Independent Living Communities in Springfield, IL

"My mom has her own little place at Hickory Glen. It's a four-story building. Each resident has their own room. We had to supply the furniture in her place there, but they would bring her meals to her room. They would clean her room once a week. They have a salon, rehab services, games, and puzzles she could build. She's still doing well there. The food is good, too. Their staff is excellent. She is only paying $2200 a month, which is enough for her, and that included her meals and transportation if she goes to the doctor and stuff."

"I moved to The Montvale Senior Living. The people are great, and the food is good. I have a roof over my head, so I'm happy. My apartment is nice and small. It's a studio. The staff has been great, and they have directed me in a couple of different directions. They have lots of activities which I'm happy about. They've got the library with the pool table. The dining room is very nice. They've got a laundry room that I could use. They took me and showed me where the workout machine was. All in all, it's very nice."

"Carriage Crossing of Rochester appears to be a new facility. However, at the time I was there, I did not see any residents engaged in the activities. It's probably 3 to 4 years old. I toured the facility, and it looked to be fine. They had amenities, too. They had onsite physical therapy and an onsite beauty salon. The staff who gave the tour were very knowledgeable. They appeared to have been in this business a very long time."

"I went to Courtyard Estates of Girard. I would be doing independent living. It ticked all the boxes. The independent portion is beyond suitable. It is a full apartment. The residents that I met are very nice. The staff is exceptional. I met the director, and she is great. Everything that they have given me is worth the money. I recommend this to everyone. It is a beautiful place, situated in a beautiful part of Illinois. It is a small community, and it is friendly and very welcoming. Even from the outside, you could just kind of guess as to the quality and the standards that they have for their facility. Just driving by, you would want to stop and take a look. This place is top-notch all the way. The staff is wonderful. It is a very caring, integrative, family-oriented staff. You can tell that they care about the residents. When I came in, they were making homemade ice cream, so it brought memories from childhood. That was very endearing to me. They had people there who were participating in that. The menu that they showed me was for four weeks. It is not for one week that's repeated. The staff members that I met were very helpful, very friendly, and very inviting. They even had a little sign that said, 'Welcome, Patti.' They had special little touches that made me feel very welcome. They gave me a little going-away gift, and they said that they have got a spot just for me. I saw some housekeeping people there; again, they were very friendly and very encouraging. They are people that you would incorporate into your family. They would be somebody you would all become friends with. It's that type of environment. They have staff that is there for long term. I like that part about that as well. They told me about the longevity of some of the staff members, and that's great. They have a little pond area, a gazebo, and activities that are planned for the residents. They can come and they can go. In the independent portion, if they have a car, they have garages available. They have everything there. The menu was extensive. I couldn't believe the choices that they have for that. It's great. You could tell that it is a very well-kept place. It doesn't look like it's worn. They keep it up. It's not something that you let run down or anything like that. This is a very nice gathering place. They have several areas for projects that residents are working on. Puzzles are a big thing there, and you can see that they have two or three different areas where they have puzzles that are in progress. They make some of them permanent, where they hang them as art pieces. So it's wonderful."

"I am a resident of Illinois Presbyterian Home. I just like the staff and the way they care for the people who need care. We have very good meals. They cook and the independent people have to go to the other building to eat. If you don't want to go outside and eat, you wouldn't like independent living. But I think the nursing staff does a good job of taking care of the people that live there. They have a library, an activity director, and she does lots of things with the ones that live in that building. We have exercises in both buildings. I lived in two other communities, and Illinois Presbyterian Home was more my type, and the cost was not as high as where I moved from."

"The tour with Seasons at Pine Creek was wonderful. The individual who showed us around was Debbie, and she's quite familiar with it. Seasons is privately owned by a local family. One of the members was on site each day to just come and see it. It's very, very clean. They have updated units, and they're beautiful. The 2-bedroom was just very tastefully decorated. It is independent living, but there are different services that are offered. They can also hire someone that is actually employed by seasons, if they need some assistance with something or if they need transportation to a doctor's appointment. They have a beautiful library and different meeting rooms. It's very elegant. The apartments each have a private patio. Each one has a red button in the room that if the resident does not push it by 10 o'clock at night (that is kind of the signal that everyone is kind of tucked in and OK), then they will come to your room just to make sure that you are OK and doing fine. They have carports or garages. They also have storage for when you move in and you still have a few belongings that you're not quite ready to part with. It's very reasonable: $25 for a carport and $50 for the garage. It's also located on the far west side of Springfield, so almost out and in a good part of town. I can say that since I live up here. It is close to a couple of nice medical facilities. They just seemed very accommodating, and I don't think that it's going to take very long to move in. They have an expedited list that's for those individuals who know they're ready to come. Also, the cost is extremely reasonable. It varies from maybe $1,800 to $2,000 and that includes all utilities except for phone and cable. They have somebody that's an individual that works for them that goes and takes orders from anybody who wants food from a cafeteria (which is a really popular place with older people up here), and they will bring food in for an order. The only negative that I have found is that you sign a 1-year lease. You don't have to pay more for a second person, and that's a good thing. It's my understanding that if one of them passes and the remaining one has to go to assisted living, you are still responsible for the remainder of the year's lease. That would be about the only negative, but it's still less expensive than most of the others. They gave me a packet for both of the rooms we saw. I guess they're identical and pretty much the same price, but there are 4 or 5 different floor plans; some of them are more about the bathrooms being more handicapped-friendly and really large. They've got the linen closets on the other sides. It's quite sufficient for two people. They have a nice dining room. In the kitchen, they have this little counter that you could put a little cup, a little short stool under them, or it is perfect for putting a wheelchair under if you have somebody in a wheelchair. They do not provide meals. They are independent living, so you have a full kitchen (which is nice). Unless somebody needs meals, they don't provide them. I know with older people, sometimes one big meal a day is sufficient. They can always order their food though. You can order up from Wal-Mart and some other places. They have pharmacy delivery; if not, somebody from Seasons will make sure that the prescriptions are picked up."