Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community

Don

Right now, we have plans to bring my mother into Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community. It seems to be the right environment for her. We toured the memory care unit and it seemed to click. We feel comfortable having her spend the later years of her life there. It's only a 12-person memory care community. The rooms seemed nice. The people in the community themselves seem to have similar physical attributes that my mother has. It's a mobile community. Most people are walking around either with walkers or by themselves, and there were only a couple in wheelchairs. It's only like 3 miles from where her home was, and 5 miles from my sister's house. So proximity was a factor, too. We talked to the lead person, Dani, and she was great. They have daily activities based on what the people can do in the memory unit. They try to keep them very active, which is important for us. My dad has been gone 15 years now, and so she has been living at home for 15 years, and so we think that it's positive that she can have activities, especially during the sundowning period, so she doesn't get bored and wander and all these things that can happen. The surroundings seem very homey. And because there are only 12 people here, it seems like a small tight-knit community. There's no smell, too. It just felt right.

James

I went to Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community. Everything was nice. It was clean. It didn't have any foul odors. It looked modern and well-maintained. The person who accommodated me during the tour, her name is Tracy and was very nice and very knowledgeable. There were some people playing bingo. Some light exercise programs were going on. They were preparing to have some entertainment that evening. They had plenty of things going on, which was good. I was there when people were getting ready to eat dinner, and the dining facility was busy.

Claire

I have gone to Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community. I haven't officially moved in yet, but I have a commitment. One of the things that I was totally impressed with is that it's a nonprofit organization. Secondly, they have residents on the board of directors. All board of directors are all volunteers; there's no financial compensation for any of their services. I've been to a couple of their luncheons. All the people that I've met were all extremely friendly and very happy with their choice. I am moving in independently into a two-bedroom cottage with a garage. I had four meals there. Two in their dining room and two in their cafe. The food that I had at the luncheons varied. There was a couple of three choices. The first meal I had was haddock meals, which was delicious. The second meal I had was a fish kabab that was done very well with all the sides. In their cafe, I had soups and their salads. Presentation was excellent, as well as the quality. They have a very state of the art gym. They have a dynamite personal trainer. They have a very large pool. They have a lot of activities. They also bring in independent activities for cultural events. They have a very nice pavilion and have cookouts, holiday celebrations, and so on. The staff was definitely a five-star staff. In the dining room, they're all young people waiting on people. They're all smiling, very accommodating, and outstanding. The quality of food was as good as I'd cooked myself. The place was extremely clean and impeccable. It has five acres of wooded property. The cottages are settled in, so it's like a little neighborhood. You have trees in the yard. You have grass all around, and you have flowers. To me, it's a transfer from home to home.

BoylDaughter

Very nice design - warm, welcoming people. Professional nursing/assistants. Nice apartments, wall paper, common areas. Clean. Nice gardens - nature areas.

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I think they did a good job, the room was pretty large and she had no roomate. She was allowed to decorate it with her own pictures of her family and other things. The furniture was comfortable enough, and the view was nice. The staff seemed very skilled and knowledgable about her likes and dislikes as well as what care she needed. The only complaint I guess was that the food was not always the best. There were often activities for the residents just about every day I think, Bingo was popular and puzzles and board games were in the living areas. I did not like the hotel feel of the building though, did not seem very home like or warm.However, overall I think it was a good place to live in.