Stellar Senior Living

We went with Mom and visited numerous CdA/Post Falls independent living communities starting about three years ago. Our initial visits (2 of them) to Fairwinds--now named NorthStar--were impressive, with the staff, activities and food all being outstanding. Mom ultimately chose NorthStar over the others facilities we visited. Fast forward 2 years and the staff is still very nice, but the food quality has declined significantly. Since dining is a major part of the Northstar experience--and a major cost--this is a big deal. There tends to be a lot of very salty and fried foods, and the portions have shrunk steadily over the time she has been there. Waiter service is pleasant yet very long waits for food seems to be the norm. We used to eat meals with her there regularly, but now find it tough to justify when what's served is not unlike a $3.49 Lean Cuisine in both quantity and quality, the main difference being the addition of a small side salad. Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible, but it's certainly not worth the cost. The last time we ate there both my Mom and her table mates complained, with one having to send her meal back due to it being cold. We're told that is quite typical now. We hope that NorthStar will address these issues, as the facility has a lot to offer and does most things very well.

For the most part it's a very nice place but the cleanliness...for what they charge it was sub-par. They had different parts to it. They had a retirement community which is pretty nice I guess but the assisted living, where my mom was, wasn't that great. The biggest thing is when you walk in there is a smell. That's a real turn off.

The staff there is kind of rude, I have to admit. I talked to the one lady and she said it's not her place to talk to me. It's not good really. My aunt fell and has broken bones and needs help and they've been kind of rude to her. They charge her for everything. If she needs to have a shower she has to pay $20! We're not really happy with them right now. I wouldn't recommend that place.

As an independent living facility, this facility was OK. They could improve on the way they deal with independent living residents. My mother was there on independent living, but she fell in her room and was unconscious for an entire day because no one ever checked on her until someone was leaving at 8:00 at night and just happened to hear her yelling. When Mom previously got sick with a respiratory illness, Winslow was very hands off because she was independent living. I felt my mother got lost in the size of the facility. She was only there for three months before she fell. They do have assisted living, but when Mom got put on insulin in the hospital, Winslow did not want her back. This was another experience of being told many things to get us to sign on the dotted line, but reality was different than I got told.

I've seen better in this price range. Grimy doors and handrails, apt is too small and boxy. just 2 10x10 roms and a small kitchen, not enough closet space or storage.

This community looked very nice but there were no patios or balconies. It is also over what my mother can afford.

Facility is old, but residents seem to get along well there. Don't care for the long hallways.

My mother lived here for about 2 years. Was just fine. think we can do better.

no on site assisted living, but nice staff and activities. apts are nice. but location not best

has all services, but may be too big

liked

Felt like a medical facility. Older building. Had window ac units like a hotel. Not much to the grounds.

I've been here four months. Staff and residents are great, a couple are not, management does not care what the residents complain about, even about safety concerns. They say they have bigger fish to fry. I will give it a fair rating

Thunderbird Senior Living does an adequate job at caring for seniors, however don't be fooled by their event calendar, or the marketing enticements they use. Most of the Calendar of events are fluff. They make it seem like there are more things to do than there actually are. Examples are they list things on the calendar as place holder spaces without having any facilitators to actually garner participation, let alone plan and execute activities. Example is pretending to have a game groups but they just list that on the calendar in the event someone wants to play games. Kind of like reserving a room or table. Example :They have scrabble, they have a scrabble dictionary, but as far as having a group that gets together, and a facilitator to round up participants, that doesn't happen. Happy Hour. This is not a meal. Rather they make it seem like its a meal. Really what it is, is frozen finger foods (All of the food is frozen, pre packaged, warned and served for every meal) and they have limited quantity. They have entertainment, but now that there has been a flood on the property, they are cutting costs by no longer offering entertainment for every "happy hour". ( food isn't very healthy as its pre-packaged) Residents pay a monthly fee for all the real and fake offerings, which is included in their monthly price but NOW, they are claiming because the pond backed up into the dining room after a very light rain which happened [date removed], the residents are being forced to go without, and are being told that everyone must sacrifice in order for the dining room to be fixed. This is a fallacy, and it is taking advantage of a situation. I am certain insurance has these "fee's" covered and residents have stated this has happened before. Its been over a month since this flood, and residents are still eating out of styrofoam, and are loosing entertainers. They are stating that even by March, they will be in a similar boat as the dining room will still be unusable. (super suspect) which as of yesterday residents were told that the room is finally dried out and that they are now just starting to fix the problems. AFTER A MONTH.... Come on.... Which means residents that are paying full prices are being expected to accept less for more. Shameful Meals they do offer are twice a day, and now with the flood of the dining room, residents have to pack in their meals in a shorter timeframe because they stop serving at 5. Weekends they only offer limited things to do, so if you are an out of town family member hoping to keep your senior entertained, forget it. Weekend staff is minimal, events and things to do are scarce. Meals are Monday to Thursday ( and yes you can have 3) but as for Friday and Sunday you only get 2. Friday being breakfast or lunch/happy hour. Sunday you get brunch, thats it. Crafts, outings, and other projects are on a sign up basis, so if you don't know about it, you can't sign up, and when you want to go you can't because the list is full. As for included house keeping, yeah that doesn't happen either. They are suppose to clean but what I have found is, a ton of dust comes from the vents, no one cleans with cleaners except for the bathroom which is sort of mopped, and carpet vacuumed occasionally. Dusting doesn't happen, and mopping just a wet mop with water. I have to come weekly in order to re-clean. Safety is another issue, as the parking lots surrounding the apt complex are not secure. If your senior loved one is an alcoholic, this is the place to put them. They have a lot of events for drinkers. I mean a lot. Also they also push gambling which again is pretty bad to do for seniors on fixed incomes. There are more outings to casino's than anything else, which is very unfortunate for fixed income people. I am really disappointed to find out that the heavy list of activities calendar is really just filled with place holders, and lack of facilitation. This was a major selling point for us, and it was after moving to thunderbird we found out that most of the offerings were really fluff.

