is very nice to deal with, my mother-in-law had four assessments since [date removed] to get it right! Lots of inconsistencies and errors in the assessment. Paid more than I had to the first month [Amount removed] which they never credited for our care level, went from a 5 to 3 then back to 4. They ordered medication when they didn't need to which resulted in insurance not paying because it was ordered to early. The staff seems to call in sick frequently, so all staff on hand at meal time. We are actually contemplating moving her to another facility

The caregivers are really nice. But every time we went to see our mom, her room was dirty. Her bed was dirty. Her level of care was changed and therefore her cost to live there went up. Nothing was explained to us that she was going to be charged an astronomical amount to stay there. Where we could have found somewhere else for her to go before she got too far in debt. Now they are going to put a lien on her home til everything is paid in full. My advice. Don't get caught up in something that you may not be able to afford. I told them to begin with what she could afford. We were guaranteed it would never go over that amount. It actually tripled. And now she may lose everything.

Overall the common area was always clean. There was always some staff turnover which is common in such facilities. The staff seemed courteous enough but I didnt see much interaction between the staff and residents. There were a few items sitting on tables for residents to do - puzzles, color sheets, baby laundry to fold , games but unless staff tried to engage the residents they weren't interested in participating . On occasion there was live music which put many smiles on the faces of all who were in attendance , some hand clapping and toe tapping. Mom had a studio apt which housed a double bed , dresser, night stand , tv and recliner. The closets were built in. There was a private full bathroom. This room provided ample space for my mother Mom had monthly visits with the staff doctor but I was never informed about them nor the results. If I wanted to know info I had to find the proper person to ask or sign up for a portal. Additional services were available such as hair and nails. Mom did get a haircut one time. I had asked for her to be put on a regular schedule but that fell through the cracks as the person I asked was let go. Unfortunately , mom suffered a fall getting out of bed. The staff found her on the floor early that am and I received a call directly after them finding her and calling paramedics. I met them at the hospital. Their emergency protocol was by the book in that I was alerted anytime mom had a mishap, large or small. As for the assisted living facility my assessment would be a lot less kind than the memory care facility.

I like that it's small and caregiver to patient ratio is the best I found. Given that, I would expect way more activities, and attentiveness to him. The care staff is not adequately trained, even the new director has admitted this and is working on turning it around. However the facility has raised our rate over [Amount removed] a month in less than a year and the care is not even meeting our expectations of what communicated to us going in. I do like that there are other more highly functioning dimentia patients there like my dad. One more thing, they fees them too much, not only have I seen my relative gain 14lbs in 5 months but also other residents have clearly gained weight. We are definitely considering moving him later this summer. Weighing the pros and cons.

The girl giving the tour hadn’t been there long and couldn’t answer many of our questions. Was ok, since we are still very early in the looking process. We did find a unit that would great for parents and Tyler has been able to answer all our questions.

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