The Best Assisted Living Communities in Dauphin County, PA

"My dad moved to Harmony at West Shore. It's a nice facility. He's getting involved in daily activities, and the food seems good. He got a one-bedroom suite, which is nice, and it has a big bathroom and a nice living area. The facilities seem to be fairly new, and they just finished painting the memory care unit, so it's in good shape. The staff I've interacted with has been very helpful, and the lady who runs the memory care unit is wonderful. She's very nice, polite, engaging, and has high energy in her interactions. It's been wonderful so far."

"My sister is at the independent living community of Traditions of Hershey. She loves it there, if it wasn't for the price. She hardly has any social security, and she doesn't have any health insurance, so she's whittling down very quickly. That's why we were trying to find a cheaper place. I like the location, and they have a lot of activities, and my sister likes to be entertained a lot. It's like a hotel and has a very nice environment, so she really likes it there. It's comfortable, and she feels very safe there. The food is good, too. She loves her little one-room apartment. The staff is always saying that she is moving out to the second floor. They're always trying to move her to the second floor so that they can get more money, because that's like $4,000 a month. I think they're nice, but I think it's kind of really more business than personal. I could be wrong, but that's how it seems. They're always trying to come up with an excuse to move her to the second floor when there's nothing wrong with her. The food is very good. They offered me lunch one time when I was there waiting for her to eat. They said if I wanted to come in, they'll feed me too, and I said okay. The food was very good. It's like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and some vegetables. The staff members were very nice about it, too. The cleanliness and upkeep are very good. They're always doing something to upgrade the facility. They have actual housekeeping that comes in and cleans the room every Friday. My sister has free laundry right across the hall from where she is, too, so everything is pretty good and pretty perfect. For activities, they have yoga and some other exercises like Zumba. They also have Bingo. Every time you go to an activity, they give you a little ticket, and then they have an auction at the end of the month where they get prizes by giving their tickets. They have volleyball with balloons and different games. They had this water game where they pass a bucket of water down the line and back, to see who gets all their water to the place first. They have a happy hour on Friday, and they have a lot of entertainment that comes in, like people singing with guitars and choral groups. They are always keeping the residents busy and have something to do. I think they have activities three or four times a week. It gets more expensive every year, and my sister is going to run out of money in no time. Except for the pricing, which is very good, she really likes it there. For independent living, I don't think it should be that high because they take care of themselves. Nobody has to take care of them. Nobody gives out their pills or anything. They come in once a week and clean their rooms, not very well. They don't clean their room too well. They do it superficially, but don't move anything and just vacuum around it. The activities are good, and I guess they have to pay the people who come to do the activities."

"My husband moved to Celebration Villa of Dillsburg. It's a nice facility. They need more help. They are lacking help. The staff was wonderful and very caring. Some of them are more knowledgeable than others. There are a few that are not very knowledgeable when it comes to nursing care, so that's an issue. The dietary head is wonderful, and the food is very, very good. The facility, it's 20 years old, and the bathrooms need some updating. They have many activities. The activities director, Wendy, is wonderful. She keeps the residents really busy with bingo and outings, and movies and ice cream socials."

"We went to Paramount Senior Living at Lancaster County. Size-wise, they have about 60 people, so the size was manageable. It's all on one floor, so it met a lot of the criteria we were looking for. They have a living area with room for a couple of chairs or a loveseat, a little dinette, a refrigerator, telephone hookups, and cable hookups. The staff, Cindy, was very knowledgeable and did a great job."

"My husband moved to Linden Village Senior Living Community and I chose the place because I had experience with it before, so I felt that it was the place to go. It's like a cottage situation where there are 16 rooms on the outer edge of the facility. Eight on one side, eight on the other with a dining area, and lounging areas in the center. I had lunch there and the food was very good. They have a pretty good schedule of activities that are stimulating. There are usually two staff people there at a time and they interact with the residents. They have a living area. The staff takes care of the laundry. They take care of serving the food, and when it's time to serve the food an extra person comes in."

