Memory Care Communities in Merrillville, IN

"My dad is going to be moving into the memory care side of Brookdale Valparaiso. There's a foyer living area with a fireplace and a big TV. I've been there probably four or five times to take things to his apartment, and everyone is just calm, they're sitting in their chairs watching a movie, and they're socially distanced. There are 12 apartments on the left side, 12 apartments on the right side, and a kitchen/dining room in the middle. They have a lovely library and several living rooms where there's a TV, a loveseat, and a chair in these different areas. It is just a lovely layout. When a person moves in on the memory care side, next to each apartment they put together a memory box outside, and they have asked me to think about my dad's life and put little memorabilia in there. The activity director then writes a little story, so if one of the residents stops by, they can read and know that my dad was an ironworker, and that he loves racing cars and whatever. I've never seen that before, it's really lovely! They have a huge outdoor courtyard, there are doors to get to that courtyard, and there're half a dozen patio tables with chairs. The staff said that when the weather is nice they have those unlocked, but it triggers a bell that lets all the employees know that one of the residents is in the courtyard. They know where all the residents are, but I think that's nice, too, so that they don't feel like they're held captive if you will. It feels like a real home, and they know that somebody is going to take care and pay attention to them. I'm just really excited there."

"The memory care staff is genuinely concerned with the well-being of the residents living there. The facility is very clean and the rooms are more than adequate for a memory care resident. You can smell the aroma of the food as you come into the unit and the food seems to be enjoyed by everyone in the dining room. I’d like to also mention that it is a very calm, inviting environment and well organized."

"We did the independent and the memory care at Residences at Coffee Creek. It was very nice and very clean, just a little on the pricier side. The staff was very nice, answered all our concerns, and showed us each one of the rooms that we were interested in. They were very spacious. It had a little dining table in the kitchenette area. The bathrooms were full size. The bedroom was a decent size as well, with a walk-in closet. It had a little living room. We didn't get to try the food, but they showed us the dining room and the menu. She also showed us where they have a little breakfast thing where the breakfast can be cooked in front of them if they want to order something. The menu looked nice. For breakfast, they had scrambled eggs or different meals that you could choose from. They had a little exercise room where they can go, either to continue therapy or just use the facilities to bicycle, lift weights, or walk up and down the stairs. The facility was very beautiful."

"Sunrise of Flossmoor was a nice location. It gave you that feeling of being home. I talked to some of the very informative staff members, who gave me their tenure there and showed me the memory care that they had for their location. I saw the residents sitting down and waiting to have a meal together. They have an outdoor patio where the members could go out with their families and walk around. It was secure, and they didn't have to worry about them wandering off. The staff also showed me the different shared rooms that you could get where they would have their own separate actual bedroom, but they would have to share a bathroom. To me, I don't think that would have been acceptable to my mother-in-law. They have certain wings where one wing was strictly memory care, and another wing was strictly assisted living. The place was clean, bright, and sunny. It was a nice location for people to walk around, say to get out and take a walk through the park. They have trees, grass and benches, and things for the staff to take them out and for them to enjoy a nice walk. It was quiet, and it seemed to be very safe. I almost missed the place because there were so many trees. I didn't know there was a senior home back there and I thought it was like a forest preserve or something, but it was beautiful. The staff gave me some suggestions as to maybe looking into something that's called supportive living. Instead of assisted living, she said to look for supported living, and those were the institutions that might be able to give me some assistance with the finances. It depends on you and the information that I can provide for them. But I think the place was friendly, and the tenants seem to be very comfortable. They were relaxed, they looked decent, and they looked clean. They weren't sitting around idle. It seemed like they kept them busy, on the go and doing something, which was great because my mother-in-law needs someplace to be active. Right now, she's a hermit, she stays in her house by herself, and she talks to nobody but her nurse, so she needs to be able to get back into communicating with people."

"My father was at Arden Courts of Hazel Crest for two weeks. They were one of the firsts to respond to my call, they were one of the first places that I looked at, and I was just very impressed. They had four different units, they had caregivers on each unit, and I just like the area that it was in. I like that it was just one level. They had a little breakfast area. It was very clean, and the scenery was nice outside and very calming. The staff were very caring and attentive. They knew each of their residents and their needs. They had activities going on all the time for the residents. They play games, watch movies, and go out within the confines of the facility and walk around. Once a month, they have support groups for the other family members so they too could meet other family members and develop a supportive network. I would definitely recommend them. "

"My sister will be moving into the Victory Centre. It's affordable, and they have the CNA help there that she would need. When I went in, it didn't seem like a nursing home. My sister is still able to walk, and she can do a lot for herself. She toilets herself, and she is able to go to the bathroom, but she can't bathe herself, and she needs assistance. There were some things that she needed assistance with, and they provided those things, and a big part of it was that it was affordable for her income. My first impression of it was good because it didn't smell like a nursing home. In all nursing homes, they're not like that, but I've had bad experiences with visiting people in nursing homes. The setting seems like it would be great for her. There were people up and walking around, and some people were in wheelchairs, but they're still moving about. It was just a nice atmosphere. They took the time to explain things, and particularly the RN who was talking to my sister and asking her questions while she was doing the assessment. I liked what I saw and the way they treated her. She was laughing at some of the questions, and she was laughing with the lady. So it was a good feeling. I was not able to witness any activities, but I was told that they have a lot. They have bingo and games. The management that I talked to when I was there was telling my sister, "You're going to like it here. It's going to be lots of fun, and you'll have lots to do.""

