Twin Creeks Retirement

Twin Creeks is a community located in a beautiful spot in Central Point Oregon. I haven't been visiting this community for that long now so while I still have a lot to learn about the facility and the staff, I have seen enough to have a couple of things concern me about the community. The residents are wonderful and so lovely - they are the type of people you could sit and talk with forever and never get tired of hearing their stories and life adventures. They are also great with each other, they really seem to enjoy each others company. They seem very close-nit, very connected. They are very supportive and protective of one another. I like that if a resident is going through a difficult situation or is having a bad day, fellow residents are always right by their side supporting them, comforting and listening to them, and just being their cheerleaders helping them get through the hurt, frustration, anger, whatever they may be feeling,

The community is beautiful, inside and out, the facility is surrounded by the Rogue Valley and offers gorgeous views of the Cascades and Siskiyou Mountains. The community grounds are beautiful with all sorts of trees and plants and greenery - there is this area in the courtyard with a waterfall that falls into this stream/koi pond area it is so pretty, the waterfall and stream are surrounded by rock and it just really calming to look at and to hear the sound of the waterfall throughout a large area of the grounds is very peaceful. There are many walking paths that the residents enjoy, whenever I visit I usually end up taking a walk with some of the residents, I always look around and feel so thankful that these wonderful residents are able to take little strolls with their friends and be surrounded by such beauty. It's always hard for me to stay present in the conversations we are having as we walk because I am always so wrapped up in looking at the views and everything around me! Inside the community is also very charming. It is designed perfectly for the residents with everything being easily accessible and relatively close together, meaning that they don't have to walk miles to get from one area of the facility to another. The decor and furnishings are very nice, it all looks really up-scale which is nice, but can also have a negative impact on the residents, many of them have told me that while they love the community, they are always afraid that they are going to break something or mess something up. They say that it can be difficult to truly feel at home in a place if you are constantly stressing and fearing that you are going to knock something over, ruin, or break something. The facility is beautiful, it just - to me -does not feel "lived" in. There is also a kind of "stiffness" in the air, as in there is this attitude about the place - like, it's hard to explain, but so many residents have commented about it and I feel it too, it's kind of a stuffy, stuck-up type of feeling. But however one wants to describe it, it is not the type of feeling I like to get in senior living facilities.

There are many amenities and services for the residents, they have so many different activity areas, a couple game room-type areas, a barber shop/beauty salon (which is full-service by the way), a dance floor, putting green, a movie theater, they have a really cute little ice cream parlor, which the kids who visit love! On a quick side note: when kids visit communities it can be really therapeutic for the residents and I know the residents here love when children visit the facility. Most communities I know recognize the benefits that kids visiting can bring to the residents, so children are allowed to play and laugh and just be kids. I love seeing the smiles on residents faces when they are watching kids play around them or the joy it brings them to hear children's laughter. That's why it saddens me that children aren't allowed to be children around here. The staff say children are welcome and they say that they know how much the residents love having kids around, but whenever kids are in the facility, they are being told (not by parents, but by the staff) to be quiet, to not touch things, to not do this, to not do that...when they really aren't even doing anything wrong in the first place - it's like they say kids are welcome but then expect them to sit there and not be seen or heard. I am not saying to let them climb the walls or to run through the facility breaking things, but let them laugh, let them play, let the residents see them and hear them and enjoy their presence. Anyways, now back to the amenities, there are many things for the residents to do or have access to on-campus which really does help in making their lives more convenient.

There is a lot of good about this community, but there are also things that could be improved - which is the case with most communities, there could always be changes made to better even the best of communities. I think that the staff while they get the job done - they could be more personable and friendly to the residents and their families, I have had many people complain to me about how the staff members act very cold and uninterested in the feelings, opinions, suggestions, etc. of others. I have seen them on several occasions completely blow off resident/family concerns. This should never happen. Maybe if the quality of care was friendlier, more loving and nurturing - maybe then that stiff, hard feeling about the community would change.

I do think that those searching for senior living should check out Twin Creeks, it is a community worth checking out - I think that the issues they do have are minor enough to warrant a visit, and then people can decide from there if the community is a good fit. I, personally, do not think I could get past the feeling of coldness I get from the community and the staff - but that's just me - others may not be bothered by it. So, please - check Twin Creeks out for yourself to see if it is the right community for you.