Novellus Living

I've had my family member there for a while now, mind you my family member has gone to two different assisted living/memory cares before Barton House. Barton House is like a group home on steroids, in the best way possible. The rooms are spacious enough for wheelchair and Walker bound residence; and their private! Which we all love, so we can have our own little party. The staff is so knowledgeable and caring that before we can even ask for something, they already know what to do or go get. All of them are trained extensively to handle any mental disorder, especially Alzheimer's and Dementia(our uncle is independent and is there for assisted living). We love the activities that they do for the residence(yes we play too), because they don't just tailor it to one person, they have multiple activities that are tailored to everyone. They do a lot of stuff for the veterans and they bring in a lot of different outside resources on top of what they already do within the walls of Barton House. Chaparral High School is right next door and that high school has a Barton House Club, which comes over and brightens everyones day. The only thing I regret is not finding this place sooner, it's like a home just a really big one. It's not institutional, and it just seems to be more fitting for someone that doesn't want the biggest and the baddest. It's still a big place and beautiful, but it's homie. It's warm...it's inviting! You get home cooked meals(which is rare now a days in a lot of bigger places) You can't beat that. The caregivers to resident ratio is amazing, that was one of the deciding factors for us! Affordable, and we can trust them knowing that uncle is getting the attention that he needs to keep social and active mentally and physically. Every time we go in, no matter if it's late at night or midday; he's always happy and there's always something going on! A+++

Friendly, there to help, with SMILE. Care givers help brighten the mood for new residents. First impression-- --CLEAN. Everyone considerate of resident needs. Thank you all.

The staff here are very caring and very responsive. My grandmother can be picky but they never fail to accommodate her desires with a smile. Very happy with this facility's level of care and respect for the residents.

It cost less then the other places we been to. It is bright and clean. The staff is real good to her. Over all it is a good place. Don't know about the activities she only been there three months.

They have really been very good with my mother, and very patient with her. She has fallen several times, and I always get a prompt phone call letting me know so I can go in and check on her. So far I have no complaints. The only thing that could be better is if they had more activities. It would be good if they had a table set up to do jigsaw puzzles and a few other things. They do play cards and bingo, but that is about it.

We found Atria looking for an appropriate placement for our mother who is experiencing issues related to dementia. One of our greatest concerns was her safety and her inability to consistently eat and take her medications. She was also sleeping most of the time. The staff at Atria seem to share the same concerns we have and are working to get her involved in activities and they provide her food and medication. Sleeping is still an issue but it is improving and we are hoping that with the staff's help - she will keep improving.

Mom really seems to enjoy it here, and has perked up a lot since moving here! It's a very nice looking smaller community, and the staff have all been very friendly and caring. If Mom were a bit younger we might have gone with a larger community that would have a larger variety of activities going on, but this place is just the right size. They could do a bit better with the activities here, Mom has poor eyesight which really limits the number of activities she is able to participate in.

Novellus is an older facility but it is clean and they are planning some upgrades. My mother doesn't care for the food but we keep a stocked refrigerator in her; each room is spacious. The activity staff is great.

Novellus has improved things since the buyout. There are not a lot of activities for more active residents. Most events occur in the morning, my brother is not a morning person! This is our families experience, we would absolutely recommend Novellus Clairemont. They have done many improvements and new staff is excellent.

So far my experience with Orangeburg has really been great. The people working there are friendly, helpful and really in tune with the patients. I’ve spent a lot of time there these first few months and love my husband being there. The activities they provide are fun and they are great at getting everyone involved. I like the way it is setup with the day room and dinning. Also the big patio with lots of room for walking. I would highly recommended this facility.

My mom was here when it was still Brookdale. Staff was friendly and helpful. When someone first enters it would be nice if they had more "greeters" to make that transition easier. My mom was not able to get up on her own so having someone check on her would have been helpful. They were suppose to be checking but maybe documentation by the door would help for accountability. Overall staff was very kind.

We moved my sister in in February. I received notice today that her both her rent and her Level of Care monthly charges are going up by almost [amount removed] on 7/1! I'm in shock! This is an older facility that needs improvements made to the building like new flooring, new paint and fixtures in the common areas. And they desperately need more parking and a NEW "drop off, pick up" area. The location is on a very busy street with a very unsafe and unfriendly "drop off, pick up" area. I would tell other people that the A PLACE FOR MOM option of selecting a facility for a loved one was a lifesaver for my family as we had a very short fuse to select a facility and get my sister moved in ASAP. It is a mind boggling experience that I do not wish on anybody. But the reality is that the majority of us will be faced with the need for some level of care either at home, in an assisted living facility or in a nursing home. They had the space available at a price that we could possibly afford with the services that my sister needed ASAP. Overall, being into this journey for 3 months, there have been more PROS than CONS with this facility. Honestly, I'm still learning as I go at this time and I'm just trying to keep our heads above water emotionally and financially. One key of many keys to success is for the loved ones of the patient to stay VERY INVOLVED with the care of your loved one to monitor the ongoing quality of the care provided and the cost of the care provided.

a good place to live

We moved my mom & dad from Fountainwood into Novellus in late August. I immediately new this was a good move for them. The facility truly feels like a home and my parents really enjoyed the “upgrade” in the quality of the food. They’ve made friends they enjoy, and even though dad struggles with dementia, they enjoy meals with their resident friends. The level of care has been great. We’re very pleased to have them living at Novellus.

Mom has lived at Novellus Kingwood for 2 years. The Care Givers and Med Techs are great. There are always numerous activities to partake in. When Novellus bought the property last year, they promised many upgrades and refurbishment, but there has been little or no progress so far.

We picked this community, because it was proximity to my home also it was a smaller facility and felt more comfortable to my mother. I would recommend to others.

I am a resident here at Brookdale Clairemont for almost 2 years. There’s neat things to do thanks to the activity manager. I really like the staff they do have. The food is being improved because of the new chef. I really enjoy our bus outings.

All of the staff are very friendly and attentive. I didn’t feel, however, that the staff integrated my family member into the community very well. I felt a little more attention could have been given to her to help her understand how she could thrive in the community. The facility is kept in excellent condition. The staff was unobtrusive when cleaning and sensitive to resident privacy. Communication with the family is an area in which Orangeburg could improve. While everyone was responsive to questions, I felt they could have been more proactive in communicating with me about my family member's health. Also, change the menu at once! I didn’t feel the food options at Orangeburg were appealing in quality or presentation. The food was extremely basic, without much flavor, and cheap. Though the staff encouraged my family member to eat, it didn’t occur to them to ask her what she would eat when she stopped eating. And, to be fair, I didn’t pick up on that until a month after she arrived. Once I bought food she would eat, she started eating a little better. Overall, even with the areas in which I feel they need improvement, I would recommend Orangeburg to anyone seeking Memory Care.

All the staff are friendly. The girls are constantly working to do everything they can to help me. They seem to enjoy their jobs and get along so good together, and laugh a lot.

This has been a pretty good experience with staff for us. The staff communication with the family has been good. Sometimes it has taken longer than expected to hear a response about our questions. There are three meals a day served to the residents, and there are choices for the residents to choose from. The community could use more staffing to assist with the care of the residents.