Bickford of Champaign

We toured Bickford of Champaign. The person that I spoke to was very nice, but the place seemed small, and the room was very, very small. When I looked out the window, I felt like there was something around the trash cans. I was very honest with that person. She's like, 'What do you think of the room?' I'm like it's so small. I can't even consider my parents here.' I didn't like it. The room was like a big room with a bathroom attached to it. They had activities going on.

We toured the Bickford of Champaign, and it was good. The director of sales took us around to show us the rooms and several places. She told us about some of the activities and gave us a tour of the building. We looked at some of the things they had. But it wasn't one of our priorities. We just walked by and didn't go into any rooms there. The place looked nice and clean. She was nice and seemed to know what she was talking about. We saw the dining room, the recreation rooms, and the fitness room.

We toured both the assisted living and memory care of Bickford of Champaign. We liked that it was small. We liked the memory care, but the assisted living was not quite what we were looking for. They didn't have the size of the rooms that we wanted, but the facility looked good. It was well-maintained, homey, and even decorated for fall. There was an outside area with a patio and a small garden, a whirlpool, and a living room. The staff seemed very engaged, approachable, and friendly, but the tour guide just didn't seem to know the building very well.

I have visited this branch numerous times and I have always had a pleasant experience. The staff is friendly and very willing to help whenever there is a concern or question..We considered moving our mother to this building before deciding to keep her at home. I was pleased with the meal that we ate and the happiness radiating from the caregivers. The person that does marketing there, greeted us by name at the door and kept in contact with us, answering all of our questions along the way. She also mailed out a card, thanking us for taking a tour and spending time in her building. The nurses are very busy, but are available to help when needed. I would recommend this place for a friend or loved one!

The management is terrible. During the day, you could see staff sitting around on their smartphones while residents were calling out for help. If it was after 5pm, good luck finding any staff. The director is never available and doesn't return phone calls. Weekends are always short staffed, and you can tell the staff that's there is overwhelmed and exhausted. The hallways always smell like urine. Residents are choking in the dining room and there is no one to help. The parking lot is an ice rink in the winter. Staff is always gossiping and the police have shown up several times. The nurse is passing meds, helping in dining room, taking people to bathroom, cleaning, and doing laundry. I don't see how the nurse can focus on nursing concerns if they're doing housekeeping. I never see activities going on. The residents in the memory care unit are always in their wheelchairs at empty tables. I don't see any staff on that unit and it looks like a nursing home.

Bickford of Champaign was very nice. The person who assisted me was great. We walked past the dining area. I didn't taste the food except for the roll that they brought out for me and that was delicious. They have a living room with a nice big social area with couches and TV so residents can gather and talk. The facility was nice, clean and neat, well organized, and well taken care of.