BlackBerry Pines RAL

Colleen

I toured BlackBerry Pines RAL. It's lovely. I don't know how it's going to work out because they don't have a lot of private rooms. The two privates that are there are taken right now. The girl who manages it, Becky, is unbelievably terrific. The place is great and would be my first choice, but I don't know how my sister will feel. So we're trying to figure that out right now. I didn't try any of the food but they had a nice menu. The dining area was just like family style, very nice, clean, comfortable, and welcoming. They have a nice outdoor covered patio, a vegetable garden, and chairs in the showers. They're easy-access showers. You can roll right in or step right in. You don't have to go over a barrier, and it's handicap accessible. It was nice.

Linda

We liked BlackBerry Pines RAL. We think that that's a good place for seniors to go although they are limited as to how many they can take in. It sounds like they have 24/7 care and it's a small group of people that they can handle and it's in a residential home. We're hoping that my sister-in-law would consider taking her mother there because I think she would have been good there. The level of care was excellent. It's not a large, multi-residential home. It's new. They only have eight residents there. We were really happy with the tour and with the facility in itself because it was more like a home instead of a hotel or a motel. It was more homey. The tour was excellent. They had a garden that the residents could get involved with. If they wanted specific food to be grown, they would go out there and they would plant it. They had a nice patio area where they could sit in. It was on an acre and a half of land. They had a living room or a great room where everybody could sit and watch TV. They were in the development of creating a second meeting room or great room. They had a dining area and a kitchen area. It's like an open layout where you can work in the kitchen and see into the dining room and see past that into the recreational room or the room where they were sitting to watch TV. I think they had four bedrooms and they just changed an office into another bedroom. Each bedroom has its own bathroom. They have two rooms that they don't share, but then they have two bedrooms that they do share. They have a dividing wall that they could put in there if they wanted privacy. The owners of the building live in another room. They live in that building. It's got 24/7 care and a nurse on staff 24/7. They have a dietitian who comes in and makes the food according to the diets that they have. They have another person there who assists in the care of the patients. They have a laundry facility, which we didn't see, but that was probably in the basement. I was very satisfied with it. They were all caring. They're all pleasant people to talk to. The owners were very pleasant and informative. It was extremely clean, well-maintained, well-organized, and roomy.

Paul

My wife has moved into BlackBerry Pines RAL. I went out there and saw it, I met with the people, listened to what they had to say, and then I made a decision. My wife has a regular hospital bed in the room, a side chair, a bookcase, and a nightstand. They have a big kitchen. They have a sunroom, no TV allowed, it's only for sitting and reading. They have like a family room that has three recliners and a leather couch in it. They have another living room that has two leather couches in it. Both rooms have very, very large television sets. It's very nice. They have a gazebo outside with very comfortable furniture. They have a firepit out there, and they grow a lot of their own vegetables in the summertime. The staff are very competent and very willing to help.