Continuing Care Retirement Communities Communities in Pella, IA

"We moved to the independent living community of Wesley Park Centre in Newton. It's a lovely place. We are on the third floor, and there are balconies to a lot of the apartments, but we do not have a balcony. We do have a beautiful scene out our windows. We are enjoying the independent living part because we can come and go as we please. You're walking distances that you normally don't walk, so you get lots of exercise, too. The people here are also very friendly. They provide about one meal a day, so you can pick whether that's going to be lunch or dinner in the formal dining room, or out at the small bistro that's open from 8 to 4. You could get breakfast there if you prefer. You can always purchase the other meals, and they just get added to your account. We've been in the formal dining room twice, and both times, the food was very good. I heard they are going to change their meal program. They said that instead of having one meal free for the day, they're going to give you an allotment of the money, and they are going to make all of the food in the bistro and dining room have a price on it. You can pick what you want, and they'll serve a couple of main entrees every night, so we'd have several things to pick from. If you don't use the allotment up, you will lose it for the month when you start with a new one. However, they're putting up a little convenience store type of thing where they would have supplies you might need, like toilet paper or paper towels, maybe some boxed cereal or something that wouldn't expire right away. If you had say $10 or $15 left over, instead of it going to waste, you could purchase these items there. That way, you wouldn't be losing money. It is a continuing care facility, and everything is located in the same building, with just different tunnels that go to different places. There's also an underground tunnel that goes right to the hospital next door, so if you had to go to the hospital, you wouldn't have to go outside. One of the other nice things about that place is that they have underground parking, so we all have underground parking and just take the elevator up to our rooms. The staff that I have met has been wonderful. They were remodeling our apartment before we moved in, and a couple of things had not arrived, but the maintenance was very conscious to make sure that we had things that we could use. She was also very helpful to stop by and collect some of the packing boxes and stuff that we had unpacked and get rid of them for me. I haven't really met the chefs or anybody that actually does the cooking, but all the aides that deliver the food have been very friendly, very nice, and very sociable. The people here have also been very helpful like when we left the dining room, and they showed us where we could check for activities or do something like that. For activities, they have different card games going on at different times and on different days. They have exercise activities going on all the time, too. There are also bus trips to Des Moines or to restaurants to eat out, so there are outings that you can go on."

"After remarrying in 1998, my grandmother moved to Grinnell, IA to live with her new husband. They lived in a duplex which was owned by the Mayflower Home and would probably be considered "independent living". The duplex was very nice, a 2 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2-story home with an attached garage. They were completely independent, but if they ever had any maintenance issues (needed a lightbulb changed, needed something fixed, etc.) then the Mayflower Home would send someone out to fix it for them. Additionally, they had access to Mayflower's "activity center" and were welcome to dine at the nursing home.The activity center including a driving range (netted), a miniature golf course, shuffleboard, and ping pong. They also had a shuffleboard outside. Because they were older, we spent several holiday meals at the Mayflower's nursing home cafeteria. The food was good and they were always very accommodating. In particular, I remember we were there for Thanksgiving one year and I got excited when they brought mashed potatoes and said something about gravy. It turns out it was just mashed potatoes, but our waiter went and found a boat of gravy because I had said something. On a few years, they even put our family in a separate dining area where we had more room and privacy. The nursing home itself is also quite lovely. They have a room to the left when you first walk in with birds and you can sit and watch them, read, etc. They also have a room off to the right where they have activities with residents. The facility is always immaculate and the staff is very friendly. A couple years later, my step-grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and when he became difficult for my grandmother to manage alone, he moved into Mayflower Home's nursing home. He shared a room with another patient but he was always well cared for and the staff seemed very friendly. My grandmother visited him daily and would take him for walks through the facility. My grandfather passed away about three years ago and my grandmother still lives in the "independent living" duplex. She enjoys spending time at the nursing home for exercise (she walks around the activity center), meals, and visiting the gift shop. The Mayflower home offers something for everyone is basically an all-inclusive facility for older people with care for whatever level you need. I would highly recommend them to anyone. "