"Colfax Manor Assisted Living is a house. It is more of a home environment where I feel that my mom will be safe there. I have nothing that I liked least about it. Everything just looked well taken care of, and they care about that resident there. I saw the memory care. They were caring. They have a live-in cook that does all the meals there. They care more about the residents as if they were one of their relatives. It was clean."

"Everybody at Porter Place seems to be nice and attentive. The facility is nice, and the room is large enough. Some of the rooms are furnished, but mom has her own furniture. What I don't like about it is that you don't have access and you have to wait to get in and out, so there's always somebody at the front desk so you can get buzzed in, and when it's time for you to leave, you have to find somebody especially if you wait after 8:00 because nobody's at the front desk after 8:00. "

"I chose Tinley Court for my mother, and she's moving in next month. First of all, they accept small pets, and the person that I worked with was very friendly and answered all questions that I had. The place was very clean, updated. The rooms were a decent size, the closet space was good for her. The only thing was that they did not have a refrigerator or microwave in the room for her, but we can bring one in, so that helps out as well. They gave us a sample menu with items that my mom likes. We just chose it because it was clean, open, and the price was reasonable. This is affordable for us because it's based on my mom's income only. The community fee that we had to provide was reasonable as opposed to all of the others. There was no way she would be able to afford many of the others because of the cost, as well as they provide three meals where some of the others only provided two, so she would be on her own for the other meals. That was a big factor for us because she is partially blind, so we didn't want her to have to fend for herself for other meals as well, and it was all on one floor for her, so I felt that works out well too. Out of all of the facilities I've called, only one of them did have someone that did sign language, but that was, of course, the most costly one. So, unfortunately, we did not send her there. She's going to be moving into the studio in January, but she is on a list to move to an alcove room, which is kind of a one-bedroom. It just doesn't have the door in between, but her bedroom. So it's all going to be a little bit bigger, but she'll be moving into that in a couple of months. They do have a beauty salon and they do have different activities. They do use their mealtimes as their wellbeing check, they do ask that if you leave the facility, just to give them a heads up so that they're not looking for you. They are allowing us to bring in a special kind of doorbell because she can't hear when they knock. So when they knock, there's a light that goes on in the room, so they're allowing us to bring that in. They do have a library with lots of books. They do have a community room where they have games and things, so when my nieces and nephews go to visit, they can go play games and stuff with my mother. They do have laundry facilities on-site, so you can do the laundry yourself where you can pay for the amenities to have laundry done. They do have housekeeping once a week, which is very helpful because some of the others were only biweekly. My only concern is their walkway and their doorway entrance are not completely lighted. So it's very dark, and with my mom's vision being that, it's just not -- they have pathway lights, but there's just not enough lighting when you go in the evening."

"Bickford of Tinley Park was very nice, but they only accommodate patients 65 and over, and my brother is 60. The room was beautiful. There were residents playing bingo and other residents watching TV. It was a nice, friendly place. They showed me the exercise room and the physical therapy room."

"I would say it is excellent. The layout is very conducive to my mom having to use a wheelchair and needing assistance at times. The care that I've observed is excellent. The staff is extremely friendly, kind, and willing to go out of their way to help. My mom reports that the food is delicious and she has no complaints or concerns. She's in their assisted living and she has used the salon. The woman there was very helpful and accommodating. She even stayed longer to give my mom a haircut so we appreciate that she worked around my mom's schedule. I think it's a wonderful community for someone that needs assistance. It also offers various levels of care. My mom is highly functional, so she doesn't require as much assistance but knowing that somebody is there when she needs assistance is comforting."

"Grace Point Place is phenomenal and they use best practices. The people we met were very caring and compassionate. The place was clean and the residents were engaged. I didn't see anybody ignored in a wheelchair."

"Brookdale Orland Park was the best facility that I visited. They just didn't have any space for memory care at the time, but I liked the entire facility, the way that it was maintained, the staff, and the amenities that they have for the seniors. Everything about it seemed perfect and I was hoping and praying that that would be the place for my sister, but it turned out that it was more expensive than she could afford. They had walking paths, places for the seniors to gather and to be able to do drawings/artwork, and a place for theater. Their menus seemed like it was a pretty good healthy menu for the seniors. They had various options if there was a special diet that the senior needed. So, they had the option to change their meal plan. The rooms were very nice. They had a one-bedroom and studios and then they had kitchenettes inside. I felt very comfortable in it and I just thought that it would be a nice setting for my sister to be in the condition that she was at that particular time. The staff were very warm and informative. They followed up with me and did all the things necessary. They even had an area where you can sit out and you could birdwatch. I was impressed with Brookdale Orland Park."

"We did a tour here. The staff was great; however, the room is really small. The staff was awesome; I loved every one of them, and it was just great. It's just, the rooms were too small. It was perfect, clean, and it was nice. The neighborhood seemed fine, even if you went outside. It was nice, you could go outside and just sit, and it was perfect. Everything inside was perfect, it was clean where you could set and go, it was perfect other than the rooms were too small. We were there during lunchtime, and we were hungry. They just gave us free coffee and a free pie. I would go there just for that."