The Best Assisted Living Communities in Alachua County, FL

"My husband and I researched dozens and dozens of retirement communities before settling on Oak Hammock. We put our name on the list two years before they opened. It was the best decision we ever made. We joined a community that became a family. The residents are all friendly, intelligent, and active. We have a calendar of university classes, amenities that would astound people looking for an elder home. We offer bee keeping, gardening, wood shop, stained glass. We have an outstanding library, a bank, several beauty parlors and a barber shop. I remember thinking that I had arrived on a stationary cruise ship especially when I discovered cold soup on Thursday’s menu. The staff is absolutely the best part of the experience, and the residents become your friends almost immediately. There are many different sizes of apartments and homes with a price range that can accommodate of different income levels. When I hear we are too expensive, I ask that you make a list of your current expenses including your clubs, your taxes, and your upkeep- long range or short. Be sure you include health care because we have a wonderful health pavilion with doctors, nurses and aides just a few steps away. Don’t leave off our housekeeping, replacement of all appliances as needed, and no monthly bills for electricity, television, and real estate taxes. We get back our homestead allowance, too. And don’t forget “eating out”; we have a fabulous dining program with candlelight dinners in a lovely garden. We love to recruit nice people, so call and schedule an appointment with our dynamic marketing department. Betty K."

"In general the place seemed to be properly functioning and well maintained. The staff seemed proficient but also some what numb to the patients I assume because of the detachment that sometimes occurs working in a place with high emotions like that for long periods of time. Given the mental state of the patients living there it is hard to tell how they are really feeling or if they are happy with their arrangements or not, they did not seem to be in any type of discomfort based on the environment they lived in. The facilities were sanitary and accommodating for patients with physical disabilities. My only complaint is what I experienced from some employees. They would use scheduled patient outings for their own benefit, to get their nails done, pay bills, pick up their children, go shopping, or visit a friends house instead of taking patients to promised activities. I'm not sure if they felt this was okay because the patients were some what unaware of their surroundings to begin with or they just took advantage of the paid time away from work to do what they needed done. "

"I toured Plantation Oaks Assisted Living and Memory Care. I would have preferred to be there because it's a smaller community and a more convenient location for me than down here in Gainesville, but they were a little pricey. They had a very nice facility, they're a smaller community. There were only about 70 people there and I liked that about it over the size of where I'm currently at. It's more assisted living and they have a memory care unit for people that have problems with their memory. They are a lot more hands-on as far as assisting you, and if it could be independent living, that appealed to me too. The staff was great. I liked primarily their location and their size and it would be easier to remember everybody's name. They have very nice apartments. They gave me an apple pie for just taking the tour. The dining area looked to be adequate. It looked like it would accommodate everybody in the building without any problem. It was very clean. It did not smell antiseptic. It did not smell like an old folks home. It was very nice."

"If I was looking for a residential facility, Mayflower Assisted Living would be one I would consider. The cost is more affordable. I didn't see that many amenities. They have a little game room where they have games, board games or what have you. There weren't any other amenities that I saw as far as having a gym or anything like that. I know they were making some improvements to the rooms. It's a pretty simple facility. I saw a couple of different bedrooms that were available. One of them was a double. It was pretty small, and there was very little storage space or personal space for each person. One was a bit larger, but it was actually occupied at the time. It was a good size. The nearest hospital would be about 20 to 25 miles away. There aren't a lot of restaurants in High Springs. There are a few fastfood places, but not a sit-down restaurant. It would probably be about 10 miles to a sit-down kind of facility. The place looked pretty clean from what I saw. It looked like they kept it pretty clean around there. The little recreation room that I was waiting in was also kind of the cafeteria where they had their meals, and it was clean. "

"I've chosen Park of the Palms. There is warmth about the entire place. It does not look like a retirement place, and it does not look like an assisted living. In fact, I stayed three nights. They paid for one, and the other two I paid for. The residents made me feel welcome. I went into dinner, and I was a bit late on Saturday night. When I got there, all the tables were taken, so I sat by myself at the table, which was fine. Across from me, there were four ladies sitting on one table and one looked at me and smiled, and that was nice. She smiled at me; she wanted me to feel welcome, and it was great. Also, they have all the amenities, plus it goes from assisted living all the way to hospice care. Then there is a church there, and they have services on Sunday. I attended the Sunday church service, and even then, I felt welcomed. The room I stayed in was like a huge luxury hotel room. The unit that I toured was a two-bedroom-two-bath -- it was a duplex -- but it shared laundry with one other unit. Then, I saw a two-bedroom-two-bath with a washer and dryer in the unit, and that was the one in the quadruplexes. The place was immaculate, and I was very impressed. The dining room overlooked Brooklyn Lake. It was just beautiful. There were lots of trees. The whole place is beautiful. There was a library and a swimming pool. You can go on tours wherever you want to go. Plus medical, there are doctors and nearby hospitals. They can come in, or you can call if there is an emergency. "

"We chose Riverwood Lodge ALF for my sister-in-law because it was small. It was close to where our home is so that we could get there quickly if needed. We talked to several residents, and they all had approval of the treatment that they received and the food that they ate. They were able to fix the facilities to where it was more homelike in their rooms, which will be helpful for my sister-in-law because she is moving from Michigan to Florida, so there's going to be quite a difference there, and by being able to make her room more to her home style will make her feel better. The amenities are very similar to other facilities for senior living. We were impressed when we walked in that there wasn't any type of distinct odor that you sometimes get when you walk into facilities, so that was very helpful. And in looking at the rooms, although the rooms are not large, they are large enough because hopefully your clients aren't staying all day long in that room, they're getting up and moving around with the other clients. So that was good. We like the closeness that we will be able to go to my sister-in-law and check her in and check her out. Because she is ambulatory, we will be able to take her to church services with us and be able to take her out to eat and just do things with her to make her last years as happy as possible. The person who showed us around is in training, but she did an excellent job. She answered all our questions. She showed us the facilities, the dining room, and the library-sitting area is and answered our questions about being able to paint the room and fix it up. It was very helpful that we could indeed go in, fix it up, and clean it up and stuff. She showed the outdoor garden area, too. We saw the menu and we saw that they offered snacks. There was even a little refrigerator in the room that the client was leaving. The lady that was showing us around said, 'You're welcome to keep that if you want it.' And I said, 'We'll go ahead and keep it,' because I'm sure that my sister-in-law would like to have some cold water or something if she's watching TV so that she can just reach in there and get it."