The Arbors at Amherst Massachusetts

Calla

I went to visit The Arbors at Amherst Massachusetts. The woman that I met with was very helpful. We sat down and we went over some information about the place, what's available and the costs, and the services that they provide. And that was all very, very clear and helpful. And then we took a tour and saw a 1-bedroom apartment, which is what I would probably get for my husband. They were having a Halloween gathering there. And so, there were a lot of people out and about. It felt like they have lots of services including working out, as well as other things that would be helpful for my husband. They had a library. They also had a courtyard. They had a mini kitchen where people could go in any day and get coffee or tea or whatever they wanted. The place was kind of large, so there was a bit of walking.

Helen

My sister is living at The Arbors at Amherst Massachusetts. Assisted living and memory care are in the same building, and she's living in the memory unit. I'm very pleased with it. They have nice little apartments, and she has a little living room, mini-kitchen, her own bathroom and a bedroom. It's very clean, and the service is excellent. The food looks good when I was there. I think the staff is excellent and very caring, and I think that she's always clean. They take good care of her as far as I know. I haven't been able to visit very much during this pandemic, but I used to visit her frequently before because she's been there for 3-1/2 years. I don't know what they're doing now, but before the pandemic, they used to have concerts, piano players and small groups came in and entertained, they offered some religious services, they had University of Massachusetts students came in, they had people came in with dogs for companionship, they played games, and they used to have little sessions of painting fingernails and manicure. Some of the games were challenging. They challenge their mind, so that they would have to think of different things. They had puzzles available for them to work on. Not too many in the memory unit did any puzzles, but in the other part of the place, they did. They had social events for holidays, in the summertime they had picnics and invited family, and for the holidays in December, they invited family to come in and share in the festivities. I did not eat any, but it certainly looked good. The menus were nice, and they claimed that they had chef-prepared meals.

Namita

The Arbors Assisted Living is very good and excellent. It's homey and clean. The administrator who took me around and the people I met there were very cordial and friendly. The facilities are wonderful. They just don't have a visiting doctor or OT, PT, or speech therapy included. They don't have 24-hour assistance either. Otherwise, it's a very good facility. The dining area and menu were very good. They take them out for shopping and sometimes on visits to other places.

Helen K

My sister has been in The Arbors Assisted Living since the end of April. She has a 1-bedroom apartment, which is like a small living room with a mini kitchenette, but the stove is not connected because she is an Alzheimer's unit. She has a refrigerator and a microwave and a couple of closets, a bedroom and a bathroom, and a kind of a walk-in shower. She has her own furniture there. They have a lot of activities. They provide meals, laundry, and housekeeping, just about everything she would need. They take the residents out sometimes once or twice a week for a little ride or a field trip. She seems to be adjusting fairly well. It's very clean. They have caring people that work there, they have nursing staff, a doctor who visits them on-site, and they have a hairdresser that comes in. I'd be happy to go there myself if I needed to. I find most of the staff very caring and quite efficient and friendly. She seems to get along with the staff. They like her and she likes them. I go there three times a week or so. I have not eaten there other than one time they had a barbecue and that was very good. The menu looked very good. We have to pay more because she's in the memory impaired unit. They have a special section for memory people and another section for people without memory problems. They can't get out of the building unless somebody takes them.

bbjames

I was only able to bring myself to visit this place twice, even though I had a family member there and was being given school credit for going. The entire building smelled like human urine. It was as if the nurses waited for all if the bedpans to be full before cleaning a single one. I never saw anyone doing any sort of physical activity, and one woman described herself as just "sitting around to die," as opposed to "waiting around to die," a famous quote from a song for which I can now not remember the title. I know it was supposed to be a joke, but it was horrible to hear. I never could bring myself to go back there, I felt even walking in the doors that i was being infected with a malaise - a laziness in cleaning, providing activities, or in being active in itself (by the last comment I'm referring about those living there, not the staff. I had no idea what their personal lives were like, only that their professional care for the elderly in their facility was lacking - to put it kindly).