Barton Senior Residences of Chicago

I really liked Barton Senior Residences of Chicago. It's brand new, they have a lot of activities for seniors, and they have a doctor and nurses that check on the residents daily, which right now is something I need. My only issue is the price of the rent, which is astronomical. Everything in each apartment is brand new. They showed me a model suite, which has a living space, a kitchen on one side, and a nice bathroom. They serve the tenants breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, they take about 90% of whatever your income is and you get $90 back. They have activities like field trips and things of that nature. The food looked good, was appetizing, and pleasant. They have a barber shop, a beauty salon, an office full of nurses, and a big community room with a big TV with cable that you can watch. You can get cable and WiFi in your own apartment, but that's extra.

Location-wise, Barton Senior Residences of Chicago benefits us and is well suited for my sister. The place is clean and we liked it and were satisfied with the facility. The people are efficient and courteous. They have activities, therapy, and a gym. They change the menu in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I am impressed with what they have.

Watch out! This is a nice enough facility, and the caregivers are wonderful, but Barton terminated my dad's lease when he needed several weeks of rehab after a fall, claiming "he needs more care than we provide and we can't hold the apartment for him" while he recovered in a rehab facility; even though his prognosis was for a full recovery and he was paying rent! This clause is fairly standard for Assisted Living Facilities (ALF), and they told us when we moved him in that they didn't foresee exercising it, that "once they're ours, we keep them" even when they really exceed ALF level care. Our experience directly contradicts this claim.Also, Barton refuses to release records of administration of his medications to settle a dispute over whether they were taken as prescribed, stating: "...I have spoken with our Director and Barton Management does not release any in house documentation to Tenants or Families." In other words, their position is that tenants do not have a right to a copy of records of their care there. This isn't something we were aware could happen; we simply assumed access to records was a basic HIPAA right. This is a HUGE red flag: while it MAY be true that they are not LEGALLY obligated to release records (the complaint process should resolve that question), the question you should ask yourself (and any facility you're considering) is "Would they withhold tenant care records when requested by the tenants, and if so, why?" In this case, the obvious answer is that the records will show that in fact the medication in question was not taken as prescribed as Barton claims, but we won't know unless/until we see them.

I went to Barton Senior Residences and all the residents had their heads down doing nothing. I saw the dining room and I don’t see any activities. This is not the place for me at all. I will deteriorate quickly in this facility. I want to be in a facility where everybody is moving around.