Bickford of West Des Moines

I looked at both assisted living and memory care at Bickford of West Des Moines. It's a beautiful facility. It seemed homey. The staff was very positive and friendly. It's one of my top choices. The rooms were a good size. I liked that every room had an individual bathroom. Their activities director was doing some things with residents, and it was very nice. I did not have a meal, but I had some cookies that were very good. They have facilities. They have a nice lobby area, where residents could sit and have programs. It's a smaller facility, which I like as well. Everything about this community was very nice.

I like Bickford of West Des Moines' location. However, I felt that there were many areas in the home that needed to be updated. I like the room, but the hallway carpets just didn't seem very clean. I felt like it needed a fresh update. It looked more like a nursing home, and not so much an open assisted living area.

I felt that Bickford of West Des Moines had very good staff and facilities. I just felt that they were farther along as far as a type of residence than what my parents were at. I think it was a great place if your parents or your loved ones were not coherent. For sociability, I think it is for the more advanced residents. But I felt that they would have gotten excellent care there if they needed it. I felt comfortable there, but the residents there were a little further advanced. They were excellent. I felt the staff was very, very caring and liked their jobs, and would do their best to take care of the residents. I have no problem with the staff, none whatsoever. It was very home-like and clean. The surroundings were great. They had flowers and it was a very pleasant entrance. It was like one big home for a different population, and I thought it was good.

We are planning to move my mom into Bickford of West Des Moines. I like the rooms a lot, and I like the people, they were very nice. They showed us around and answered every question we needed. It's just a beautiful place. The rooms are beautiful, they look like tiny little apartments. I like how it's all just laid out perfect. I like the scenery, it is gorgeous. There were a lot of people, they were walking, they were doing some kickball, and they were tossing balls. Everybody was just friendly; it was an enjoyable visit. The residents were even talking and telling us their experience there. The one who assisted me was amazing, they were very helpful, and answered all the questions, they were very prompt.

We went to Bickford of West Des Moines. The rooms were decent sized. They had their own bathrooms; I liked that. It wasn't like a nursing home. It wasn't huge, but they did have a kitchenette, basically a mini fridge, a microwave, and a sink. They do have an activity director, but I didn't witness any activities. There was a little minibus outside. I talked to the head nurse and their marketing person, they were both nice. It was an older building, but decently kept.

We visited Bickford of West Des Moines. The staff thought that he would be best suited in the other Bickford, because there are more males there his age. They greeted us with ice water and fresh muffins, that's what we got upon arrival with our tour as we sat down for our informational meeting. That was awesome. It made us feel right at home and that was a very personal tour as we walked through the building. The people were very polite and very considerate of what we were doing. It is never easy to find a place for your loved ones, but they made it especially easy to do. Her name is Kaitlyn, and she is awesome. We saw one room that was set up and it looked good to me. I just want to say that it is a family-oriented business. They totally want to make the transition from home care to senior living care as smooth and as non-traumatic as possible. It is just a big step, that nobody wants to do, but they make it family friendly.