Bay Park

Bay Park was nice, but a little old. It needed a little bit of updating. The girl who showed us around was very knowledgeable, very helpful, engaging, compassionate, and very understanding of our situation. It was a little too busy of an area and a little too congested, otherwise the community was nice and the menu was nice. They have a full schedule of activities for the residents.

Bay Park is one of my top 3. It was clean, the vibe was very friendly, and it had good activities. The staff was very friendly, very knowledgeable, and have called me a couple of times since to follow up. It was on a busy street, and I didn't like that.

We went to Bay Park, and Annie really enjoyed it. She thought it was nice. Actually, it was out of her price range, but the main thing really for her was that there was no public transportation close by. She liked it, but she just can't do it. The staff was very friendly. They gave us a thorough tour, offered a complementary lunch, and followed up. They showed us the 1-bedroom, and it was nice. We didn’t look at the 2-bedroom one, but they told us they had a 2-bedroom. One of the things she didn’t like as well were the amenities in the kitchen. They had a small refrigerator and a place for a microwave, but they didn’t have a stove top oven. And the living room and the dining room kind of ran together; it was all one. The bathroom was located in what she thought was a good area, which she saw first, and then there was the bedroom, which was fine. Another thing that she was not too fond of was that it didn’t have a separate area for entertaining people. When you walk into their building, the first thing that you would see is a very large community room. So if you want to entertain someone, and you don’t want to entertain them in the room, you had to entertain them in that area. They also did not have a patio, so there was really no outlet; there wasn’t any place for you to really go and just enjoy the outdoors if you wanted to. They had activities from 7 in the morning to 7 at night. Their expectation was that people should participate in at least 1 activity a day. They didn’t want people just sitting in their rooms. I don’t think I have been to a place that had as many activities as they had, which I thought was good. We saw some ladies coming off of the elevator, and we talked to them a little about quilting because they were going to some quilting activity. I think the tour took about an hour and 15 minutes, so it was a pretty long tour. They were thorough in what they presented. But from what I saw, it was not as diverse as I think she would have liked it to have been. It was pricey, but I think that is because they had so many things to offer. One thing that was a drawback to her too was that if she needed to go to a doctor, they would take her within the area, but they don’t go outside the county. Also, if she needed to bring somebody in for medical care, it would be additional, so she'd have to do it on her own. You have to provide for your own transportation if you have a doctor outside of the area, and you don’t have any place for an outlet; you can't go out because is no park or anything around there.

My sister is very comfortable in Bay Park. The rooms were very nice and had have multiple options, like a studio, one-bedroom, and something in between the two. They have units with balconies, so she can sit out. It was much better than being in an apartment.

We chose Bay Park as mom is familiar with the area, and the people were very nice. It was very clean, wasn’t too large, and it was very homey. She had a good walking for it when she walked in. She had only been in it about two months. They have different trips scheduled every once in a while, movie nights, and a great dining room. They have a person that does hair, a library, and a driver who takes them places they need to go whether it’s doctor’s appointments or salon. They contract with a company called Love a Parent which offers aides if your parent needs assisted with bathing or dressing, so it’s great.

We did go to Bay Park. It was very nice. The receptionist person was very nice, very accommodating, and polite. I thought the community was very handicapped friendly. It’s very good. I had no complaints about it. They had a very lengthy schedule of activities where you could plug into many different things -- i.e., card clubs, theater, and movie times. There were lots of activities. I only met with one staff, and she seemed very nice. She said that she had been there for a couple of years. That was a plus because a lot of them only say it’s six months or so.

My mother has been in Bay Park for two months now. We chose it because the price is reasonable. Overall, it looks like they have some activities, space, and friendly people. The layout is good and has a sunny feeling. She has not participated in any activities. The main issue is that she doesn’t speak English, which limits a lot of things. On the day visited, I made that clear with the facility managers, who seemed quite friendly. They said, “Oh, we’ll make sure to find her an ambassador." I told them there are phone apps for translating, but I do not think anyone has made any effort, which has created a very isolated situation for my mother. I wish the managers would be more helpful.

Bay Park did not have a swimming pool, exercise programs for me and excursions and active activities; everybody seemed to be seated and waiting for something. I wouldn’t want to live there. The place wasn’t inviting to me. It’s clean, but it needed some rejuvenating. The dining area was nice. I only met one person, and she was very nice.