The Linden at Dedham

When I visited my cousin I was really impressed with the place and all the activities going on. All the people living there seemed happy and interested in the game they were playing. We had a great visit with my cousin, I haven’t seen her this content in a long time.

The Linden at Dedham was being remodeled, so everything was updated. The person who took me around had lots of knowledge and was very involved. The staff was very friendly. There were a lot of people gathering in the great room, just for conversation, and enjoying themselves. The food looked very good, and they had a lot more variety than some of the other areas.

Brookdale Dedham was fine, except that we had a person who wasn't very mobile, and their whole thing was you had to come down to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On top of that, you were also expected to do some activities, and that wasn't going to work. It's fine if the senior is mobile and can get around for the most part, but not for somebody who is struggling. They have an arts center, music in a big hall, a central TV viewing room where they have movies, and a big dining room with fairly good-sized tables. The rooms were small and sort of like a studio, with a little built-in refrigerator, microwave, one large area, and a bathroom. You are not going to fit too much furniture in there since it's tiny. Neither my wife nor I were impressed.

We were very happy with Brookdale Dedham. They answered any questions we had and were quite willing to sit down and spend time with us. The staff we encountered were fine and very helpful. The rooms were fine for what they were, especially if you're coming from your own home. The dining room was very nice. They had tablecloths, and the menu was very good.

I visited Emeritus (Brookdale Dedham). The facility was small. The rooms were small. They didn't have any two-bedroom units. It looked nice though. We didn't eat anything there, but the dining room looked fine. They said they have everything -- e.g., they would take you on trips -- and they have a nurse available.

As any of these businesses, they were very nice to me at the Emeritus at Wilson Mountain. I had lunch at a separate table in the dining room, that was pleasant, and they showed me several of the rooms. I noticed that they were ripping up the walls and everything, and they said that they were doing a large renovation throughout the whole place. So it looked very bare; there was nothing on the walls -- horrible. Then, they took me into one of the empty living spaces, and the first one was extremely small. It was a studio, and there was a bathroom, a little microwave, a lock-safe, and everything else. What I have to say about those particular things that they were raving about was -- there I was in a wheelchair, not being able to stand, and the microwave was way up high. How could I reach that? The little safe that they had was way down on the floor. I couldn't reach that sitting in a wheelchair. And then, I looked at the bathroom and I said, "Look, I cannot go to the toilet in an ordinary way. I have to roll my wheelchair into the bathroom and have support on both sides of the toilet not just on one side." So I couldn't go to the toilet there. They cannot advertise themselves as handicapped accessible; they are not. They are accessible for some handicapped, but not for me who is in a wheelchair and cannot stand or walk. Then, they showed me another place, which they had combined a studio apartment with a one-bedroom apartment. It looked fine, empty, and there was good light, but as soon as you would start putting in a little furniture, it would be too crowded for me. They were very nice, and when I left, which really surprised me, they ran after me and gave me a homemade apple pie to take home.

So the facility is very nice. Very misleading though about long term care and transition into memory care. Promised a "pace" bed and it never happened. Staff and administration turn over is very high. during the three years, the administration has turned over 4X. Doors do not lock due to an alleged building code and they do not reveal this. I would recommend this facility for a very independent person, not someone who has Dementia or Alzheimer's, they are not equipped to handle it.