Downers Grove Senior Living

Sheila

My brother moved to Saratoga Grove Retirement and Assisted Living. Their community is great. Everyone is friendly, from the staff to the residents. The nurses, CNAs, and everyone are just fantastic. He's got a nice room. It's a nice size for him, but I wish it were a little bit bigger (I guess that's just me). I would prefer that it were a little bit bigger and that it had more of a kitchen-type layout. It has a cabinet area and a countertop, and he can put his microwave there, but I wish there was a sink where he can wash some little dishes if he has some. Overall, it's still a nice room. He has been participating in some of their activities. I know he plays bingo, and then they've had movie nights (he goes to that). They have little events sometimes, and they have one coming up soon at the end of this month on the 26th. They are going to have an event where families can come and stuff like that, which is good. I don't think he likes the food. He's picky. He wants to eat what he wants to eat. He is diabetic too, so he doesn't care for the food. He has no choice, though, but I think it's delicious. Not that I've eaten any, but I can tell when the cook/the chef puts it out, it looks good and smells good to me. I know that there are other elderly people there who have to be cared for and can't control themselves. They have to go to the bathroom and stuff like that, and so it feels like every time I'm walking to go down to my brother's hall to go to his room, it reeks of urine. You can just smell it, and I don't know if that's because they haven't cleaned, or maybe when I come, there's nobody there to clean it. During the week, I couldn't smell it, but definitely when I go on Saturday mornings or Sunday, I can smell it as soon as I come in the door.

Carmelo

We went to visit Saratoga Grove Retirement and Assisted Living and toured for independent living. They were very nice, and they showed us around really well. They showed what the rooms looked like, what they provided to the seniors, and stuff like that. They're very professional, and it's very nice to see everything the way they have it. They seem to be very good. They provide transportation services for the people who need them, they have a doctor in-house, and they have a food service type of situation there, which is also very good. We checked their dining area, and it was nice. They had a cafeteria-type environment, but I understand they would also take food up if the residents wanted the food delivered to their suite. The whole environment was very good. The person who gave the tour seemed to know the people that he worked for and knew the seniors there.

Sylvia

I went to Saratoga Grove Retirement and Assisted Living. I was waiting 45 minutes past my appointment time to be seen. When I saw the person, he was in a hurry. So, he quickly gave me a folder and showed me a room, and that was it. He showed me a studio. It was open. It was nice, but that's all they showed me. It's modern. It was beautiful, including the grounds and the facility, and there were a lot of parking spots and handicapped spots. The staffing, wonderful nurses, and CNAs were friendly and attentive to the residents.

Joseph

My mother-in-law moved into Saratoga Grove Retirement and Assisted Living one week ago. The Saratoga Grove is a very clean, very nicely set up, smaller community. They only have 66 total residents. It's set up for independent living on the lower level, assisted living on the main floor, and memory care on the second floor. The reason we chose Saratoga Grove besides the very nice people and very nice residents is because my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She will be able to stay in that community as she progresses or as the disease progresses. She could be moved up into memory care. The best part about it is that they are connected to a Medicaid facility. So, if it gets to the point where she can no longer afford on her own to pay for the care at Saratoga Grove, she will not be moved down the block across the street. She'll be moved over into a different section of the community, which was very important. We didn't have to pack her up and move her. In other places that we saw, they promise you the best care. They promised this. They promised that. But once your money is gone, well, we're going to have to move her out. She enjoys the meals. She enjoys the people. As we thought, when we first talked about moving her there, she has become more independent than she was when she was living with us. And she seems to be thriving. She's up early because she has other women she has to compete with now. The room that she's in is a single room and it's fairly large size. She has a bed, a dresser, a TV, a recliner, and another chair. So there's plenty of space in the room, and yet at the same time, it's not too large for her. She walks around or moves around on her rollator, and it's a very good size for as is the community itself. The community is not oversized. It's a smaller community where it's set up in a circle so she can walk around, but she's not too tired and it's not too far to go anywhere she does go. They have a beautiful courtyard. What we love best is the way that it's set up. There's an atrium in the center of all three floors, for example, if they have a magician come in and perform for them, you can see him even from memory care by going to the atrium in the center and just looking down at the performances. They do have an outdoor courtyard that my mother-in-law says is very nice. She has not gone out there because it's been in the 90s. It's too warm for her to go outside. But yes, they do things. They had a care dog come in last week. They have bingo three times a week. My mother-in-law is excited because they have a bus trip to the casino coming up next week. There's just a lot of things where they bring the people in. They have an activity center. They have a health club with some workout equipment. A wonderful young lady, probably in her 70s leads the group. She focuses on balance more than anything else. As you get older, as you may or may not know, balance is very important.

Nancy

My sister will move into Saratoga Grove Retirement and Assisted. I think the price is right. The place is very nice and clean and everybody's very friendly. Bernard, who gave us the tour, was wonderful. He was great. He answered all my questions to make me understand what was going on and he calmed all my fears, so it was great. I liked the rooms mainly because there wasn't a stove or anything like that. They were just the right size, and that's all my sister needed. It has a bed and a TV. I know that she's going to be going out of the room for events that were happening there or to go out, and not be in the room all the time. They reassured me that was all going to happen, that she would be going to activities and things, so that was good. When I was there, they were painting on canvas, and I thought that was neat. They go for bus rides to the shopping centers, too. They have a planned big day out. They're not going to keep my sister sedated and not doing anything. It looked like a good fit for us. The price is right, which is my major thing because my sister is young, she's only 65, and she could be there for 20 years, so we don't want her to run out of money.