Merrill Gardens

Truewood did not work out. My mother fell out of her wheelchair chair and broke her hip. While she was in the hospital, Truewood would not take her back. They seemed very nice, but I don't think they were watching her well enough and that's why she fell. She also fell out of bed a few times.

Merrill Gardens was a horribly run place.

My husband was in memory care for over 2 years. There were some lovely caregivers, and an awesome woman who ran the unit (later fired!) but the corporate culture is awful. There's terrible communication with the manager of the whole facility, and they literally made it so I had to move husband when he was beginning the dying phase, after assuring me that they would continue to care for him. And the reason they gave was nothing that had been mentioned earlier or made sense for standard of care. I cannot recommend this place at all.

At the time I was living there, the manager and assistant manager picked favorites, and if something went wrong, they just said this was independent living. They didn't take responsibility of anything. There were several people with Alzhiemer/dementia and schizophrenia. It was very scary. I promised my son to give it one year. I did and then left. It is full of people in their 90s and only a handful under the age of 70. It should not be listed as Independent Living. Most of the people there should be in memory care or assisted living. It was completely making my life miserable. They're under new management and I'm still in contact with some of the residents. They are still unhappy. Most people are there because the family doesn't want to pay memory care or assisted living prices. The rent goes up 10% every year. Impossible!!

My mother was in the independent living, but was still supposed to check in daily. This was a reassurance to me as I live out of state.i called her daily at the same time. One day she didn’t answer, I wasn’t overly concerned as it took her awhile to get to her phone and I presumed she had checked in, on the second day she didn’t answer I was extremely worried. I called the front desk and asked if they had heard from my Mother, and please go check. The next thing a paramedic called and said she was unresponsive on the floor with a broken hip. After I had calmed down and she was taken to ICU I called to speak to the manager who admitted they hadn’t heard from her in two days and they were so sorry. They had a new desk clerk who neglected to do what she was supposed to. My mother laid on the floor for 2 days. Anyway my mother never fully recovered from this ordeal, ended up having to go to and passed away .very disappointed with this . My mother did like the food though

Unless you have unlimited resources, they present a nice shiny picture when you go in however, after your loved member is there they don’t do what they say they’re going to do and they double the bill and then claim it’s correct and don’t even explain themselves they just say pay it This has been a horrible seven months. since my mother arrived there she has been hospitalized no less than seven times. Meanwhile, she had not been hospitalized even once in the prior two years, my sister and myself who were the local family members assisting, have been severely adversely affected physically and financially, by this, and I myself at the moment and sitting in ICU, and just received a bill for $[removed] monthly rent instead of the [removed] without prior notice , so there you go unless you have unlimited resources and want to get ripped off don’t go to Merrill Gardens

I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. I was the POA of the person who stayed there. He had a stroke They never contacted me. I got contacted by the hospital very [removed]. He ended up dying in the hospital. I probably should have got a lawyer to deal with this, but it was too hard on me.

I recently picked my mother up from where she lives at Merrille Gardens to stay at my home out of state. I was told they did not have enough of her meds on hand to last until I brought her back and would overnight them to me. They did not arrive and I’ve called this facility for over 6 hours straight, no one answers, goes to voicemail. I’ve left 3 voicemails now and still heard from no one. My mother has serious medical conditions and cannot live without her meds. Unbelievable this is the type service or lack thereof! Can’t imagine the residents are getting the type care they need if there’s no one even there to answer or return calls!!

What we think Merrill Gardens at Sheldon Park could improve on to better the experience would be to accept none bubble wrap OTC meds, from family , evaluation needs improved,

I regret to say that my experience with was deeply disappointing. My father's time there was marked by multiple oversights, lack of attention to his needs, and an overall absence of empathy from the staff. On numerous occasions, I found his basic necessities ignored, leading to discomfort and distress. It's a heart-wrenching feeling to entrust a loved one to professionals, only to feel they aren’t receiving the care they deserve. I sincerely hope other families have better experiences, but based on ours, I cannot recommend.

Don't commit to this company. I can write more later, but despite caring employees (who often don't stay) this is a really incompetent, dysfunctional company. You can't trust them with your vulnerable loved ones.

Some staff are great but constantly say we don't have time for you. We found our Mother laying down unable to move or even reach her water. After we came in and started feeding her and giving her water she got better. They said we don't feed the residents. We understand that but they knew she hadn't eaten for 3 days and didn't notify any family members that she couldn't feed herself. they bullied and intimidated a 91 year old lady then lied to the manager about when we reported them. The only thing they care about is the $ [removed]per month that they get. Most of the food sucks, looks like road kill with gravy on it. Will be filing a complaint with the state DOH

My mother’s diamond ring was “misplaced” from her right finger. She is in memory care, has had a stroke, and doesn’t talk or walk anymore. Her rings were very tight on her fingers. After this ring went missing, my dad had to take her wedding ring off for fear of it also being “misplaced.” He and one of the caregivers had difficulty removing her wedding ring. The response from the facility was, “Things happen.” I’m disappointed for my family that this heirloom is gone.

This may be a decent place for Independent Living but is a horrible place for Assisted Living. [name removed]and [name removed] are gems and are the only two good staff besides the people who work in the dining room. Management is horrible and so are the med techs! RUN and do not come to this place.

My mom is a current resident in assisted living at Merrill Gardens. She went through covid and they left her in her room and the nurse barely helped her with anything. Now she is suffering from the stomach flu or possibly food poisoning. No one will help her. The front desk won't answer. We had to call the ambulance ourselves. This is not a good place for my mom. They can not be trusted to take care of when needed. Isn't that the point of assisted living?

Sunshine Villa was an absolute disaster. I would never send even my dog to their memory care unit. The upstairs part looked fine. But their memory care unit was unacceptable. It looked and felt like a morgue.

It was a clean facility. My loved one needed memory care, and advertised that they took care of dementia patients. My loved one was there a short period of time. They did not give them showers, do laundry or did not know how to handle my loved one. They were not giving them their medication as needed and on time. I picked this place becasue it was a smaller community. It was very expensive. It was a negative experience. The staff was not accomodating.

The food was terrible. The staff was not very good. The food is not good. The cleanliness is not good. The invoices is different every month. Overall, everything needs to improve.

I have been to the Pines in Newmarket several times. Mostly, I smelled urine throughout the halls and filthy hall bathrooms. It made me gag and I had to hold my breath. Another time, I sat in on a get-together with the elders and sat next to someone with memory issues. She was a true delight and reached out to hold my hand. I looked down at her hands and noticed black dirt under her nails. I asked her what had happened to her fingernails. She said, "my bum itches, and I have to scratch ." I went to the office and reported it to the woman there. She did come and took her away. Another time I was invited to have lunch with the elders. We were told it would be free. We were served spaghetti and sauce. My plate had at least an inch of water under the spaghetti and it was served cool. For dessert, we had ice cream. The ice cream was served with freezer burn over the top. The "chef" came running out and said we had to pay $20. I said we were told it was free. He said, nope. Never again.

This is not a good place for memory care. The staff is not equipped nor inclined to enrich the lives of residents. It works for those residents who are not able to participate. It doesn't really work for those residents who are mobile. The community is also not equipped to deal with negative behaviors associated with memory care.