The Reserve at Towne Lake

Marcia

My husband is at The Reserve at Towne Lake. The facility is all on one level, so there are no elevators or anything like that. There's four different corridors and each of the corridors is very short with cameras on. Basically, the thing I found different about this place than any other places we had visited was the layout of the facility. They can walk around the whole facility and they are monitored. That's just wonderful because it seems like a more active place for memory care people. There's more people that are walking around. They get them dressed and everybody looks very neat. Each corridor has its own little eating area. There was a small group in the corridors, and then they have big open areas, and then each one of those has a group place with a big TV. It's a real big room and it allows for interaction. The atrium when you come in first is extremely welcoming and they do a lot of activities in there with people singing and Christmas parties. It's a beautiful little way as you come in. So, that area was also a plus, because that's where they get people involved. The residents seemed to be so much stronger than a lot of the places we visited, because they've got freedom. If you want to, there's a courtyard that when they go out there it beeps, and there's a camera running all the time. There's absolutely no way for them to get out of the courtyard other than to come right back into their corridor. It has trees, flowers, and little benches so they can get out and get sun, and they don't have to wait for someone to push them out and sit with them because it's fully secured. I found that to be tremendously good. My husband loves it. He's got the freedom to do that if he wants to. They mostly have single rooms so you don't have to have a roommate or share a bathroom, and I found that to also be freeing for people that are very much in the memory care problem but haven't quite advanced to another area where they don't even know where they are. The privacy of being able to have your own room or your own bathroom is a real positive thing because that's a hard transition. I think it's pretty unique. We didn't find other facilities like that. I think there's only one or two others in our area that are transitioning to a memory care only, but the focus of this one being that way is ideal for someone that truly needs memory care. Their cost is not the highest. They're expensive, but they are definitely more moderate. They're very fair with what they charge.

pgrant0329

The positives: the facility common areas were fairly clean and the outside areas are nice. The rooms are a good size. The cons: staffing challenges including high turnover and untrained in how to deal with memory loss residents. Residents left alone frequently. They tell you everyone is trained in dementia care but that’s not the case most of the time. A lot of things seem to be a challenge like getting the residents laundry done, cleaning of the residents rooms, getting medicine at the correct times. The regional nurse who is an rn is overwhelmed with her workload so simple things don’t get done. The residents don’t get any exercise and the ones that get to the tv room watch television all day which causes issues with swelling in the legs and feet. While we were there very few crafts were done and the only consistent activity they had was a residents son in law coming to entertain with singing, many residents are unattended and brought to breakfast or allowed to have on wet or dirty adult diapers. A few of the residents were physical resulting in other residents getting hurt. They would be removed for a short time and then return. We had to supplement with our own caregivers to ensure our parent was minimally clean every day, mentally stimulated with activities and conversation. Our parent was very unhappy there. They liked the food and a few of the staff but overall a terrible fit for our family nember.

Elaine

I went to visit. I thought it was very nice, clean, and very quaint. Not too big, and I like how they specialized in memory care. The staff was wonderful, very caring, very personable, and the whole staff spoke to me and made me feel very at home. My husband will move in there by February. I saw the residents eating, and the food looked very good. They had a word game and ball game going on where they would hit balls with those noodles. They had bingo going on. They had a lot of activities going on. The rooms were very nice, and they will provide the furniture. The bathrooms were very roomy and they were very clean. I didn't smell any bad odors like they sometimes have.

Wonda

My mom moved in. Their only focus on memory care. It's okay for right now, I liked that they didn't have COVID, and it's close by for me. The staff is OK, right now the interaction is limited, the room size it was nice, the people seemed to be nice, seemed to be fine and good with her. The main thing for me is mom is really happy, and seems to be enjoying herself. When I do visit every day, she doesn't seem to even miss me, and from day one she was fine. So far my mom doesn't seem like she's hungry, or anything like that, I don't know their daily menu, that's one of the things I don't like. They said she eats everything, they have snacks, but she likes candies, so I take her candies.

Georgia family

Our mom & dad moved here together 5 months ago a few months after dad's stroke & nursing home stay. They are the happiest and least stressed we have seen them in years. The staff is loving, happy and gentle in word and deeds. The staff seem well trained in memory care and use appropriate techniques like re-direction and engagement in activities when a resident is confused or wants to go "home". We are enjoying visiting and spending quality time together with our parents, instead of worrying about them driving a car or wandering off or taking several days worth of pills at once. Our parents talk about all their friends who live there with them, how clean the building is, how wonderful the meals are, how much they enjoy the 3 outdoor gardens & courtyards, and how much fun they have. We appreciate how the staff knows each resident's background and interests so they can interact in a meaningful and warm way.

Rudolf

It was fairly new, and they were in the process of getting more patients in there, and at this point it wasn't filled up up yet. It seemed very nice. The rooms were very nice, with individual showers and a bath, most often. They told me they have activities for the residents, but I don’t know what those are. It is something I would consider for my wife to be in.