Independent Living Communities in Oakdale, MN

"Both me and my husband is at Ecumen Season. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The accommodation is very good and the food is also good. "

"The rooms are older and small. The care is moderately good. The biggest complaint is that we purchased new comfortable clothing for him and within a week all but one item we purchased “disappeared” never to be seen again. They also “lost” a sweatshirt that was very dear to him. It is obvious that they randomly distribute clothing to other patients as we often arrived and he was wearing items that were not his own. I would be very wary of this place."

"I brought my mother up from Florida six years ago to live at Augustana Chapel View. My mother had a stroke in Florida and lost the use of her left side and has very limited ability to care for herself. The staff at Chapel View have always been helpful, committed and so good to my mother. Occasionally there is an issue of some sort and that issue takes a bit to sort out however everyone seems committed to finding a solution. I can not say how much I appreciate the care and companionship that the staff has given my mother. That is her community where she lives 24/7 and she has made so many friends. I will say, that some of that is due to my mother who has always been agreeable, co-operative and caring herself. Mom loves the activities...especially Bingo and the auctions...and the games and music etc. Is Chapel View a perfect solution...no. I would love to be able to have her with me but that is not possible. Mom seems happy at Chapel View."

"I toured Havenwood of Burnsville. I like everything about it. The rooms were very nice. All the appliances looked well-kept and brand new. It was clean. The staff was friendly and bubbly. They have all the amenities that my mother would need. They have a beauty salon where you can get her hair done. They have crafts you can go to. It was a very, very good tour. It was the second place I went to, and I was very, very impressed. They're accommodating. The staff who toured us was very personable. She had done a wonderful job. She is in the right spot. They have movie outings and shopping outings. My mother can go get her own groceries if she wants to. I think she might go to the movies. My mom loves playing cards, so she will probably join the card club, too."

"I did visit Ridgepointe. It was an excellent community. I love their people. The management was so helpful and informative. I love the place. If we had a choice, it’s the first one that we would go to. The dining room was big and clean. I think it was inviting. I had a good impression. I absolutely recommend this community. I love the people who work there. They were representing the place very well. "

"I toured Elim Shores. I like the price of the unit. And it was located by a lake, so that was another plus for me. It also had the capability of having assisted living, and you would stay in your own unit, and not move, so it has services where you live. Also, they would take a program in Minnesota called elderly waiver. They have three meals a day. You have the option of buying a meal plan. You didn't have to buy all three meals. You could pay as you go or buy a reduced ticket group. I like the availability of meals and I like the availability of assisted living and elderly waivers. As life changes for me, I will probably need all of those. They have underground garage parking, which is ideal in Minnesota. There's a beauty shop, and of course, crafts and church services, so all of that was appealing. They have units that view the lake. If financially you could afford them, then you could live there. I had a taste of their barbecue, and it was okay. They have a dock, so those who would like to fish that would be available. They were planning to buy a pontoon, so there would be rides in the water. I think they have a bus and take people out in outings."

"We had my mom ready to go into Cornerstone Assisted Living, but we'd have to put her into memory care there. Having seen other memory cares, it's probably the best one but that's a drastic change, and it's not an environment I would want to put my mother in at this point. It's a very nice community, and the assisted living was beautiful. We toured the assisted area where they have a dining area, a solarium and activities. It was very nice. My mom would have to be sent down into the lower level, which they lock up unless family comes. It's a newer community, but the memory care rooms were pretty small, which my mother doesn't like. They also wouldn't allow pets, and that was a big deal for her too, and that was probably the last straw for her. From what I understand, it's normal for any memory care community."

"The Ecumen Parmly (Margaret S Parmly) is actually a very wonderful place, very clean, friendly, and nice. They do have assisted living, and we are trying to get my mother in there. She went in there Thursday last week, and the people working there were very friendly. It is very clean and very beautiful. It’s a large facility, but each section has its own wing. They have entertainers that come in, and they have TVs. The atmosphere was very good. The room is not that bad; they have like six people in there and each has plenty of room. She has her own bathroom, TV, a chair, and a table. She gets assistance getting to the wheelchair and then to the bathroom. They come very quickly when she pushes the button, and then the person that comes in would do wound care. They are very good, and they listen to her. "

"Oakdale Commons is beautiful, nice, and clean. The people were very friendly. The staff during the tour was wonderful. She was very, very nice and very informative. They had a really nice activity room, and a nice little library with a fireplace that looked very comfy if you wanted to go in and sit quietly and read a book or do a puzzle or something. They also had a nice little kitchenette that was off to the side of the activity room, if you want to have family there. If and when I do decide to move, that is a place I would consider."

"I toured Oak Terrace. I liked that their apartment seemed to be a little bit more open. If there's no air conditioner there, they have extras that we can borrow while we're there. The one thing that I disliked about it is that they don't do bingo and a lot of things with the people there since COVID. I was talking to someone who lived there when I was there, and she told me they haven't done things like bingo and other things like they used to before COVID, but that was about the only thing I didn't care about. The staff was very nice."

"I went to the open house of The Waters of Oakdale. The staff was nice and well informed. The place was very pretty too. They had it opened up, so people could come and see the different rooms and apartments. During that time, they served coffee and cookies. I was not able to eat there, but the food seemed fine. They also had activities that kept the residents very busy. They had an exercise area and a chapel too. "

"We're waiting to get into Echo Ridge. It was clean, open, and airy. The staff who toured me was very knowledgeable and super friendly. There's not many features in the dining room, but they had a humongous, clean kitchen."

"I thought that Oak Meadows was really nice from the moment I walked in. The staff member that assisted me was very friendly and inviting, and the head nurse for assisted living made time for me right away even though I didn't have an appointment."

"Boulder Ponds Senior Living is brand new. I went there four months ago. It's a nice facility. I was helping a friend move her mom there. It's amazing because you go to the dining hall and it's like a restaurant. You pull up to the table and they have the glasses upside down and napkins and everything, and the waiter comes out and picks the glass over and fills that if you get coffee or whatever. It's not food on a tray, it's actually like they're dining in a restaurant. They've got a lot of activities, they have a little mini car show in the parking lot, they had some karaoke or little bands, and people playing some instruments would come in. They have cards, bingo, they've got an exercise room, like a fitness room because I think some people actually can come out of the hospital if they had surgery and they go in there for rehabilitation and I think they got a person in there during the day for physical therapy. It's got everything an elderly person wants. Underground parking if you have a car, it's got a car wash down there, unbelievable, it's got a bar, so they can go for happy hour. Her mom said they even got a whirlpool for people, for physical therapy. The staff is pretty good, Boulder Ponds is pretty strict with the people they hire, if they get out of line, they are considered unacceptable, they get rid of them, so they're good in that respect. They want the ability to keep good people in there, which is a plus. It's nice, the hallways are wide, plenty of room for wheelchairs going up and down, and they have balconies going out. Her mom is really happy and almost too busy to visit because she enjoys all the activities there."