The Views Senior Living of Cedar Rapids

It is a very nice place. I've been very happy with the staff there, really. They are just very friendly people. I have not tried the food because of COVID, but my mom is kind of picky and she only eats one meal downstairs when she could have eaten three meals, because she doesn't wake up early enough to go down for breakfast at 8 o'clock in the morning. So, at times she'll have it delivered to her room instead. The menu could be toned down a little for more blander type foods. They seem to have a lot of spicy stuff and we're talking about older people here. I don't have anything against the chef, but what's the matter with homemade ones? Many times she will ask them to make her a cheese omelet instead and then the chef does it for her. He has no problem doing that and he's a very nice guy. However, I'd like to see my mom's room cleaned more and vacuumed more often, and clean bathroom floors. I cleaned her stool when I was there because it was filthy and I wiped it up on her bathroom floor. So, obviously, the housekeeping staff isn't keeping up or I don't know what's going on there. Mom doesn't like bingo, and they play that a lot. They also have a pastor that comes in once a week, which she enjoys, and an exercise program right after that but nothing major, just probably sitting in a chair and moving things around. I think we're paying a chunk of change. We are paying over $4000 a month and I think it's a little expensive, but it's a nice place. They made a deal with me that once her money runs out, they will accept Medicare and elderly waiver where you normally have to pay for two years.

We toured The Views Senior Living of Cedar Rapids for my sister. The staff who talked to us was very nice. I do not think that the place was as cared for as the other one we've seen. It was nice, but was just not as nice. They had an outdoor area and a walking path. They had a bingo game going on. They also had different areas that people could congregate in. There were tables spaced out in a number of areas that normally would not have tables. They were trying to spread people out. I did not see a lot of patients there. The ones that I did see looked fine and happy. The staff was very knowledgeable. It seemed to be more expensive because they have more fees.

We've decided to go with The Views Senior Living of Cedar Rapids. It's very clean, the people are friendly, and my mom needs a room on the first floor and this is the first place we found with that. We only talked with the guy that took us around, he was knowledgeable and friendly. They're still re-doing her room so it's all going to be new like the paint, carpet, and everything. The apartment's size is spacious. They've got an area for exercise, crafts, bingo, places where the family can go visit that are private areas. Just from what I've seen, I really liked it.

Meadowview Memory Care Village was great. It was very clean. There was longevity of the staff that was there. My mom had a few problems with her memory, and that would have been a good place for my mom. My dad could have went and be with her anytime, but they would still be together because they had assisted living. They could have a room together. Then as you age, there was actually a nursing home. It kind went from independent living to assisted living to nursing care. I really enjoyed the tour through it. I was so impressed with the memory care part. There were some people playing cards, and some were out in the garden. It was just a very nice place.

Meadowview was a very nice place, seemed upscale, and the fact that the residents seemed to care about what they look like and were a little more vibrant bunch. The rooms were nice and the staff was wonderful. It’s a memory care facility that is probably best described as Disneyland for old people. Their facility in the center was almost like this food court in the mall; there’s an area in the center that’s very stimulating, there’s a post office and a theater, places that people might relate to and have fun memories about, and coffee shops. One area in particular where people with memory care issues could go and sit inside was a little enclosed area that had nothing but really great pictures of dogs, so if they were dog lovers they would probably be in dog heaven, and a lot of other stimulation type things like that. We looked at the memory care facility, which was a separate building. The assisted facility was a bit more clinical, more hospital like, and not a reason to be on top of the list because we’re looking for something that’s a little more like home. The lady who showed us around was incredibly knowledgeable about the science and the statistics and the brains of specialized memory care. It’s a facility that’s maybe unlike a lot of others. You should probably go online to get a pretty good sense of how cool of a place it is. It’s just also very pricey and maybe a little out of reach for normal people.

RidgeView was homey. Smaller so a good fit for someone who doesn't want to worry about traveling longer distances to meals/activities. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Very clean. Priced comparable to others after you add up the al a carte items others charge. No buy in fees and the lease was only month to month. If memory care is a future need, they have a state of the art memory care next door. Checked their state surveys and they have been deficiency free 5 years running so they are obviously providing quality care. The people I've mentioned RidgeView to all have great things to say about it. Overall I thought it was the best option on the NW/SW side of CR.

Mom went to Meadowview Memory Care Village. The staff was really good. They took really good care of them and were very friendly; this is what I liked best. You had to buy your own stuff to furnish your room. The security was very good; you had to have a code to go in and out. There were quite a few patients in there that liked to try and get out, but I don’t remember any of them actually getting out. I remember one gal tried to get out one of the other entrances, and she looked at me and said that it was worth the try.

We went to Ridgeview for my mom. It was a very nice facility. The price was a little expensive. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but other than that, what we saw was very nice. The rooms might have been on the smaller side than the ones at the other facility. As for the staff, the ones that we met were very nice and very cooperative. They have an interior walking area like a garden.