Merrill Gardens

I have found the lady in charge of the caregivers to be vey responsive when I have gone to her with any issues she immediately addresses it. One of the things that I think we feel a little frustrated about is that a lot of the caregivers do not speak very good English so it is hard to communicate. I wish that the caregivers would interact with my mother a little bit more and get to know her. I do think that they could offer more activities, my mother loves to play scrabble. They did promise more than they have delivered so far. This is the 3rd facility she has been since October and so far I am much happier with Truewood by Merrill. I would recommend them to others looking.

Our loved one is happy with Truewood by Merrill, it is affordable to her. We do think for everything they offer the value is excellent. Our loved one does enjoy the activities going on - the level of activities is good for her. She enjoys paying card games and socializing with the other residents during meal times. Sometimes our loved one says the meal portions are just to big. Based on the experience we have had so far with this community we would recommend them to other families.

Overall our families experience has been good with a few minor issues here and there. They do keep the community very clean, they wash their linens and clothing on a regular basis and help keep their rooms clean. Our loved one does say the meals are good. They do have a lot of in house activities within the memory care unit - the activities director always has different things going on for them.

Merrill Gardens is a very nice and new facility. The only reason we did not go with them was because the eating area was on the basement level of the facility. My loved one has mobility issues which would have made that a real challenge for him to use the stairs or elevator each day to go and eat.

This was a good community. They had large kitchens in the apartments but the living areas were smaller. The common areas were very nice and so with the dining room. It felt like a hotel.

This was a good community. They wanted too much for the medication management care and it was more than anticipated.

Truewood by Merrill is a nice place to put your loved one, it’s a really nice place to start. The cleanliness of the community and the friendliness really stand out to me, most of the people are nice. My sister's room is nice, but I wish it were a little bit larger. I believe the turnover and staffing retention has been affecting the quality of the food. The only complaint I have is that they only have one maintenance guy for the entire building. They want the residents to be able to wash their own clothes, but there are limited washers and dryers that are actually working. I’ve spoken to a few of the residents, and from what they’ve said, those appliances haven’t been working for a while. How do they expect an entire floor of people to wash their clothes with non working appliances? I’ve been having to take my sister's clothes home and wash them for her. The cleanliness of the appliances is poor as well. There’s supposed to be someone there who maintains the cleanliness of the community. It doesn’t seem like they’re holding that person accountable, because the washers and dryers are filthy. There’s built up dirt and lint, which usually occurs after it's been used for so long with no cleaning. Truewood offers transportation to appointments and stores, but my sister hasn’t used that service yet. There’s been talk of them charging an additional fee, but I’m unsure of if or when that will take place. They have outings for the residents and a variety of activities. My sister really enjoys bingo and other games in the activity room. Overall, I would recommend Truewood to others.

The ground floor has been remodeled and has a fresh look. The top floor has not been remodeled and because of that it does not look as clean or fresh as the ground floor. I am not using the care services at this time but the people that are there always speak and talk no matter if they work for you or not. There was a change of ownership right before we moved in and the staff think that there is a plan to redo the top floor also. The top floor does need to be done and the dining room could use it also. The location is great and has a very rural beautiful setting and the convenience to shopping is only about five minutes away which makes it easier for the residents. The general manager is really great with her team, she runs a tight ship and is great with what she does, the sales manager and the daily care staff, and maintenance it wonderful also and have all been there for us promptly.

I liked the community but with the family decision we were swayed to another direction with another community. This was my top choice and they seemed to be very involved at this community. However, the community was bigger and two stories and I was not sure how my loved one would have handled this with having to use a walker.

I really liked Truewood by Merrill, it was my second choice. They gave a great tour and the staff were friendly. I also liked the size of the rooms in memory care and it was less expensive than some others we looked into. The down-side for us was that it had assisted living AND memory care and we wanted a place that specialized in only memory care. The location also took a long time for us to get to.

My overall experience with my loved one being here was a good one. I feel like my loved one got really good care. He was in the memory care unit and it was not the same socialization as everywhere else in the community but the people still looked pleasant and it seemed to be a nice atmosphere. It is a great place that I have recommended to a few people. This is a great value and a good location for the community to be with a lot of restaurants and more around for the residents to do.

We really liked the community; however, the room was smaller than we wanted. They also didn't have activities to assist the memory care residents.

Our experience so far has been excellent

It's a nice and it's clean and safe. The meals have a variety of foods. They offer some activities but they are all sedentary. The exercise class is offered at 10 am once a day.

We would recommend this community to other families

Mistywood has been great so far. There have been a few issues at the moment with the change of ownership, including the food. My loved one tell me often how much the food quality has gone down. But the place itself is great. The people are terrific. And overall she's happy there.

Merrill Gardens is very short staffed and they make excuses that they're short staffed. we're paying full price, so unless they'd like to discount us for the lack of staff, they shouldn't make excuses. the cleaning wasn't done correctly in my loved ones room. it's still a good place with good residents. it's a good place for my mom. we're happy she's there, but every place needs improvement.

It is a lovely place, and it's well run. Aesthetically it's very pretty to look at. Everything is updated and looks news. The staff is very caring and involved. There could always be more attention paid to the residents, particularly those with more needs. My biggest thing looking back is if I could do it again, I would look for a place that accepts Medicaid so I wouldn't have to move my loved one eventually. She has experienced both assisted living and memory care, and there are a couple of differences. The food in assisted living is like a restaurant with different choices offered, and in memory care they don't offer choices. Activities are different as well. They were great in assisted living and are fewer in memory care. But overall we like it. There's a great community atmosphere.

We went with Truewood by Merrill because of the pricing and the individual care in sense of community. The quality of the food is good and she really likes it, however my family member has a restricted sodium diet and sometimes there is more salt in the food than there should be. The activities are great but my family member has vision problems so that is not a lot that is engaging for her. A lot of the staff members have been here a long time and that really makes an impact. I would recommend them to others looking.