The Kensington – Cumberland

The Kensington - Cumberland was wonderful. I thought it was a lovely little place for senior citizens. They were so friendly and so kind. Even the residents seemed very happy. There was no hesitation on that part at all. The rooms were clean. One of them was occupied, and it gave us ideas of what to take. We were on the verge of moving my aunt right in, but something came up. That's probably where we'll put her, if she doesn't progress with the dementia too quickly. There was a chapel and I saw religious things. They had a craft room and an activity room. It was very nice. When we were there, they were having music. They had a little room that they could go and get together with music. It's very balanced. The staff was wonderful. Even the ones that I wasn't supposed to see, chatted in the hallways and stuff. They were just wonderful there. I was watching to see if they interacted with the members that were there, and they did. If they walked down, they would be chatting with them. The building is old, and I kind of found that amusing because with it being as old as it is, it's in such good shape. I love their mail slot thing. The staff didn't rush us. She was excellent, and she's a lovely person. It's old, but I think it's pretty updated.

I felt that the senior living consultant, Becky, from The Kensington - Cumberland was great to work with. She gave us a lot of information. She also spent good two hours with us explaining the place, how it worked, and what was available, then giving us a tour of the many options of the rooms available.

The staff at The Kensington - Cumberland was so friendly and helpful. Everybody I met was really forthcoming with great information, suggestions, and perspectives. The person who took me around was so knowledgeable and informative. The person took a lot of time with me (more than 2 hours touring me around) showing the rooms, explaining to me what the different qualifications and eligibility requirements would be and how they might apply to my mother, and also interviewing me and filling out some very basic paperwork in the process. I thought it was kind of revelatory because I learned quite a lot about how the institution works and what's unique about it in the process. It's an assisted living facility. They do have connections with nursing homes. I suspect that if my mother will lose the ability to walk then the next step will be that I would go back to Kensington and say, "OK, can you help me find an appropriate nursing home here in the area?" That's the area that we want to wind up in. Some people wouldn't like the old-fashioned side of it, especially if you want something ultra-modern. For me though, it's an old building; I really like that about it.

My mother-in-law has gone back to The Kensington. We were looking for an alternate because initially they were not going to take her, but her situation has changed, and they did a re-evaluation and they took her. It all worked out. They're very well organized. They used to take them out once a week, they would load them up on a bus and take them for a drive to an unspecified location. They called it the surprise tour or the mystery tour just to give them something interesting to do. They have games for the residents, and seasonally they have entertainers who come in. It's a nice place and the biggest thing is that it's very convenient for us because it's right in Cumberland. The staff does a great job. My exposure has been minimal with talking to them, but I think they're very good. It's a very old building, it's over 100 years old, but it's been very well taken care of, and they've had modifications. The rooms are small, and it's probably six stories. It's a nice looking place, it's very well cared for inside, and clean, but it's a very old building, and you can tell from the architecture. The elevators are pretty old. It's assisted living, and she requires somebody to administer her medication. She's a Parkinson's patient, but she's pretty independent. She can bathe herself, fix meals, operate a phone, and watch TV. She doesn't like a lot of their food, but she's on a gluten free diet.