River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care

I went to look at River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care. I like the look and aesthetic of the facility. I liked the room in each apartment. In terms of the amount of room given for each occupant, it was about almost double the amount of space that you'd see at other places, so that was a selling point. The activities looked very, very good. I was overall very impressed. The staff members were attentive. There wasn't a high turnover, meaning people liked their jobs. The turnover rate to me is an important indicator of what it's like for the people who work there because it's the workers who take care of your loved ones. They are knowledgeable, solid, and friendly. They look exactly like they know what they're doing. The residents liked them, and the residents looked happy. They knew everybody by their first name and enjoyed talking to each other. It's a relatively new facility.

My brother-in-law lived in River Valley Estates until he passed away in 2020. He was under hospice and he was assisted living. He was there for two to two-and-a-half years. It was wonderful until they closed it down, then he got depressed. He loved the company and the people were great. Everything was going beautifully until March of 2020. By September, he was so depressed, he just went to bed and died. We had to visit him through the window. There would be nobody coming in that even talked to him or anything, so he'd sit there in his shorts and he was dirty and they passed the food to him because everybody was afraid to have contact with everybody. The only ones in and out of were the caregivers. They wouldn't even let his hospice nurse see him, but maybe once every two weeks or something like that. His medicines got all mixed up. He wasn't able to take care of himself and I wasn't able to help. They let me go in once because he was dying. I said, "If you don't let me in, he's gonna die." They did and within six or eight hours of spending time with him, I got him up and he was eating and I cleaned him up. From then on, they wouldn't let me in again. They had great care before that. They were very helpful. The nurses and everybody, even the cleaning staff were wonderful and cordial. They would go out and sit in the dining room and they'd come by and talk to him. There were things he could do if he wanted to. He loved the open dining. He sat with them and they had movies they could go to if he wanted to. They had activities going on all the time. He didn't always participate, but sometimes we did. We could go in and have lunch with him or dinner with him and they were great. Everything was before and nothing after March. He was fortunate he could afford to have a living room and a bedroom, a beautiful bathroom, and a walk-in shower. We had to provide all the furniture and everything. The room was very nice and he loved it because he could have his furniture, his recliners, and his TV. He wasn't always happy with the cooks, but they went through a lot of cooks. He liked home cooking, but when he did like the food, he praised them and told them it was very good food and he loved their desserts. I have nothing that I would have changed. They were very, very good to us all the time he was there. It wasn't their fault. We ate with him often. You had a menu you could choose from and it was different every day. We thought the food was very good. They gave him a good choice of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They get it in their room or they could go out to the dining area. The facilities were great. The activity director was great. Everybody seemed to enjoy the activities. They had music every other Sunday, they played bingo, they had puzzle rooms, and movies. They gave them a program every week and a menu and all kinds of things. It was getting a little pricey. It started fine and then it went up, but he got help from the VA. He never could have afforded it by himself had he not gotten help because you're talking $3400 to $3800 a month. The other rooms that were studio ones were not near that expensive. It depended on what care you need. You had to pay extra for care if they had to come in and check on them or they did laundry. Some of those things were extra. It was a little pricey in that area.

My parents are currently living in River Valley Estates, and I’ve been very impressed with it. They’ve been very cooperative because they know I’m a long-distance relative. The nurse has been very helpful in following up things with me. The manager was very helpful, too. The food is excellent. They offer four to five activities every day, with a lot of them repeats from day to day, and have bingo almost every day, worship services, and movie night once a week They also have a weekly trip to someplace if people want to go on an excursion. They also have their menu in plain English, so it’s easy for my folks to know what they’re going to eat. They have singing groups that come in and sing. The facility is brand new and opened in March.