Crescent Point at Niantic

Crescent Point at Niantic is very nice and the activities are very nice. I have a very nice three-room apartment. The food is good. The residents are all very nice, too, and the staff is excellent which is very important. I get everything I pay for.

I had visited Crescent Point. I liked the fact that the lighting was very good. The outside walking trail was very nice. I liked the fact that they offered art classes, and I really liked their occupational therapy. Activities outdoors were primarily some gardening, walking, and just enjoying sitting outdoors. Indoors, they had music, painting, craft, and I guess they got to do some baking as well. I thought it was very nice.

A lot of people are moving out of Crescent Point because they keep raising the rates. They are outrageous for Alzheimer care. Everything is tacked on; it’s not inclusive at all. We were doing up to about $10,000 a month over there and my mother wasn’t getting any activities. Communication was very poor between staff, caregivers, and myself being my mother’s primary care person. They need to start learning how to communicate between staff, the chefs, and so forth. The food was OK. We stopped eating there because we could be better by bringing in food than being charged $12 a person when we went to have dinner with her. They had a revamp and a reorganizing because we’ve had issues.

I helped to choose where to place my grandmother and unlike a lot of families who don't get involved with their loved ones in assisted living facilities or nursing homes - my mother and I wanted her to be safe and comfortable. The price is $5000 a month, which I feel is grossly injust. Surrounding homes also have high rent so I guess it's normal but it's awful that they put such high prices on places that are so mentally comforting and necessary. They shouldn't just be for people with money. There are activites that are always happening. Some of the aids as so good to my grandmother, they always ask about her if she's sent to the hospital. They aren't supposed to know but they miss her and they get worried. It makes me happy to know that I helped choose a place that makes her feel loved. She still gets frustrated and depressed about her situation. She was a very material person and she misses all of her "things" but whether she calls it a prison or not.. I know that she is safe and cared for. This building is clean and new. When you walk in the front door it's either a fresh scent or dinner. I love that my gram can go in her friends room down the hall, open the window and watch the parades go down main street; from Christmas to 4th of July. I know this stage is hard but I never realized how important assisted living is for someone IN that stage of life. As the granddaughter of someone in this facility, I feel like this was the best chance for her to have quality of life. I needed to seperate her from her movies and tv, and bring her back to people and faces and human interaction. It's important for the human spirit.