Kindred Transitional Care and Rehabilitation - Avery

Avery Crossings, which is owned by Kindred, is the independent living and assisted living component of Avery Manor, which is a skilled nursing facility. It is set up like a cute little town, rather like Mayberry, and conveniently located right on a main street, with ample parking in the back. And right across the street is a park bench area with trees and a Starbucks, and many residents use that as a place to gather and socialize.

The building was formerly an old factory, so it retains an interesting look and feel. The nursing home portion feels like a hotel—and the assisted living unit is attached to that. There is no dedicated memory care. The nursing home section has recently improved, with an upgraded facility and new staff, but it still has a rather bad rap in the community with those who are not aware of the changes for the better.

The rooms throughout are huge, bigger than at most places—probably because of the unconventional space the facility is in—and that works in its favor. There are also a number of different types of housing configurations available.

The food is decent, with a lot of options offered daily.

There are several common areas—a sitting room, TV room, and a comfortable lunch spot with round tables in it. The organized activities include outings and music.

Avery Crossings may be a good place for couple, even where one has memory impairment, if the other spouse is able to help provide care.

One drawback: The staff members’ communication is not great with outside care providers, and some of them don’t seem that involved with the individual residents who may be in need of more care.

A plus: Management seems willing to work out flexible arrangements for payments for care and housing. And there also are a couple rooms funded by Massachusetts Health—a foster program that uses services from the community, based on income and need.

Avery Manor is a skilled nursing facility that's attached to Avery Crossing (which offers assisted living and independent living). The two parts are housed in a former factory, which is convenient for couples at different levels of care or for anyone who needs to move from assisted living to either skilled nursing or rehabilitation.

I was just there for a visit and have had patients there in the past.

Historically, the skilled nursing offered at Avery Manor hasn't been great. It's now better--but still not the best. I'd probably give it a rating of 3 just in terms of the skilled care offered. But they've started to emphasize rehab--they've really souped it up a lot lately, bringing it to a higher standard.

The patient rooms are mostly semi-private and average size. The food is adequate; it tends to be institutional. And the activities offered are fine--nothing outstanding--but there is some interaction with the outside community.