Memory Care Communities in Oak Lawn, IL

"I toured Harvester Place. I like their courtyard. They had a little putting green. My dad loved to play golf. I like the little shadow boxes that they had at each of the rooms. I like the idea of sharing a bathroom. The staff who toured me around was very nice and very friendly. The place was very clean and very nice."

"Cantata is the new name for what had previously been the British Home and apparently its name was changed just a few weeks ago. I was told that the name change is an attempt to overhaul the stuffy image associated with the British Home. The word "Cantata" is derived from the Italian word "cantare" which means "to sing" and the name change is meant to convey a kind of new age composition of voices to care for the elderly. To my mind I never had that image of the British Home as being stodgy. I used to go biking along the bike trail just outside the home and I was more curious than anything. I had always associated the Home with Brookfield Zoo which is practically in its backyard. Nevertheless I can appreciate what the nursing home is trying to do in recreating its image. I would recommend this assisted living facility based on its cleanliness, the amount of light exposure from its modern windows and an ample size health center that also allows membership from the community. Indeed on the day that I visited I saw some very energetic seniors on bikes and tread mills and I was very impressed. These folks were trying to live life to its fullness! That along with the light streaming from the floor to ceiling windows in the lobby and throughout sold me. Like any place that you are deciding to live there are pros and cons. Another positive is the proximity to medical staff that are housed at the facility. The thing that I did not like about the facility was the rather nondescript furnishings (the chairs and tables throughout). The sitting rooms just didn't seem like a place I could relax, but that could just be my own taste. The dining room I thought was pretty generic (except for the windows). The menu did not impress me, but I will say that I did get a whiff of what smelled like peach cobbler and that was fantastic. I was told that meal preparation had been taken over by new management recently. I also did not care for the individual apartments, especially the carpet which was dark and seemed institutional. I will say that the facility was clean and smelled good. The receptionist and customer relations specialist were very nice and helpful. Overall I would recommend Cantata and this may be a great time to move here not only because of its name change, but the kind of upbeat image it is trying to promote. "

"I toured Brookdale Orland Park for a loved one. They were friendly, and the place was well-managed and well kept. They were approachable and knowledgeable. The rooms had a nice design. It appeared clean. I looked at the menu, and it seemed to have a variety of options. I saw an outdoor activity area, a sort of a TV area, and I saw the rooms. The only activities I saw were people gathered together in a room watching TV in the memory care. In the assisted living, I saw bingo. For the memory care, the amenities appeared to be limited to me. It was just a short period of time that I was there, so they seemed to just be sitting there watching TV. I did not see any activity person engaged with them doing anything."

"Bickford of Tinley Park was a gorgeous facility. It was clean, it was nice, and it was brand new. They had an indoor courtyard. It was a nice facility. "

"The service provided at Porter Place are excellent. The staff is very caring and attentive to all resident's needs. They go above and beyond to make sure all residents are happy and cared for. It's one big happy family. P.S. They have the Best Cookies."

"My dad moved from a 4-bedroom house to a studio apartment here 2 1/2 years ago. He loves it. There are people to interact with, supervised exercise, a beautiful dining room with good food, where you order your meal as you would in a restaurant. He has a full kitchen (he likes to bake) and a huge closet - plenty of room he says. The staff are very friendly and helpful and everything is clean and updated. They have church services, wii bowling, bingo, trips on the bus. Communication with families is very good. As I said, Dad loves it and we (the children) feel very comfortable with him there."

"Charter Senior Living of Hazel Crest was clean. Everybody was very polite and nice. I got to speak to a few of the residents, workers, and the administrator of the building. They offer several different plans in a sense when I was talking to them. I was stressing the importance of making sure that my mother-in-law was in a place where they had well-trained individuals that could deal with her particular case of having a memory loss. The only thing that I was having difficulty with was maybe finding help for her to be able to afford to live there. They were helpful, they gave me some information, and they gave me some suggestions of where I might go and find the type of assistance that we might get for her. Otherwise, the tour was nice and very informative. There were suggestions for further help along the way. They also told me to come back if I decided to choose that location, that I was more than welcome to come back, and maybe they have help with the finances. Other than that, it was a nice tour. It was very homely, it was like being at home, and that's what I love about that. It's one level. They had different branches for the different types of assistance that you need whether you need independent living, assisted living, or memory care, and I like that particular layout that they had. They have a section for the individuals that may roam a lot on their own, and they have a section for people that can roam and go places and come back home and have no problem. I like that one because it was like being at home. It didn't give you that feeling of an apartment building; this one gave me the feeling of actually walking into your own home."

