The Waters of Plymouth

I very much liked The Waters of Plymouth and the way their memory care was set up. It had a very bright, open setting that felt home-like versus being a facility, and one of the things that's difficult for these facilities to achieve is for them to feel more like a home than an institution. I would encourage people to take a look at it because the programs they offer for people living in independent or assisted are excellent and the quality of the building and the brightness of it is great. It was all very positive. I really don't have any negatives. I wanted to move there.

We have used both spectrums of the Waters Plymouth. My mother-in-law was in a senior apartment with no care, and my father-in-law is in Memory Care. From our very first visit, the staff was amazing. My f-i-l was the first to move in. He has his own studio apartment but spends very little time in there as he is usually with everyone else in the main room, singing or watching a movie or listening to stories. My m-i-l moved in to her apartment a year later, which was one bedroom with a washer and dryer. Even though there are tons of activities and meals provided, she chose to spend her time cooking for herself or with her husband in MC until she unexpectedly passed away. The environment as a whole is extremely peaceful and the staff is top notch. I would recommend The Waters Plymouth in a split second.

The Waters of Plymouth was nice, small, and beautiful. It had a nice dining room, lobby, woods, and little pond area. It’s right off highway 55 but back enough from the road that noise was not a problem. The rooms, staff, and dining area were very nice.

Mom really liked The Waters. She would have gone there. What I really liked about it was it was a smaller community. It was not so big and overwhelming, and she felt like she would fit in. They provided two meals a day. They had a huge 1-bedroom plus den. They provided the washers and dryers. They had light housekeeping that would come in every week. They also had shuttle services and all different types of activities. Everybody was really friendly. I was really impressed. They had a memory care unit. I liked the variety of the food that they serve and the atmosphere of the whole place. It was brand new.

The Waters Plymouth had nice quality rooms. It was only two years old, so everything was new. The apartments were different. It had a large living room, a nice bedroom, a walk-in closet, and a very small balcony. Everything about it was very excellent. It was in a busy highway, but the people were very helpful.

The help that they gave us at Waters of Plymouth was amazing. It was a difficult move anyway because we're moving my mom from Las Vegas up to Minnesota, and we had a very short time then. They were very quick to help us get everything set up so that she's here now. Their rooms/apartments are beautiful. They're spacious. There are a lot of windows. As for their dining room, there is a lot of room for gathering. It is very community-oriented around here. With regards to activities, you name it, they got it. They have exercise activities, they have a schedule of events that they take you to, and they take you to and from a grocery store. It's great. The best thing about this facility is that it is close to our home. It is not very far away so I only have to travel about 10 miles, and my sister is right across the street, so it makes it very easy.

The Waters of Plymouth was brand new when we visited. The menus looked good, nice variety. The staff was friendly and helpful. The facilities were clean and well-maintained..

I compared this facility to several others in October 2013. It's brand new so the décor is of course, very nice, however entrance and most windows looks smack dab out to McDonald's, stoplights, a car wash etc across Hwy 55, only 200-300 ft away. I was shocked to learn how Extremely expensive it was---a one BR was $3800/month including no medical care and only 14 meals. For my parent with a few personal cares, the cost would easily be over $60,000 per year. Rent, Meals & Care cost will increase 3-7% per year according to our guide. There are washer & dryer in a closet in the unit, but strangely there are no dishwasher OR microwaves in the units--they want to entice you to buy all your meals. The entire "menu" of personal services is priced out individually, which some might think is good, but, there is a hidden snowball effect: if your parent needs some help with meds they start out paying for only that portion (plus a monthly med "set-up" charge)....however once they do some meds, the nurses have a copy of your doctor's orders, and will be required to offer you help with all your other medical needs, such as blood pressure checks, and your costs will rise. In comparing various facilities, I found a big difference in the nonprofit vs. for-profits. The owner of the 4-5 Waters being built in this area is brand-new to senior care, they previously built & managed luxury apartments. They are strictly for-profit and do not accept Elderly Waiver-- even if you've been self-pay for 5 years, if you run out of money, you're out the door. Non-profits will accept Elderly Waiver (welfare) and you don't have to move from that facility (but might be downgraded to a smaller room). Waters does not require you to fill out any type of financial assessment before renting your room, which some people might like---but other facilities I visited required you to prove you had assets to be self-pay for 3-5 years before renting. Clearly this facility is either designed for millionaires and/or they don't care about long-term residency, which makes me wonder about their commitment to their more elderly residents. Note: I visited the apartments section, not the Memory or Enhanced care---these sections are all FULL--and it's good to keep in mind, even if a facility has those sections, there's no guarantee they will have room for you when you need it. So you would just end up moving to a different facility. I would like to find a facility that is reasonably priced, offers excellent care, and is the last move my parent will need to make, whether they live 5 or 15 years.