Mennonite Village

I am a friend or relative of a resident

I am an in-home care provider for the elderly. As with previous jobs, the lovely people I was working for decided that the time had come to move into a residential situation with a higher level of care. I was sad to see them go but fully understood the decision. These people had been fully ambulatory and active members of their church community until an aneurysm left the husband in a nearly vegetative state. Their church was very helpful in assisting us with caring for him but soon afterward, possibly due to sadness or stress, the wife began to decline in health as well. Mennonite Village was suggested by several members of their parish who came to visit. Not only would their physical needs be met, but their spiritual devotion and way of life could be upheld. In the process of moving them over to a lovely apartment in Quail Run I was able to interact with several members of the staff who would now be caring for them. Each of them, from the nurses to the household staff, were eager to consult with me about the specifics of their day to day living to make the transition as seamless as possible. I have never encountered this before. Meal preferences, housekeeping habits, prayer schedules and general day to day living was inquired about. I had been caring for them daily, for over a year, and truly believe that Mennonite village and their staff will uphold my former client's dignity and quality of life. The approach at this facility is very faith based, although they will provide care to persons of any belief. The apartment looked new and perfectly clean. There was a small leak in the kitchenette sink that we were assured would be taken care of immediately, and it was. The grounds around Quail Run were pretty and well manicured. I'm sure that come spring the sitting and prayer gardens will be full of beautiful flowers. Some of the homes in the independent living portion of Mennonite Village seemed run down and less taken care of, though I suppose that could be more of a reflection of the people living in them then the facility itself. I am giving Mennonite Village four stars because of the quality of the apartments, attention to detail when it comes to care, accessibility to services and prayer meetings for religious residents, and the generally happy faces of the other residents I met during my short transitional time there. I did not do much research into social or wellness programs as my clients did not seem interested in these, but I was told that there are several very active senior groups in residence and that they enjoyed a wide variety of activities.

I visited this facility

The Mennonite Village has been running for 60 plus years. I recently visited my Grandmother who lives in the full care home. The campus is split into assisted-care and a full care nursing home. Many of the homes are like cottages and purchased by the residents. They have call buttons in their homes they can push if they need assistance. The grounds are kept up by a large maintenance crew. All the shrubs and trees are pruned to the finest detail. Thousands of beautiful flowers are also on the menu for your eyes to feast on. You will find beautiful fountains running throughout the grounds on the campus also. The campus is split into two sides, Quail Run and Mennonite Home. Both have dining areas for all residents. They serve 3 meals per day for residents and visitors at set times throughout the day. They also have a traditional restaurant on the Mennonite home side where you can get food to order, like any other restaurant. The staff are super friendly and well qualified. From food to a hair salon they really have it all!

I am a past client of this provider

I employed the in-home service of the facility for my Great Aunts care. They were very dependable and well trained to take care of my Aunt. I have also visited several residents of the Village in various stages of their living arrangements. They offer many wonderful events and a beautiful complex. You can tell employees love their jobs.

I also had a mother in a facility for Memory Care in Albany. Timberwood Memory Care Center.

The Mennonite Village has been such a significant part of the Albany community for so long now that residents and their families tell me all the time about how wonderful it is to truly know that the Village will be there for them for as long as they need it. The Village is on such solid ground that not one resident, to my knowledge, has ever feared that the facility may close their doors on them, and that is a very important factor in choosing a senior living facility. Not many facilities are in a position where they are able to promise and assure a resident of such stability, but somehow the Village has remained true to that promise for almost 65 years now and in today's iffy economy, that reassurance is priceless.

I absolutely love how the Village is set up, the entire community is so beautiful and it really gives off a sense of home and family. The grounds are gorgeous, there are a couple of lakes and a creek, there are trees, greenery, and shaded sitting areas throughout the community and there are beautiful wildflowers all over the community. There are many outdoor activities available to the residents and they happily welcome any opportunity to be outdoors.

There are active living areas for those who are more independent, there are assisted living buildings, and their are also areas for memory care and skilled nursing. Each care level is staffed with a loving and personable care team that is knowledgeable and skilled in working with each of the care levels. I've watched the staff interact with the residents on so many different occasions, and I have never once seen any treatment or behavior towards the residents that has ever caused me any concern.

The staff members are always so friendly and patient with the residents. They take great pride in truly knowing each resident, not just by name, but by the things they like and don't like, by their life stories, by their families, and by taking the time to really listen and learn their personalities. Because of this the residents and staff communicate and work very well with one another. I have had residents tell me many times about ways the staff have proved to them that they really do listen to the things they say and that they really do know and understand each resident by their actions and things they have said. One resident told me about how she is a huge Portland Trailblazers fan and she said that a while back they had won some important game and she was very happy about it, she told me that the next day she was at breakfast and one of the staff members brought her one of those giant cupcakes decorated with the Portland Trailblazers colors and cake toppers. She said that it brought tears to her eyes that the staff member thought of her because of the game, and she asked the staff member how she knew that they were her favorite team, the staff member in turn laughed and said that not only does the resident always talk about the team, but she owns like 5 of their team shirts! The resident that in that moment she felt so special and blessed to be surrounded by people who care about her and the things that are important to her. Another resident told me that when one of her closest friends passed away that one of the staff members sat with her for hours on her scheduled day off to just be there to listen to her, support her, and be there as a shoulder to cry on. She said not too many young people would volunteer to sit with a "depressed old woman" all day long on their day off and actually act like they were happy or wanted to be there. She said that it just shows how wonderful the caliber of people who work there are, and she said that she does not believe that a better group of staff members exist. She told me that she feels so lucky to cared for by such amazing people.

I have heard probably hundreds of little stories like these from residents and their families throughout my many visits to the Village and while no community is 100% perfect, I think the Village is as close to flawless as a senior living community can come. Sure they have had their share of issues and not every resident is happy with the facility every minute of every day and not every staff member is without their occasional bad day, but I have seen the whole community work together as a family, pull through the tough times together, celebrate the happy times together and overall be a group made up of some of the most honest, caring, and selfless residents and care teams I have come to know. Even more, the residents all seem to really get along well with one another, they are very protective and look out for each other in the way a family looks out for family. I would consider it a blessing to have my loved one be a part of the Village family, I believe that the quality of care is as good as it gets, and I have seen the staff go above and beyond for every resident every day.

I didn't even go in to detail about all of the resident activities, events, and opportunities or talk about all of the amenities and services offered, because I believe that the quality of care is the most important factor, and I have so much to say about how wonderfully the residents are cared for at the Village, but I will say that there are many activities and opportunities available for the residents to fill their days with. There is always something fun and interesting going on and I have never heard a resident complain of boredom. The activities and events are very creative and ever changing, the residents do not have to worry about participating in the same activities week in and week out. The activity team at the Village is great at keeping the residents entertained and excited about maintaining an active lifestyle.

The food is also amazing, the residents are always bragging to family, friends, the staff, me, and everyone else about how great the food is. The dishes are always fresh, filling, and comforting home-cooked dishes. I grew up in Albany and I remember visiting The Village as a little girl and loving the smell of homemade pies, cookies, and other desserts or making candied apples with the residents near Halloween or gingerbread houses at Christmas time.

I have grown up watching the Mennonite Village evolve in to what it is today and I am so proud to be able to recommend this wonderful community to others. I hope that families will take the time to tour The Village and see the excellence of this community, the unwavering excellence that I have seen constantly for 30 years now.