Merrill Gardens

I thought the staff are very friendly and professional

My mom has lived there for 6 weeks.There are many positives about Sheldon Park, but two big negatives are the mediocre food, poor dining room service and the inconsistent quality of the medical care. Some med aides are really on top of it, but others have forgotten to give her the right med or have walked into the wrong apartment and offered her someone else's med! That's a serious problem, as it could affect someone's health and/or safety.

Chose this place because of the activities they offer for memory loss patients. I find my mom a lot of times not doing the activities, she's in her room for hours. I liked the idea of the Bridges Program which is for memory loss which needs improvement.

The Residence at Glen Riddle is a good place. There are a lot of good things about it however there are some down sides. The person that is in there is outgoing and social person under regular circumstances. They put him in memory care because they felt he needed it. He is so in between categories that it is difficult. He has become slow in walking but he is mobile with his walker. He is just so really borderline. The director is wonderful at that place. She goes about and looks in on the residents. A lot of the personnel are very good too. The staff has been wonderful about working with me. I think they do a good job. Almost any time I have mentioned anything that needs correcting they are right on it.

This was one of the places we considered when we were looking for options. It was more expensive and didn't offer as many things, so the value wasn't there for us. It was newer and they have some great technology. I liked it and it was closer to us so it would have been very convenient. They didn't seem to have anything going on, we called it sleepy town.

We moved my 90 year old mother in law to Merrill Gardens in August 2014. It's a lovely place. Lots of activities. They do pay attention if people do not show up. The food and food service staff is excellent as is the resident handyman. Early steps of moving in were smooth and supported by staff. There appears to be problems at the management level. Whoever is on main front desk person needs to be better trained to be more helpful and informed. The fact the paid for TV service went out in August and three weeks later is still out, with continually changing timelines for restoration and no explanation for what is happening is frustrating at best. Points to a lack of foresight /organizational planning at higher levels and suggests a lack of concern for resident's experience as a prime priority. I have had family in other similar facilities in the area as well as out of state. Merrill Gardens would still be my first choice. This is clearly a bottom line focused business first and senior residence second: occasional cracks in the facade of outstanding service can be seen. I worry about the future of the place, as I have seen a constant flow of managers in all previous places we have experience with. On balance, many in house staff do go the extra mile to make sure residents are respected and treated with kindness and personal attention. It always helps to have an outside family member paying attention and keeping track of things.

This is a great place if you can afford it-however, during the first month, there was a tremendous amount of staff changes. The food was excellent when we went to look at the Bedford, but they are now on their 3rd chef and the quality of food has gone WAY down. Also, my mother was NOT given her tour of the place after she moved in, her name tag and also STILL does not have a key that works her patio door! She moved in 6/21/14! Seems a little long to wait considering the price they charge!

I stayed here a year and returned to my home. It was a good place to stay but with every year 5% rent increases it gets expensive. I wanted to get a bigger place as all I had was a single room but the prices quoted were terrible and the rooms didn't have any more sq. footage than what I had. Food was good, activities were enough, and the servers were courteous w/ housecleaning done efficiently. A good place to stay if you can afford it.

The staff at Merrill Gardens in Willow Glen are extremely helpful and cooperative. The facility is clean and well maintained. The menu in the dining room varies but is limited. The lunch and dinner menus are the same, but sandwiches, hamburger and hot dogs are always available. Some items are quite tasty and high quality, but overall the quality varies from mediocre to good. Little attention is given to the presentation of the food, which makes it less appetizing. There are activities and entertainment, but there is little to do in the evenings.

Only concern is disorganized nursing services.

Overall the staff is very focused on making the residents feel welcomed and cared for. Horoko, the fitness instructor and Charlie, the event coordinator, are both exceptional!! However, the Maintenance dept is inept as it takes forever to get ANYTHING done. Even the smallest of tasks take forever! Whoever runs it should be replaced by someone who actually knows how to run a maintenance dept.

Quality of food AWFUL…a feeling shared by most…beef like chewing rubber bands. Chicken dried almost impossible to cut No place to entertain visitors….entertainers not very good Limited activities Corporate ownerships not connected with residents,salaries like most similar facilities can’t attract better help. But compared to similar places,this isn’t a bad place to spend “golden years”….no one ever expected to end our last years in any -laces like this Could be a little more understanding of resident emotions

Having a loved one at Merrill Gardens Bankers Hill when [name removed] was in charge was a very different place than it is without her now. Having [name removed] there was like having your own personal family member there overseeing your loved ones care. [name removed] oversaw every detail of this facility from the top all the way to the bottom. Having talked with the employees that were on the floor actually caring for the residents they could never say enough about how much [name removed] supported them and how vital she was. She was regularly there till after 10pm and later just because she cared that much. The peace of mind she gave families as the director was priceless. I just wanted people to know that it’s very different facility with [name removed] gone….

Some staff are helpful some are not. Food quality has gone down and they need more help serving meals it takes to long to get served. They just raised her rent after a year by $[removed].

I think the staff did a real good job. [name removed](not sure of last name) was incredible, amazing. Can't thank him enough. I know [name removed]was pretty difficult most of the time and they did the best they could. I think the food was ok. I can't really speak on the activities. I do think they appeared to be short staffed, especially on the weekends. At times, her room didn't seem clean. I realize it is also an old facility. Overall, they were really pretty good just a few things that needed attention but I would say the biggest issue seemed to be staffing.

The dining experience was great. The staff was okay. We had an unpleasant experience with one of the staff members that we saw mishandling my mom. However, my mom had three caretakers that we were pleased with. The communication is horrible from the Director to the staff as well as from the Director to the residents and family members. All and all my mom enjoyed her stay there.

The staff is very friendly. The food could be improved on. The rooms are unique in variety and size and many activities.

Good intentions, helpful staff right now. Execution is inconsistent but they are also responsive to concerns. Entire management staff has turned over in the last year, some positions more than once.

I have lived in Sunshine Villa for years. There have been lots of problems. Costs a lot of money for a small, noisy room. Services are not great. Management often is unhelpful. This place looks good on the surface. Not so good if you spend time inside. I would not recommend Sunshine Villa to anyone.

Unfortunately, being new to the process of finding living arrangements for mom it was not clear what the limitations and services of assisted-living were. She really did not qualify for it. The nurse who assessed her for entrance into Truewood shouldn't have accepted her. The place was very clean and well kept. Unfortunately, only one elevator was on service which made getting downstairs to a dining room chaotic. Meds were distributed right there in front of the elevator area… don't know if it would've been smoother process if all had been working. Unfortunately, mom was only there for one week before she developed pneumonia and had to go to the hospital. When it was clear she could not return to that facility that same nurse told me some staff said she needed too much care and wasn't a good fit and he told me he agreed but " took a chance" on her and thought she would do well!