Canterbury Woods-NY

My mom moved into a beautiful apartment. She enjoyed the activites, the meals and the people. It was great. She was there for about 6 years. Then she needed more help. They moved her to the assisted living floor. That was okay, except that all her expensive jewelry was stolen. We are able to say "she was wearing them at 8pm last night, they were missing at 8am this morning, and this is the name of the staff member that was with her." That was the end of her diamonds, wedding rings and several other things. Once she became too confused to live in assisted living, they moved her downstairs to the nursing home which was not equipped to deal with residents with dementia. My mom was moved into a room which had been previously occupied by a resident who had used the room as a litter box. To say that it reeked, is being generous. All her children lived out of town. When I came to visit, I was overpowered by the stench and flabbergasted that they would move anyone into a room with a chair and carpet saturated with urine. A staff member commented that the previous resident had "very strong smelling urine." It took quite a while (weeks) from the time I got there until they finally replaced the chair and carpet. I think that if you (or your parent) are able to live more or less independently, it is a fabulous place. My mom loved it there. We did not know that she would end up with dementia and Canterbury Woods is totally not equipped to deal with that. They say at CW that an Alzheimer's section in their plan but it did not help my mom. The staff were kind and well meaning but untrained to deal with the issues attendant to dementia, so they drugged her. So, pay attention. I am so sad about my mom's jewelry - not just that it was worth a lot of money, but that they were passed on to her from her parents and grandparents and she wanted them passed on to her children and grandchildren. I moved my mom into a facility for Alzheimer's patients and it was fabulous.

Canterbury Woods has provided my grandfather many services necessary to his comfort, especially in recent years. Always extremely friendly, the staff is knowledgable and respectful. One of the things he likes best is the food. He can no longer prepare a lot of food himself, so he relies on the dining room for all his meals. He's a fairly picky eater but enjoys their menu and we've even dined there together. The docility itself is a sprawling and easily accessed site that allows for free movement even for those with limited mobility. The only downside to this is that more forgetful residents could easily get lost in the corridors. However, because of the attentive staff and sense of community, no one would be lost for long. Anyone in upstate New York should consider Canterbury Woods one of the best assisted living facilities for its comfortable atmosphere and professional, kind staff that always want the best for the folks that live in the community.