Memory Care Communities in Bethlehem, PA

"Heather Glen is a top notch facility. The physical plant is well designed and lively. The staff are very caring and capable. "

"My sister moved up to Phoebe Richland Community. It was very welcoming. They gave her all the physical therapy she could handle, which was great. She had physical therapy almost every day and occupational therapy almost every day when she got there. She still gets it quite frequently. The staff is very nice. She enjoys the other residents there. She says she has a wonderful time getting to know them and they're very caring also. I was there one Saturday when the director himself was helping someone move into their memory care area. He was moving the clothing and stuff in himself on a Saturday. They're just delightful. There's an exercise class of some kind every morning, wheelchair volleyball, chair, or tai-chi. There's at least one activity every morning and one or two activities every afternoon. Every day I call or when I talk to my sister, she'll say, "Oh yes, we had an exercise this morning." It's a smaller place, so they can't offer the diversity of activities that a larger facility might offer. The assisted living has a beautiful lounge area when you walk in. The dining room is lovely. You couldn't ask for anything better. I get no complaints from my sister except there's no salt, but she can bring some herself. That's for health reasons. I saw two small library reading areas, a game room, a big lounge, and a dining room. She's in a temporary room right now because there were no rooms available, so it's a little small but very nice and furnished. It has a dresser, a wardrobe, a chair, a bed, a little kitchenette, and a beautiful bathroom that's handicapped accessible. It is less expensive than others for definitely something better. Their staff is especially caring. This place is much more consistent with their staffing, which means the staff gets to know their people better."

"The Palmerton is neat, it's clean, it's relatively new, and it's kept up very well. They have a very good staff and so far, my mother is liking it better than where she was. They have very good food and a very nice dining hall. I think they also have an activities room and they seem to make sure that they have some type of activity every day to keep these people entertained. She enjoyed the sing-along and on the 4th of July, they had two people in there singing patriotic songs. She is blind, that's why she's in assisted living. She went blind later in life so she never really learned Braille or anything like that."

"We looked at numerous facilities before deciding upon Cornerstone for my mother's care. Many of these facilities were beautiful, but somehow cold. Cornerstone on the other hand is very homey and warm. We were able to decorate my mother's room to make it truly hers. They continue to make upgrades to the facility, but aside from the facility the staff is wonderful. They have a dedicated staff that truly cared for my mother. It is a hard decision to place a parent with dementia, but I know that I made the right one when I chose Cornerstone. "

"Mira Vie at Brookfield was terrific. The staff who gave the tour was terrific, too. She showed me everything she possibly could show me. They were having a live music presentation at the time, and I was looking at the group of people in there listening and watching. Most were bobbing their heads or keeping time with the music with their feet. They all seemed to be enjoying it. I got a look at the entire week's activity on the main bulletin board in the lobby, so you're able to see what's going to happen on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday, and so forth, and so it was very well organized. I looked at the dining room and it was neat and clean, too. The staff showed me a one-person room. It had all the amenities that you could need for one person, including a step-in shower with grips. They show movies every so often, and the staff said that the movie room is always open if for some reason one of the residents can't sleep, and they want to just come down and put on a movie of their choosing, they can do that. I met the chaplain over there. He seemed very nice. After we were all done with everything, the staff took me to a conference room. We sat down and we probably talked for a good 45 minutes to an hour. She answered any questions that I had and filled in any gaps she might have left out. She gave me her card and told me she was going to stay in touch with me. I felt very, very comfortable over there. And the staff that we passed, whether they were in the hall or they were going somewhere, they all said hi, smiled, nodded, or whatever. They can arrange transportation for you. You can use their medical people or they'll take you to your own doctor of choice. It just seemed to have everything."

"I was trying to get my sister into Spring Village at Pocono, but her family had more power of attorney over me. Spring Village at Pocono was great though. I had no problem with them. They were great. The room was exactly what she needed -- e.g., the TV, the closet, a little dresser, a bed by the window. It was very nice. It was everything she needed. The facility was very nice. It was well cared for. No problem at all. The people were very nice. I don’t know how you could make it any better. It’s absolutely great. It’s perfect. "

