Goodwill Retirement Village

Lynne C

I gave two stars because we did have two wonderful years here. We moved into the retirement village along with my father, sister and brother-in-law. We loved living here and being so close to each other, yet living in separate cottages. We planned on seeing out our days at Goodwill. After those two years, my wonderful neighbor had to move to assisted living. My husband ended up not getting along with the husband of the couple that moved in after him, and the man proceeded to do creepy things to intimidate us, stacking junk on his back patio that faced our bedroom, hung pictures of people and items staring back at us from their bedroom window into ours, leaving outside lights on all night shining directly into the bedroom, and making structural changes that were ugly, without getting required approval first. Though they did manage the problem with the inappropriate structural changes, Administration did nothing to get him to stop his uncivilized behavior. The things he was doing "were not obscene or illegal", so they were deemed to be acceptable in their eyes. We've since moved out, away from my family, taking the financial hit, because we could no longer trust them to care for us in the manner we expected to be when we moved in. Since they wouldn't help us with the difficult situation we were faced with, we no longer felt confident in our future there. We also didn't want to live in a community that would allow someone as uncivilized as he to live there. Unless administration comes up with a plan to manage neighbors that don't get along, or uses better discretion when determining whether the Village is the right place for a prospective resident, I would not move into the village. You may end up being sorry you did so just as we did.

Dr. Tyra Phipps

I moved to assisted living at the Goodwill Retirement Community on June 28, 2012. You may progress from the villages to long term care. This review begins with one word and that is BEWARE! I caution you especially if you are in a health predicament that requires good nourishment. The food is the biggest complaint. It is not healthy as one might expect, but frequently full of sodium--also many spices. Most of the time, the same foods are served several times a week. The monotony of the same foods especially poorly cooked vegetables makes living at GRC very difficult to tolerate. Vegetables are so overcooked that even broccoli is easy to mash with a fork. There is nothing appetizing about that kind of vegetable. Only recently has there been any fresh fruit such as cantaloupe on what is called the cold bar in assisted living. Most all served fruit is canned. Even desserts are prepackaged with soggy crust on pies. Even though I reside in assisted living, I have not had a scrambled egg or a fried egg in a year. Usually six times a week, pasteurized eggs are baked and served for breakfast. Usually once a week, prepackaged frozen waffles or pancakes are heated and served with overcooked bacon or the same type link sausage/sausage patty that has been on the menu for one year. With a price tag in assisted living of approximately $3500-$6000 plus a month, the quality of food should be superior. The residents in the skilled nursing area and the Alzheimer’s unit deserve food that is high-quality nutrition as well. After all, food is medicine. There are some good quality staff that work at GRC, and their dedication to care giving is noteworthy. However, GRC is woefully lacking in a quantity of quality, responsible, caring staff. In short, it is understaffed. The training is minimal of about three weeks and then trainees job shadow on each shift. This is hardly enough preparation for any nursing aide to function on the floor by herself. I use the word, “herself,” because I have not seen any male nursing aides work in assisted living. This Mennonite backed organization is nonprofit, yet turnover is high.

Caring Tea

Goodwill Community has almost every one of the extensive care facilities that I can be at and I like that. It is very well set out. Their apartments were actually bigger and there were garages available. I like that feature. I like this facility generally, but it is not run by rent. It is a buy-in community, so I had to come up with a large amount of money and that is not something I can do.

gijoeswife

My aunt was a resident of the Goodwill Assisted Living home for a period of approximately fifteen months. I visited her twice weekly during her stay at Goodwill. She really enjoyed her time at this facility. My aunt expressed to me on numerous occasions that the employees were genuinely interested in speaking with the residents. It was evident to me during my visits, that this was true. Each and every employee greeted every person that they came into contact with. They offered assistance with travel arrangements for the group busses. They offered advice on how to settle disagreements. They always asked the residents how they were doing that day. Even if a resident took a long time answering a question, or became confused or forgetful, the employees never seemed to become irritated or aggravated with the resident. Their patience and attentiveness means so much to the residents, and it was very much appreciated by family members, like me. The facility is also very safe. The doors are locked after a certain time in the evening, and remain that way all through the night. This makes the residents feel quite secure in their dwelling. There are staff at Goodwill to assist the residents twenty four hours per day, and this also aides the residents to have great peace of mind. If anything should happen, staff are readily available. Residents always have the choice to eat cafeteria prepared meals, or they can prepare their own meals in small kitchens. Some residents have tiny kitchen units in their own apartment or dwelling. Also, some residents have access to kitchens that are used by many residents, and they can receive help from staff with cooking needs. The cafeteria food is quite good, and does not remind you of the typical food that you see served in some facilities such as this one.