"Between my elderly parents and mother-in-law, our family has now experienced 3 assisted and independent living facilities in the Boston area over the past three years, and Maplewood is excellent in many respects. No place is perfect, but Maplewood definitely receives between a 4 and 5 star rating taking everything into consideration, and we have no regrets making the difficult decision to move my dad there this fall.
Administration: One of the best assets of Maplewood is the director. He has a very positive attitude and he likes to say that he runs Maplewood “like a cruise ship." He greets everyone, is always available for questions or problem solving, and is very responsive and efficient. At the other two facilities I never saw a senior administrator over many visits.
The Maplewood model is to bring assisted living services to the apartment and not have a separate area for assisted living. This works very well for residents that need some help with bathing, dressing, food, etc., because they stay in the community with everyone but get more services within their own apartment. At other places, the assisted living residence and dining areas are separated from the independent living residents, resulting in less integration of assisted living residents into the larger community.
Facility: The facility was beautifully renovated in the past 5 years with a lovely setting by the Charles River in Weston. The apartments are overall a very good size for an assisted living facility, and my dad has a larger 700 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment. However, apartments do vary in size, so it is worth looking at all units that are available. Although the setting is very nice, the layout is not well suited for outdoor walks because of lack of sidewalks on Norumbega Road or other walking paths on the grounds. There is a large patio with outdoor seating but no great options for going for walks outside.
Activities: They list about 5 hours of activities/day including exercise classes. The activities staff are very approachable and accommodating, but there are only two people. We would like to see more staff to help remind residents of their activities, interact with residents with stimulating activities, and promote participation. Maplewood offers some outings and usually has some form of musical entertainment every week, but not a lot of classical music. The movie theatre room is quite comfortable. Another great feature of Maplewood is a social hour at 4:00 pm several days per week when residents gather for beverages and socializing.
Dining: The dining facility is a very nice area. There is plenty of food and the quality seems good with usually two choices at meals. I would rate the food as average, and have seen more gourmet options and variety of choices at other upscale facilities. There are always tables available, and no complaints about having to wait for the meal. Meal hours are very reasonable. Residents do complain about the service being slow and wait staff not too friendly, which could be due to a staffing shortage. We wish Maplewood had a Maître D’ to greet residents, assist with seating or supervise staff during meals; we experienced this at a different facility and found it very helpful.
Staff: Overall, Maplewood has one of the most courteous staffing of any place I have seen, from the front desk to the Director. The athletic director is also great and will tailor a program to fit anyone's needs. She has lots of exercise and stretching classes throughout the week if one doesn’t want to work out individually, but working with the athletic director several times a week is included in the rent.
Medical/Nursing: Be aware that Maplewood IS NOT a nursing facility. They have a memory unit, but if you have "nursing needs" such as wound care, injectable medications, etc., you have to hire someone privately or use VNA services. This is apparently due to State regulations but it can be frustrating to spend more money for even the most basic medical needs. You can pay extra for “medication management,” which means a staff person will come to the room to observe that medications are taken properly.
Maplewood is on the higher end of the cost spectrum, however, it is a rent by the month model so you don’t have to plunk down a lot of money to “buy in” to the facility. Comparable facilities can charge $500k-750k for the same type of residence with comparable monthly costs for assisted living. They also tend to have cost increases every year, and make sure you ask about their policy regarding the annual fee changes.
I hope they will hire additional activities staff to offer more programing, outings and engage more with residents as Covid restrictions are lifting. This has been a very difficult year for all the assisted living facilities, but our family feels they are keeping people safe and following all the State Guidelines.
Overall, residents are very positive about Maplewood and how well it is managed. Look at other places first, then compare it to Maplewood.
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