Stellar Senior Living

We toured Orchard Park at Southfork during our search for an Assisted Living facility for my mother. The lobby of this facility was really pretty and the tour staff was enthusiastic. However, the resident rooms were small.

The building is old and maintenance seems to be on a tyranny-of-the-urgent basis, rather than on an intentional plan for updating. There seems to be a lot of bureaucratic red tape before any change can occur due to out-of-state ownership (i.e., food service and quality is not good at all, but suggestions for change make little difference). However, most of the staff seem very patient with the residents and listen well, even if their hands are tied to make changes due to corporate logjams. The activities are great, but the beloved activities director recently moved on to accommodate her family situation, so it remains to be seen whether this "shining light" of Thunderbird life will continue to be a plus. My parents love their accommodations, but after a year, there are still maintenance issues that remain unresolved. Our family is trying to patiently await possible improvements at this community before considering a change of address for our parents.

As with most places like this, there is a lot of turnover which means frequent shortages in staffing and delays in servicing residents. My loved one has a degenerative and fatal condition and cannot pivot well. This means the easy way out is to require 2 caregivers on transfers and a higher care$$$ level. Training is available to teach caregivers how to transfer with one caregiver. So far $$$$ for two caregivers. Food is improving but has a long way to go to improve preparation, execution and selection of other facilities known for excellent food. Care is improving but has a way to go. The Director of Assisted Living is listening to residents. A change in ownership seems to have focused more and more on the bottom line and our perks seem to be whittled slowly away.

They need more help & caregivers that will give my Mom better assistance!

Our family had an in person tour and their memory care part of the community was at the back of the building so to us, that unit seemed more of like an after thought. Also we just did not get the sense of family there.

It did not feel at home, and was not a good fit for my loved one. It was a larger community.

They could work on improve their staffing which would help with the house keeping and the overall cleanliness.

I toured this community. I wasn't that impressed with the facility and overall cleanliness/appearance.

My sibling picked the community, because it was closest to me. It's a beautiful community. The nursing staff just doesn't seem to be very cooperative or helpful. The only time you get a call from them is if something bad happened.

Our loved one had a brief experience there. We weren't' happy with the service she was getting in regards to her medications. That was my only big complaint.

Initially everything was good. Unfortunately they have had a lot of turnover. Lost their Activities Director (hasn't been replaced), have lost 3 chefs (supposedly this last one is decent), just replaced their Manager (new one seems good, old one was not friendly). My Mother complains that there is not a lot to do and they don't have a driver to get them around. Don't know if other sites are having similar manning issues or not. . .

The director of nursing and her assistant left shortly after my dad moved in, which was frustrating. Things seemed to spiral down after that. We have found in all of these facilities that there is constant turn over with employees. We had a few issues here. No one was able to get my dad to shower, so I had to do it. His room was dirty often and laundry wasn't done timely. We were paying extra to have services for him that were not being done. Medications were being left in his room. Overall, I wish I had done more homework before placing my dad here. I do not think it was the best fit for him.

I toured Thunderbird Senior Living and in my opinion, it was too much walking. At the time, I was looking for my mom and stepdad. My mom never would've been able to walk that far and it would have been a long distance to the dining room and so forth for my stepdad with a cane.

I think depending on your loved one's needs are you should make sure you are able to follow up with the staff, has a good location, and the communication will fit for your needs. Orchard Park fits the needs of the family and our loved ones. I would recommend Orchard Park to others for their loved ones; however, only if it fits the needs of your loved one. In memory care there is no selections of meals for the residents. However, in the assisted living area the residents have choices of meals and my loved one is enjoying the meals more here.

I think Orchard park had good points and bad points. Location was a big factor for us in our decision.

It's good but they are very disorganized. This is why I gave them a 3. Meals are tasty and they offer a variety of foods during meal times. Dining situation is 30 minutes to a hour to get seated at a table for meals due to staffing shortages for the kitchen staff.

My loved one's biggest complaint is the food. It's very bland, and even though they put out a menu, they're often out of things and rarely have what's on the menu. Other than that, regarding things like friendliness, cleanliness, and staff she's partially satisfied, although not completely.

The food is very bad. The quality is not good, it is over seasoned/very highly salted, and they never have anything twice. Your order something and try to get it again and they don't have it. There are not many activities provided for the residents either. Due to our experience, we would not recommend the facility to others.

Beautiful community, overall not the right fit.

i toured this community and had a neutral experience with the guide and tour itself. this facility was beautiful, but the memory care unit felt more like a hospital than a home.