Benchmark at North Andover

Christine

Ashland Farm at North Andover was beautiful. It feels like a home environment as opposed to a nursing home-type environment. The administrative staff has been very helpful and supportive in answering all my questions. They've made the process very easy. The residents that I kind of bumped into on the way, just seemed happy and outgoing. It's clean and bright. The dining room was also very nice.

Dan

We toured Ashland Farm at North Andover, it was clean and well kept. The person that toured me through was wonderful to work with, explained everything quite well, and interacted with everyone there well. It almost seemed more like a family than anything, it was a nice experience that way. The memory care section was on the upper floor, it wasn't on the ground floor. It was well-kept and well laid out. There was good interaction between the residents and the staff there. It's a relatively convenient place in terms of location. I saw the dining area and everyone looked like they were enjoying it. The dining area was clean and comfortable, it's a little bit larger than I expected. So there was plenty of room and it was nice to see the interactions there.

Debra

My mother is in the memory care unit of Ashland Farm at North Andover. I went there and not only did I fall in love with it but I also liked the fact that Benchmark offered me a bridge loan with a property that we can sell so that we can afford it. We did not know that option was out there and I think that needs to be marketed more because I would've done this a while ago had I known that we had that option. I'm just so happy, I hope my mom thrives here. She moved in yesterday, and I was there with her all day. They're very compassionate, very caring, very attentive, and very sympathetic to her needs. Even to myself, they were very, very friendly and included me in the lunch and the dinner and offered me to stay. They helped me put mom's things away and made her comfortable. The process was just so easy. I felt like when I walked in there, my mom was home. I had shed some tears of happiness because I felt so relieved knowing that she was going to be in really good hands. She has been in different horrible deplorable rehabs and hospitals. This is the first time she's seen her furniture or anything. We moved everything that she owns there into the room that she could recognize. She was just so happy to see everything after five months of what she went through. The food was great. I loved the food. I love the way they offer it to the patients and they get to choose what they want. I love the fact that they give them tons of options for drinks. They get always two glasses of something. My mom drank more than she had drunk in the last five months when she was in rehab. It's a great facility. They have a lot of things so far. From what I saw yesterday, I was very pleased.

Stephanie

Ashland Farm at North Andover was very updated. The rooms were quite lovely, clean, and had a very livable layout. The lady was lovely and very easy to talk to. She was very understanding and very accommodating. She showed me around if I wanted to see something else, and was more than willing to take me around the entire building. The average age of the residents was probably in the late 70s to early 80s and whenever she passed by somebody, she greeted them by name; it was really nice to see. They have a pretty high level of care. So, they have a good nursing staff to resident ratio.

Steven

Ashland Farm at North Andover is as nice as any of the others that I looked at, and it is close to where I live, that's why we chose it. The staff and the people who run the place are all very nice. My brother doesn't involve himself in many activities, but there are plenty of them if he wants to. The facilities are lovely. They have a very nice dining room, a salon, little meeting rooms, and other things.

Helen

The staff at Ashland Farm at North Andover was very informative and all the residents knew who they were. It's extremely well staffed and very clean. The activities program was extraordinary, and so it's just a beautifully run facility. It's a beautifully maintained building. I looked at a studio since that was the only one available, but they also had other types of accommodations. They had gardens and community rooms, and they intermingle the memory centers with the assisted living. They gave me a full calendar with different activities that are planned every week where they have live entertainers, offsite trips, several different exercise programs, different game days, and a lot of conversation pieces where they'll sit and discuss different topics. Their programs and activities are nonstop. The staff was wonderful, too. They answered every question I had and were extremely wonderful. I was able to meet the activities director, too, who was phenomenal as well.

Emily

I went to look at Ashland Farm at North Andover, and I liked it. I like the set-up, the one-bedroom, and the suite. I also like the common area and the dining. It felt like it would be something that my mother can transition into. It didn't feel like a nursing home. I felt like it was someplace that I could leave her and feel like she would be okay. The staff, Isaac, was very helpful, very friendly, he didn't seem pushy, and just kind of showed us around. I like the idea that they could go on outings. I also like the common area where they can socialize with other people in the community there. I like that aspect of it, and I think that's one of the reasons my mom would enjoy it.

