Bickford of Ames

My friend will stay in Bickford of Ames. Their prices rose significantly, and we got that somehow corrected. They're very accommodating. They've been very careful with COVID. You always have to wear a mask, and I have always been able to still come in. They were very cautious. They let us know whenever a resident or a person working there had COVID. They got the information out immediately, so I felt very comfortable. Somebody has cut my friend's hair there. They have a bus that takes them on tours. It's one story, and then it has an enclosed courtyard. The one story aspect makes it very appealing, just in case you have mobility issues and there's a fire or anything like that.

I was very impressed with Bickford of Ames. The rooms are small compared to what my mom has now, but their goal is you don't spend a lot of time in your apartment. They have activities for the residents to do, and they can get out and visit. This is what I'm looking for because my mother is locked in her room right now under quarantine, and at 93-years-old that's not a good thing. The staff was very friendly, the facility was very welcoming, and smelled good. A lot of these places have a smell, but this one looked clean and the residents were clean. They have two TVs, one in the main area and one in the fireplace. They can just get out, visit, and read the paper. The maintenance guy who works there full time gets the guys together and plays the Yahtzee. On the other side of the building some ladies were getting a manicure, and some were sitting on the couch while visiting, and they have activities planned all day. The rooms were really small and Mom won't be able to take much of her furniture that she has, but at the same time she really doesn't need all of that extra stuff. They have a chef there and everything's homemade, so it's doesn't sound like it's industrial.

Staff is very unfriendly, facility is locked making it feel very much like a nursing home. Cost to live at Bickford of Ames is very expensive, lady who gave us a tour was not very helpful or knowledgeable.

Bickford of Ames is a little more attuned to dementia than what we needed, but it was very clean and very nice. The facilities are clean, nice, and well-kept. The dining room was very clean. The rooms weren't quite as nice, but it was still a very good facility. It's lockdown so people can't just come and go.