Was much better under previous management, Nice large apartments Food similar to high school lunchroom

Nice place - but WOW!!! My mother lived in this facility for about 1 1/2 years. They treated her well but now that she is deceased I'm finding the truth about this place. 1. I went to her room the get a few things just after she passed away and found a stack of mail in her that had been held somewhere in the facility. Why didn't they tell me there was a stack of mail one of the many times I visited. Over a year worth of mail. 2. When cleaning out her room they had multiple packages of diapers/depends with only one or two being used from the package. I'm sure I paid for them. We are talking cupboards and cupboards full of depends. I also found many unused medical supplies. 3. We didn't clean the room out until after the funeral. I get a bill "Sorry for your loss" Here is a bill for over $1200 + dollars. Yes, I know there is a contract but really? 4. When going through clothes the whites were not white any more. They obviously didn't sort clothes before washing. Also clothes were missing and I didn't recognize some of the clothes that were in her closet. They didn't keep properly track clothes and underwear. My suggestion, take your business elsewhere.

Was going to give a five star review as all the staff members are great, helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. Had to cut the five star review in half solely due to this particular employee....would not recommend this facility as your first choice unless you specifically ask this employee to stay away from your loved one.

My mother stayed here for a few years until her death earlier this year. The staff seemed friendly when I visited, and the food was good when she first moved in, but not as good as time went on, from my visits there. They sometimes did things (take her in to the hospital) without giving notice to my brother or me which was frustrating. The biggest complaint I have is how much was stolen from my mother. She really enjoyed wearing her jewelry, and against better judgment, we allowed her to keep her things with her. Sadly, much of what she had was gone by the time she passed, including her wedding ring! I am very sad and displeased about that.

When this facility evaluated my Father they said they would be able to take care of him and they had the resources to deal with his combative nature. My Mother agreed and she paid the non-refundable $7,000 community fee. It hasn’t even been two weeks and they have already said to leave him in the hospital until his medications get fixed and then he can come back. They are trying but I think they are over their heads. In the middle of the night, I get urgent phone calls telling me to come to the facility to calm my dad down. I’m there every night from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. trying to calm him down. I told the nurses that I think this is the wrong place for my Father and they disagreed with me. However, yesterday I demanded a meeting and they told me that I may be right. This is a good facility for residents who are non-combative and need memory care. It’s a good facility and they have a locked down unit with attentive staff.

The rooms are nice sized. The staff are great. The food is terrible. The memory care unit is good in that residents may go out into the courtyard at will and unaccompanied, be safe and enjoy the outdoors and the great view over the golf course and the city. Just be prepared to pay an additional $200+ a year when they up the room rate just because they can. My mother has been in there less than 3 years and the room rate has gone from $3200 to over $4500. What additional care she receives in return for that is NONE. She requires very minimal care, eats very little, because the food is so bad. I am going to look at newer, nicer facilities. If she is going to have to pay that much out of pocket, and keep having it raised every year, she deserves to live in a newer, nicer place.