James

We've chosen Ashland Farm at North Andover. We're moving there on August 30th. They seemed to have a lot more activity there, and the fellow that showed us around, Gary, took his time with us and he showed us all around. We were there for a good two and a half hours. The rooms were four hundred square feet, and we're in a thousand square feet apartment. So we have to downsize. He even recommended movers for us. They gave us free lunch, it was superb, excellent. He gave us a list, the activities change every week, they've got bingo, and they got Wives Tale, and they got questions like Jeopardy. They've got singalongs, they got a baby grand piano there, and my wife plays the piano. She can play the piano in the community room. It was very lively. There were a lot of people, a lot of activity going on. They even explained to us that if we have company, we can reserve a dining area where we can have birthday parties, and it's free. But if we order the food from the restaurant, we have to pay.

Sally

I moved into Ashland Farm at North Andover. The people who work here are wonderful. They're very caring, very helpful, and willing to do whatever they can do. They are very, very nice, and the residents are very friendly and very welcoming. The room is nice. The bedroom is very, very small. I couldn't get my furniture in, but then I'm in a wheelchair and I'm having a lot of trouble getting around in the rooms. The rooms are small, and I only have one arm to use. It's lovely downstairs. The lobby and everything is beautiful, very nice furniture, curtains, and pictures on the wall. It's very nice. The food is adequate (not great), and I expected more. They have games, films, and trips in the van.

Tony Decris

Don't expect your resident to have privacy even if they have a private room. Residents have disturbed my relatives belongings on multiple occasions. Management shows little concern. Expect to have to continually monitor many aspects of care regardless of what you pay. Some staff are great. others not so.

Provider Response

98northwood

The second seating dining (aside from made to order breakfast) is left-overs. The residents complain that there is too much fried food. The waiter/waitress staff is friendly and attentive, and it's always a 3 course meal with options if you don't want what is on the main menu. The place is clean, but to walk around the building is dangerous, with cracks in the sidewalks and the breaking off of the sides of the walkways. The desk is abandoned at 7:30 and the door locked, therefore limiting the ability of evening visits with the residents. They are short staffed in the evening & you have to wait for a busy personal assistant to come to let you out. The management staff has changed about 4 times in the past year and a half and has not been for the better, I had papers tossed at me last week like I was an animal. Most of the residents complain, but because of their situation, they have no place else to go and feel helpless. I was there when the resident signed in and was given authority to be given information about the resident, assist the resident - whom at the time was there only because of a death in the family, leaving him/her homeless, I am now nothing but a thorn in their side and being threatened with elderly services for helping a person through a very rough stage in his/her life.

Provider Response

Jim362480

Ashland Farm at North Andover was a nice and inviting community. The staff was very pleasant and friendly, and the place was well kept. The apartments were an average size and well kept. The residents seemed happy.

visitor878383

Ashland Farm is excellent, and the manager and the support staff took their time and explained everything. The facility itself was much brighter and had a homier atmosphere. The activities are varied, with many choices, and has easy access for my aunt. I ate there a couple of times, and the food was excellent.

Eileen37

My relative is in Ashland Farm. The staff is very caring. The food is very good. They have exercise classes, movies, and entertainment that comes in. Overall, we are very happy, but they can improve their price.

Provider Response

Judy117747450

Ashland Farm is a wonderful, warm, supportive, and lovely place. It has a fantastic staff and welcoming atmosphere. The food was great. The warmth and care of the people was very impressive.

Provider Response

Linda117879450

Ashland Farm was very nice. The staff seemed very friendly and very nice.

Provider Response

Caring82836250

Ashland Farms is very nice and big. It’s out in the country with very nice accommodations, and the people seemed to be very nice. They give you a whole breakdown and give you pamphlets explaining the activities. It’s three meals a day. They have snacks available as well. They wouldn’t serve food in the room, but you could go down and bring it back if you wanted to.

Provider Response

Caring4482

Our visit at Ashland was very nice, pretty, and the staff was helpful, but it was expensive. The place is upscale, large enough, and the food was delicious.

Provider Response

Augusta1

We went to Ashland Farm. It looked very good. They did a good job with the dining area and the food. Then again, in order to reach the dining area, you had to walk through a long hallway. The staff showed us the rooms, and they were rather small, and they weren't exactly what we wanted. It was also a little out of our reach.

eyesee5769

Ever since they were purchased by a big conglomerate, the quality of the food has gone downhill. The employee turnover seems high, but the employees who are there care a great deal for the residents. It is the management that is unresponsive to the complaints. Considering the cost of this place, the people should be eating like royalty, but the food is barely one step above nursing home food. They service a lot of cheap meals, such as pasta or crappy meat.

Provider Response