"My mother and I went to St. Mary Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Lansdale yesterday. We liked it very much, so we're going to enroll there. It was a very nice place. They have a special dementia section and she's going to move into that part, but the whole place was very nice and very clean. They didn't seem to have a lot of staff. It seems like there's a shortage because of COVID. Patients were walking around and they seemed to be engaged, but not active because the people we saw were dementia patients. The indoors are kind of like a circle and the rooms were arranged that way. They couldn't get lost as long as they were in that memory section, which was the Camilla area. They had an outdoor section for them, a very nice dining room, and they had aquariums to look at. There was a book room in the regular section for the residents who had other issues or maybe were just retired. They have a very nice library there. One man had his toy train set up in one of the lounge areas, so that was nice. They let him continue with his hobby and one can bring possessions from home if they're not too large. The rooms were a nice size. They were a little bit bigger than most hospital rooms. Mom will have an armoire, two dresser drawers, and a table for her television. She'll have an in-room telephone, which is extra. The setup is very nice and they were able to get her in right away so that was great, too. They're having a special right now. The $3500 a month is a special rate and that's for any of their units. We walked through the regular part, too. Everything's on one floor, so it is spread out. It's a big campus, but everything is on one floor, which to me is more of a safety thing, especially with old people, of which I am one, because they said a lot of the people there are in their mid-70s. I looked at it as a place for myself in the future and I would go there. I would live there definitely. The staff during the tour was very good. The nurse who spoke with us, Rebecca, I'd give her a 5 also. The paperwork is not overly onerous. They just want to make sure that we understand the limitations of COVID. They don't know what to expect. They don't know what's going to happen next and we have to be willing to accept the risk of what could happen, including food shortages. They even mentioned that in the paperwork and that's honesty because we don't know what's going to happen. They have outdoor spaces even for dementia patients. There's a small area where they can sit outside and it's fenced in with a nice fence. It's not like a prison fence. For the other people, there are plenty of outdoor areas for them to sit."

"Everyone that I met at The Vero of Bethlehem, including the residents, was fabulous. Everybody was happy there. It's a brand new building, but it's a ride for me and that's what I'm concerned about and my family's concerned about. I can't get there in 10 minutes and neither can anyone else. They're an hour and a half to 2 hours away. So we don't want to put my mom at a facility that's too far for any of us to get to her. The staff was amazing though. I spoke to several people on the phone. I was with Laura, who escorted us around. She was so pleasant. She explained everything in every detail. She answered all my questions."

"We checked out the independent care of Country Meadows of Bethlehem. It was very lovely. It was very comprehensive in what they offered. They have tree-lined grounds. One really very appealing thing was that it's across from the Northampton Community College. They have reached an agreement where you can take classes there, and they also come and do classes at the facility. They have an art room, a physical fitness center, and a community area. We looked at the one-bedroom, one bath and one-bedroom, a den, and a bath, which was very nice. My sister was interested in having a place for an office, so that configuration appeals to them. Three meals are included. The atmosphere was very pleasant and homey. The staff was very pleasant, too. Lynn was very helpful and very pleasant."

"I chose Saucon Valley Manor as the people were very interested. The price was good. So far I’m very happy with what they’ve done for my mother. She gets help to get to the bathroom, to be put in bed, and they take her to the dining room. They administer medicine, and I am satisfied with the services. "

"Emeritus or Brookdale at Allentown is very nice, and I was impressed with it. It’s an older facility -- 26 years older -- but the rooms are of nice size and clean. The food is good, you have choices, and the staff is lovely. The activities are very limited. They are appropriate for people on their 80 and 90s. They have a nice dining room and library which is nice too. There’s a lot of windows, and the grounds were well kept. "

"My mom moved in at Sacred Heart Senior Living. The environment is very nice. The staff is very nice. Like a lot of places, they don't have enough staff, but I think that's the problem everywhere right now. The social activities are good, and the food is good."

"We were very impressed with Fellowship Community. It's a nice campus and it was very well maintained. They have regular nurses 24/7 and they also have a skilled nursing facility on site, which was something we thought mother needed for her medical issues at that time. They have private rooms that are more readily available and I liked that they're allowed to have a mini fridge in them. The lady that gave the tour was very personable, very outgoing, and very informative. She showed us a menu and they said they would accommodate mom. If there was something on the menu that she didn't like, they would make something that she would like. So, it was more restaurant-style."

"I toured Rittenhouse Village At Lehigh Valley for my mom and they seemed very knowledgeable. They gave me the ratio right off. Another thing I liked about them is that they have a nurse on staff 24 hours a day, where the others that I toured did not. This facility was nice, and I just liked their programming. I saw the staff interacting with the residents. The place is nice and clean. I guess they're periodically renovating, or I should say upgrading some of the rooms. I saw a room that somebody was in at the moment, it was spacious, and they offer different things depending on the level that the person's at. I know they do things to keep their memory going, like they play games or a music type of therapy."