"We can't say enough about Celebration Villas. The care the staff shows is real. They really make you feel like your at home, not institutionalized. Great activities which family members are invited to participate in if they'd like. Our family member went from being at a place where he was inactive and zombie- like, to where he dances, plays bingo, went along to a baseball game they arranged and more. He also tells me the food is great! Most important is that he is happy. So glad he's there. Grateful thank you to the entire staff"

"Juniper Village at Forest Hills is fine. I don’t have any problem with the place at all. It’s a very nice place. My mother-in-law actually has 2 rooms. She has a little living room, a bedroom, a very small kitchen, and a very nice bathroom. These are somewhat limited because she had been in a skilled home for a month, and they had a lot more activities. So, they had limited activities. "

"We chose Juniper Village at Lebanon for my grandparents because the staff is amazing. I can't say anything bad about it. The staff is wonderful, and the food is excellent. I've eaten with them twice. That was a big concern for us, because in the other facility they were not being fed properly. We see the staff making special arrangements because my grandparents are on a special diet and a diabetic diet, and they make accommodations for them. I like that they are truly caring and genuine, and there are plenty of activities. They have a gym, a salon, and they have in-house maintenance."

"Autumn House East was a very nice and clean place. The workers there were wonderful. They took me all around to different rooms. The rooms were quite nice and big enough for like, a bed, a chair, a TV, or whatever you wanted there. There's an outside area with a little garden there. The people that live there are awesome. There were wonderful people there. They said to me, 'If you want to come here, this is where we are every morning. We have coffee here.' It was just very nice and friendly. The room was small. It would be like a bedroom but a little bit bigger where you would have had your bed on one part, and some would have a recliner there and their TV. There were rooms that they could go to. They had exercises and things to do. There were a lot of things that the residents could get involved in. The tour was very nice. They were very informative. They would do everything. It was very nice there. They explained everything. We went into different rooms. The staff would ask the person in that room, 'Can we show her your room?' And the rooms that I looked at were very prominent of the person that was there. They had all their things, they had stuff hanging on the wall, and they had pictures, a TV, a recliner, and their bed there. It was just like a little tiny apartment. The building itself was very clean and very nice. And then outside there was a little garden and chairs to sit out if you wanted. There was a little table in one area where everybody sat in the morning and had their coffee, or they would sit down there and play cards. It was just very nice. I liked that."

"I was impressed with Autumn House West. I wouldn't say that they generally cared any more or any less about the individuals there, but it felt like a hotel and the rooms were quite spacious. Everybody had their name on their door as if they were a movie star. They had a situation where you were kind of free to come and go as you wish if you had the mobility to do so. You could go out front and out back. Now, the location wasn't the greatest. I'm quite aware of what the crime rate is in and around that area because of my working in that city, but the whole time I was there, I kind of felt safe. I thought it was a tremendous place. You were allowed to bring, for the most part, your needed things. If you didn't necessarily have a twin bed or a single bed, they would provide you with one. If you had your own dresser, you could bring that in. They allowed you to have your own TV, if that's what you wanted, or your own lift chair or things of that nature, but if you didn't have anything to your name, they would give you something."

"The things I like the most about Amoroso Wellness at York were the location, the cleanliness of the place, and the layout was wonderful. The area where you get together for social activities and eating some meals was just great. It has a beautiful scenic country view with no city buildings in sight. It was very nice looking out at the scenic view of Pennsylvania. The people there were very friendly, sociable, and easy to get along with. You could tell that they cared for the people that were staying there very much. The way they worked out the finances for staying there was great. They have reasonable prices that are lower than all the other communities that I went to. It was a great experience. However, they have an outdoor area for elderly people who are in need of memory care and that was at the front of the building and you could see it as you were pulling in and parking the car. It should not have been at the front of the building. You're taking your loved one there, and they see that and it reminds them of prison because you can see a caged-in area that looks like a prison cell all around the outdoor area. That made it difficult for me to get my mother out of the car and go in and look at the place. I made it clear to her that we were just there to look at the place, and we were not planning on putting her in the memory care place because her memory is not so bad that she needs to go into that place. It was a major setback for me and my mother. That's the place I want to take her to. It's so affordable. I would recommend that, but I might have to find another place because of the outdoor area being right there. That'll be a hard one to overcome. Other than that, that was a great place."

"Mom moved to Celebration Villa of York. It's just a nice facility. The staff is very, very easy to work with. The food is just amazing. The facility is well-kept. They have activities daily. They have a chapel, church services, and everything you need is there."

"The rooms nice size. I would prefer a carpet more like indoor/outdoor. It does not hold the urine smell like the pyle carpet does. My husband’s mattress is not quite he has ben use to. The staff has been very helpful and pleasant. They all are very helpful with helping me to get him to stand or sit. They all seem to like music and the exercise classes they hold. I do have an issue with laundry losing items so I take my husband’s home which can be a hassel."

"I have had the unique opportunity of having two parents use both of their facilities and was extremely pleased by the respect they gave each individual. The structure is beautifully maintained, meals are wonderful and invite family members to join in everything. The individual rooms are tastefully decorated with country views out each window. "