"We put my mom in Evergreen Senior Living - Orland Park for two weeks. They gave her her medicine, they took her down to her food, and they laid out her clothes for her. They had activities there. They had a Hawaiian evening. The first two weeks, we kind of spent a lot of time with her. We were keeping my mom more active than them. It's our first time putting her in an assisted living place. Everyone was kind of worried, so we wanted to make sure she was good, so we kind of spent a lot of time with her and took turns going and coming. The staff were very understanding, very caring, and very nice. There's nothing negative I can say about them. It's all positive. Of all the facilities I visited, they have the best room. It's a 700-square-foot room. It has a walk-in closet, a big bathroom, a big shower and bathtub, a little kitchen area, and a little dining area. It's the most spacious room in any facility, I think. It's new, so that was kind of encouraging for us. I was able to put a queen-sized bed in there for my mom, and it fit perfectly. Their food was super. They'll take her down to eat, or they'll bring her food to eat. And if she didn't like it, they'll bring her something different. They were like really, really nice and easygoing. There are always snacks out, there's always coffee out, there's always cookies, soft drinks, and water. They always have those available for them. "

"My tour experience at Marian Village was very positive. We were able to look at several different layouts, and we went over to the cottages. The interesting thing about them is that as people are moving out of their units, they are modernizing them. They're renovating them with new flooring and they're moving from carpeting to hardwood floors. It is just extensive upgrading as these units are turned over, which means you're getting a fully renovated new unit. It's beautiful. It's very clean. I didn't see anything that would set any alarms. The staff member who toured me around was very friendly and very receptive to questions about whatever. She was very open and friendly. There's a lot going on. There was a morning social group meeting in one of their lounges. There was an exercise class going on in the gym. They were setting up to play cards. When we went over to the cottages there was no one in there, but there's a nice recreation room. The cottages had patios. A lot of the units in the newer building had balconies. It's a very open area. There's a paved walking path. There's not much around it. It's really out in the country. We looked at the dining area, but they brought us into their bistro, and we had a complimentary lunch. It was excellent. It was very, very good. We ate in the bistro. "

"I visited American House Oak Park's independent living. The pricing was just way out of line for me, so I can't afford it. Other than that, it was very nice and very impressive. The services they offered were good, and the rooms were nice spaces. They also supply housekeeping, but I don't recall if it's once or twice a month. They provide meals, and everything they eat is actually in the building, and that was actually rather impressive. Mainly, it was breakfast and dinner that they actually served. The apartments were nice, clean, and spacious, and they looked very comfortable. I would have no complaints about them. I believe there was also a gym inside the building. Parking was a let-down, though. It was an extra $100 a month for a parking space. They have a courtyard that was nice and a little picnic area that was available for you. There was a laundry facility, but it did not have laundry in the room, so that's always a letdown to me, especially when you put in that kind of money. I always prefer to do my own laundry. The staff members who gave the tour were nice and courteous, and very informative. It's a beautiful building with very nice amenities. It's well kept and everything."

"I toured Arden Courts of South Holland. I love that the residents were able to go in and out of a gated area, and there were many entrances and exits. There was a walking path and plenty of little sittings where they could stop, rest, and look at different flowers. There were raised garden beds, and they had flowers growing. I like that the residents would not feel like they were locked up. The rooms were smaller than the other place, but there were single rooms. They're very nicely appointed. There was a bathroom, but there wasn't a shower. Each wing had like a common shower, and I like that because that means that anytime that the person would be in the shower, they would be accompanied or observed. People can get in the shower by themselves because there's a self-contained bathroom in every room."

"We visited The Roosevelt at Salt Creek's independent living and as far as I'm concerned, the community had only one drawback and that is that they've just started and will be undergoing some renovation for a while. I was concerned that that could be a disturbance and would make it less attractive and comfortable. You don't know for sure, but that's been my experience with those kinds of things. Other than that, I would give them a high rating in just about everything, including their quarters. I liked their rooms a little bit better than any of the other places we saw. Their staff was quite friendly and knowledgeable. The layout was good and they had outdoor areas too. Their eating arrangement looked good. It looked a little bit more complicated to me than some of the other places, but it still looks like a very nice eating arrangement. The residents also have very good interaction with their staff."

"We talked to a representative at The Clare, had lunch, and visited a couple of apartments, which were very nice. The dining area was quite good, and they had a garden, which was a place to sit. They have people who can come in, or they have intensive care out of the apartment. "

"I moved my husband from two other memory care facilities. We selected Terra Vista after visiting four other memory care locations. Terra Vista is an excellent facility. The staff are kind and caring and you have the same staff caring for your resident all the time. This is so important for people with Alzheimer’s. They do not bring in any agency staff which is most important. Their director has been there a long time which is also important. So many change directors frequently. The food is good and they have many activities thanks to Elizabeth and staff. Elizabeth sends you pictures of them during the week. Maritiza is assigned to my husband and she is so kind and caring she treats them all like family. They have a beautiful courtyard where you can go outside and enjoy all the flowers, birds, and ducks. I cannot say enough good things about Terra Vista after my first two learning experiences!!!"