Azalea Trace

James D. Carlson

Here at Azalea Trace you have a choice of rooms varying from single bedroom(of "effeciency apartments") to double bedroom - with a variety of sizes and layouts available. My wife and I moved in on March 18, 2018, to a two bedroom (1,200 sq ft) apartment in a single story building (the section called Garden Apartments). We are the end unit in our building so we do not have to worry about noises from the next apartment or the above apartment. There is a "sun room" (with six windows) on the back of the apartment that looks out to a large pond with a fountain in the center, with ducks (and at times other waterfowl) in and around the pond. There is a paved "patio" behind the sun room for times to be out in the sun. I had begun to notice my wife's short term memory fade for a few years before we moved in. At that point I began my search for what to do to prepare for the future. As a CPA for 40+ years, I had several clients who were elderly, many in "retirement facilities." I asked how they felt about where they were living. Of the clients I asked who lived at Azalea Trace 100% had nothing but VERY GOOD things to say about Azalea Trace. This confirmed my personal observation. In 2000 (26 years ago) my father's dementia began to manifest itself. After many months it got to the point that my mother was no longer able to handle it. My father was in the "Army Air Corps" (before there was a U.S. AirForce) during WWII. When he got out of the army, he was one of millions of men, with only a high school education, looking for a job. He finally got a job as an Insurance Claims Examiner. He made a decent living (we never lacked for anything) but he did not make enough to enable him to enter Azaea Trace the normal way. The Social Worker helping my parents found a Medicaid Qualified bed at Willow Brooke Court (the memory/dementia center at Azalea Trace). Many times when one visits a "retirement home" there are unpleasant smells. At Willow Brooke Court I did not ever get even a "slight whiff" of that. The facility was cleaner than most hospitals. Also, I was VERY impressed with the dignity and kindness the staff showed my father. He was at the stage where he did not remember everyone's name, and could not understand everything said, but to him it was VERY important that every Sunday he be at the Kingdom Hall for the weekly discussions in the Watchtower. I would drive out here every Sunday to pick him up. The staff would have him already dressed and ready to go with a coat and tie. Who does that for a MEDICAID PATENT? About five years before I began my search, I had an elderly client who went to another retirement facility in Pensacola that had a very good reputation. The first four years he was there, when he brought in his information for me to do his tax return, he was paying $4,000 a month for a one person apartment with one bedroom. The sixth year when he came in his monthly fee had jumped to $6,000 a month. I asked him "Ted, what happened?" He replied "they had to move me to assisted living." I asked "What will happen if you have to go to "assisted living?" He said, "Oh yes, the fee will go up again." Thankfully he came from a family with a lot of money, so the cost was not a problem. But it made me worry "What if my wife and I end up both needing "skilled nursing?" I realized that it would not be long before I would be looking up bankruptcy attorneys if we faced a fee of $6,000 (or more) for each of us - making the total fee for the two of us $12,000 to $16,000. The financial model at Azalea Trace that we chose was that there would be no increase in fee as one (or either) of us needed "Assisted Living" or "Skilled Nursing." There would be no 50% increase in monthly fee when either (or both) of us needed additional care. We were on the "waiting list" for a couple of years, coming here several times to look at available apartments, before we found the "Independent iving" apartment we liked. When we moved in we were paying the same amount for two people in a two bedroom "independent living" apartment (complete with "sun room" and a back patio) as my client had paid for a single person in a one bedroom effeciency apartment many years earlier! When the COVID 19 pandemic, and resultant "lockdown" occured, the people here did "backflips" to care for the residents and comply with the "social distancing" requirements. For several months they had to deliver our meals to our apartment. When regulations finally eased up so they could serve in the dining room again, we still had to call ahead for reservations so they could control how many were in the dining room at a time to maintain the "social distancing" still required. Finally, as regulations eased, we no longer had to call ahead for reservations. When my wife's memory got to the point that I could no longer cope with it (there was one week when I had to call my son every night at bedtime and he had to get out of bed, get dressed, and drive here to convince his mother that he knew I was his daddy and he had lived with both of us for 50 years, so he knew we were married. It finally got to where my wife would not believe him, and I had to call the Wellness Center here for help. They send a Nurse and a Security Guard to our apartment. The nurse finally convinced my wife it was not a sin for me to sleep in the same bed with her. Later, the administrator called me and said it was time to move my wife the Willow Brooke Court (the skilled nursing/memory care/dementia center here). They moved her there September 1, 2021. True to their word, our fee did not change when she went to the skilled nursing center!! From September 2, 2021 to February 1, 2026, we had two places here. I still have the same two bedroom "independent living" apartment at the same time as my wife had her private room in Willow Brooke Court (the "skilled nursing/memory care/dementia" section) here at Azalea Trace. Thankfully, when my wife passed away, she was peacefully quiet at sleep. The attending nurse had been checking on her every 10 minutes that morning. Every time she checked my wife was peacefully sleeping, breathing easily. It was 9:10 in the morning (Sunday, February 1,2026) when the nurse checked that my wife had quit breathing. After my wife passed away, and my fee went down because there was not only one person in the apartment. One can always find something to complain about anywhere they live. But I have difficulty finding anything to complain about since my wife and I moved here 8 1/2 years ago. My complaints are centered around my increased difficulty doing things as I get older, not about the facility and people here. My son, also a CPA., has told me many times that moving my wife and myself here was the best thing I ever did. He and his wife just went trough a two year ordeal where bother of her parents suffered considerably from cancer and died.

