Merrill Gardens

Our friend Frances Hammerlund has been deaf since the age of 6. She reads lips, speaks (but is difficult to understand) and is now 92 years old. Up until about 6 months ago she lived by herself in an apartment in Hollister, CA. We met Frances about 12 years ago as we all went to the same Lutheran Church. We became friends with her, being drawn to her wonderful smile and christian positive attitude. After her brother died we became more involved with her as her only close by relative is a sister-in-law who is 83 and not able to drive. We started a few years back taking her to Fremont to a Lutheran Church for the deaf and became friends with the pastor and his wife who also visit Frances on a regular basis (about once a month or every other month). We realized after a fall and later trouble walking that it was not safe for her to live alone so we contacted A place for Mom and started checking out facilities that would be safe for her to live in. We (along with her sister-in-law and Pastor) decided Village Green would be a great place. So we moved her in on Sept. 26, 2013. She has been very pleased and even discovered that two of the waitresses in the restaurant do sign language. We are very happy with Village Green and enjoy visiting there and seeing Frances so content.

It's nice! I went to the open house. It's obviously very expensive. It was so new. It had just opened a couple of months ago. The only impression I got was that it's a very nice place but you have to have some money to live there.

It's very clean and the staff is very friendly. I think you probably get as much or more value there for your dollar. There are a lot of amenities and little things that they do that you might not find other places. It's expensive, but not any more than other places. They have things like cloth napkins on the table and a dining room where you can eat at any time. They do a lot with entertainment. The keeping you busy with happy hours and shows of different kinds. They do a nice job. They've had recently, a change of management and there was a gap there were you had temporaries filling in and people doing two jobs. The management seems to be good now but there was a period of time there where it was uncertain. It's better now.

We liked the public rooms and quiet spaces. Two friends of friends (who are residents) had lunch with us but we could not hear them because of the overwhelming noise in the dining room. We were not shown an apartment because they are all occupied. The rooftop terrace and garden is very appealing.

We came in at the transition so it was a learning curve for everyone. We had some questions about what is required for the resident versus what is provided by the facility. The staff is very helpful and I am really happy with the memory care with [name removed] and [name removed] and their staff. [name removed] is fantastic. [name removed] was easy to deal with and was responsive to any concerns. The receptionist staff is always friendly and accommodating. I would definitely recommend the memory care. The assisted living is more suggestive than actual assistance. The community seems to be a nice group. I think both parents had their ups and downs. I would also like to say that having [name removed] and [name removed] as add-ons is a definite advantage

Staff is very friendly and helpful Many activities for everyone. Food is pretty good. Cleanliness is excellent. 2 bed room is good size. Bedroom could be a tad larger.

Activities are good for the residents....

The first thing we noticed about The Pines of Newmarket was that the residents were out and about the building. In many facilities that we have visited, residents are sitting in their rooms or even have their doors closed. The facility is one floor, which makes moving around easier for our Mum. It was obvious the staff knew all the residents, and the residents knew the staff. You have the option of using the furniture in the room or you are welcome to bring in your own. You may decorate any way you wish, which makes it feel a lot more comfortable.

Our overall impression was the facility is a clean well run operation. The staff is friendly leading residents to daily activities.

On a scale of one to five, I would give Truewood a four only because the food wasn't up to my mother's standards. Otherwise, everything else was great! The main entrance, living area, dining room and other first floor amenities are very nice and appealing. The apartment size was nice with a really large closet and nice views from the windows. My mother especially liked the overhead heater in the bathroom. The rooms were clean and bug free, which was a plus. She was also pleased with her caregivers and felt they were attentive to her needs. Truewood offers a selection of activities and even brings in entertainment from the outside. My mother enjoyed the church services and Bible study while she was there. Overall, Truewood is a nice place to live.

Nice experience - St. Patrick's day event, music, soft drinks, munchies. Most attendees were residents, just a few visitors like myself.

Property is great, and community is wonderful. Their biggest challenge is the efficiency of the dining hall and kitchen operations. They need to reduce the excessively long waiting time for residents to be served their food for all the meals throughout the day.

Very smart, well lit and nicely curated atmosphere throughout the facility. The living areas are smaller than I expected but more than adequate in quality. The people are the greatest asset. The staff in the memory unit are people that anyone who hope to know. Our tour provider was both professional and caring in every way.

The majority of the staff are very nice, of course with a few exceptions. We have found that some of the help is not very friendly, or accommodating. The food so far is ok. Her room was not clean when she arrived and has not been cleaned yet.

Their refund of funds for remaining days left in the month is very poor ( only used 4 days of the month and truewood kept 20% of monthly fee, charging residents for renters insurance is wrong. We would only recommend this community to others if the family is very hands on and vocal for their family members. Garden House has very loving invested care givers. They are about their guests. Management doesn't have the same attitude.

Staff checks regularly on residents; daily activities for participation; a volunteer resident 'buddy' for new residents to show them around facility; in facility coordination of medical care available.

One thing that was very disappointing was no assist with transportation to drs appointments. We looked at another facility that believed did do that. I live in NJ so that has been an issue. My other brother does live in PA so does handle a lot of transportation.

Staff was very helpful. I would recommend

The staff is wonderful admin, kitchen, reception. My dad needs a little help from time to time, and all of them are so helpful. Maintenance takes care of any matters in a timely manner. I don't really have any negative feedback. Not applicable responses are because dad doesn't participate in the activities and being in independent living, there's no care staff.

We thought it was a clean facility with happy residents. It was all on one level but it was about 50 minutes away. We are considering this home for my father-in-law.