Brightview Severna Park

We like the layout of the facility inside, but the outside was not suitable. In order to get to the place you have to drive. We like to ride a bicycle, and that would be very inconvenient to try to put the bicycle in a van and go up the street. The chef was particularly noteworthy. My wife needs to be on a diet, and we discussed that. The chef is so good, he'll be in New York at a high class restaurant. I have no knowledge of what he's going to do, but he certainly was great and knew how he could extend to meet my wife's needs. We looked at a couple of rooms, and I guess they're a little bit less roomy than I would like to see. Their activities were internal. My wife and I are externally oriented, so it wouldn't reach very high on our scale. Playing poker or having happy hour is not our sense of social activity or physical activity. They really can improve their external environment.

What's unique about Brightview is it has independent living, it has assisted living, and then it does have a memory care living. It's a brand new facility. It just opened in December. To us, it was state of the art, and it was bigger, better, prettier. We chose it because my mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia. Having the independent living component, I felt that she would be exposed to and be able to interact with a broader base of people, whichwould be better for her socializing. To me it seemed like a better fit. She's made 5 girlfriends, and they do things together and hang out. The rooms are very nice. The facility is really decorated beautifully. She has a 2-bedroom, which has a living room, a bedroom, huge bathroom, walk-in closet, cherrywood cabinets, and granite in her little kitchenette with big, bright windows. There were a lot of common areas, a beautiful living room, and a big flat-screen TV. They have a courtyard, community decks, a little waterfall, walkway, a fire pit. In my opinion, it's like a resort hotel without the pool. I have found the staff to be great. They get involved with the families. They do the laundry and the cleaning. She really likes the girls who come in and help her. They've been getting her out and about within the facility. They do little extra special things for her. They bring her her favorite ice cream. They tend to hang out with her a little bit should she get lonely. There are times where she does not want to go down for breakfast, but then they'll bring her her coffee. Little things, just to make sure she is eating in the morning if they have to drag her out of bed. They have made adjustments for her. Overall, I think we've been very pleased. I have had a couple of meals there. We thought it was fine. You get a standard menu, which has nice choices, and then they have specials for the day. Her doctor is also the doctor who comes to the facility. He even comes to her room and takes blood tests right from there, which is great. They have physical therapy. They have a billiard room, arts and crafts, a pub, a movie theater, and a gym. They have sing-alongs, trips, Women's Club, bridge clubs, and walking clubs. They are right next door to a little strip center that has a Safeway and some restaurants. You can zip right up the road, and then there's a K-Mart. There's also another little strip mall very close by that has Kohl's and Target. Everything is centrally located. It's a smaller town. You didn't have to get on any main roads to get to anything, even her doctors.

Brightview is closer to me than where my dad was before. The staff is very diligent. They have a tremendous housekeeping and maintenance staff who bend over backward just to help the residents. They have a lot of activities; they cater to what the residents want. They have movie nights, cards, and Olympic games. They have an onsite therapy with OT and PT, and they have a small gym. Everyone from the executive director down to the staff was very caring toward the residents. They have dining six nights a week and a continental breakfast available.

Brightview was brand new, so it was in fabulous condition. It looked really as nice as the ones that you buy into. It's just that in this case you rent out. But you have a beautiful dining room. They also offer Continental breakfast and dinner. The apartments were good sized, the people were friendly, and the fact that it was brand new -- it was wonderful, and in a good location. It opened about three or four months ago. The staff was very friendly and very nice. The only thing that I was disappointed about was they never called us back. For some reason they haven't. Maybe because they're all rented. They could improve on their parking. It's mostly outdoor parking, and we didn't like that. We have snowstorm after snowstorm here. The apartments are a good size with a good kitchen, nice size bedroom, closet, and bathroom. It was wonderful.