Randy

Azalea Trace is a top of the line CONTINUAL CARE facility ... very professionally managed ... excellent residences, food, and activities ... a real emphasis on physical and mental well-being ... we LOVE living here

Provider Response

Kimberly

Azalea Trace was a nice campus. They were doing some construction and upgrades when we were there. They had nice grounds and places for people to walk and sit. The staff was very nice. They had activities for their residents, such as special nights where all would come dressed up, get served, eat in the dining hall, and have some entertainment. They seemed to really be on top of that and people enjoyed it. It just was really expensive. They had assisted living care right there on campus and once you were able to get your family member in (because they require an enormous down payment), if they needed a higher level of care, they could move to that. Everything would be covered, and you'd still pay the same price.

Provider Response

Martha

Azalea Trace has it all. You can start with independent living and move up. My tour was wonderful; it was very expensive, though. It was a very positive experience, but it was out of my price range. The facilities were very nice and upscale. The structure and the layout are very beautiful, and every new person who lives there doesn't just move in after someone moves out of the apartment. They completely redo it, and it's very clean and beautiful. They have pretty much everything there, like a workout room, and they have a pool that is not really big but is good for water aerobics. Everything's kind of shut down right now. They have lots of activities and a beautiful dining room but right now, all the meals are being sent to the rooms. Overall, it's beautiful, and I'd rate it a "five," but taking into account the cost it's a "one." If you can afford to live there, it's wonderful. I had limited interactions, but the staff was wonderful.

Provider Response

Kurt

I was looking for continuing care and Azalea Trace is the only one here so I checked in, but I would have to sell a piece of the property I have to come up with the entrance fee. They have some vacancies. It's been around a long time so it has a good track record. I was more interested in the bedroom apartment. It has been around a long time so it has a good track record. The people are very friendly and many professional people in this area speak very highly of it. Many of them end up there eventually. They are very friendly, and it seems to be a well-appointed community, although it's getting a little old. One thing that has happened is that they've opened another facility towards Alabama, and it's a brand new community, so I wonder if they're putting some of their resources over there. The staff is very good people. The rain gutters are kind of rusted out in places. They have a swimming pool, but it looked very old. You can still use it for aerobics, but you can't swim laps in the pool.

Provider Response

Scott310400

I toured Azalea Trace for an aunt. It was a very nice community with different styles of housing, like apartments, cottage-style, and garden apartments. They had pools and aerobics classes. They had pretty much everything you want. They had a nice dining room, a library, card rooms, places for activities, and a gardening area. They had assisted living, skilled nursing care, an on-site pharmacy, and doctors and nurses on staff. They had a lot of good stuff, but my aunt is not ready to move. The staff members were all very nice and very friendly, and even the administrative assistant was willing to show you anything. They were very nice. The people in the area seemed like they were happy. My aunt knows several people who live there and they're very happy with it.