Brookdale West St. Paul

Diane

I toured Brookdale West St. Paul. I liked the fact that the staff were very friendly and very helpful in explaining the details about the facility. It was a great place, but it's not affordable, and that's my stumbling block. Overall, it was nice. The rooms were clean, and a place I'd want to put my loved one. They had a dining room, a group room, and a secured patio area. Overall, the place was very secure. I wouldn't worry about leaving my family member there and knowing that it was not secure. The staff members were very helpful and caring.

Stephanie

My father-in-law has moved into Brookdale West St. Paul. It's wonderful. It's a smaller community, and my father-in-law, coming from living on a 70-acre farm, is not super social. So, it's not crowded and it's perfect for him. The room is very spacious. He has his bed, a recliner, a TV, and a nightstand. There's a refrigerator, where he can keep some snacks and sodas in. He has his own bathroom and a nice closet where his dresser is. It's very homey, but when my family of five goes to visit him, we can be in the room comfortably. I feel like it's a very good value for money. As memory care is not inexpensive, they're taking very good care of him. He gets all of his meals and laundry. They have activities for him to do. He hasn't participated yet, but they do have outings that he can go on. My father-in-law is very religious, and they have services once a week. They do have a barbershop salon. I don't think he's used it, but I saw it. They have a very large yard that you can take advantage of, and in the memory care, they have a part of it that's fenced off so he can go out in the yard. They have flower boxes set up that he can garden in, he loves that. The staff is incredibly responsive and willing to work with us. We went on the 15th for his intake interview, my father-in-law was coming from over 4 hours away, and he's in a considerable amount of pain from being in a car that long. They bent over backward to allow him to move in that same day. The staff is just super accommodating. They've been willing to help him out with anything he needed. They're very knowledgeable, and they all take the time to get to know the residents. The facility is immaculate looking, and well kept up. The exterior is gorgeous, and the interior is equally kept up.

Jim

My friend is at Brookdale West St. Paul. It's a nice community in a residential area. It's two separate buildings, single level, small, and there are only 19 residents in each building. One is assisted living, and one is memory care. I can't go in but I was given a virtual tour, and from what I can see, it's well kept and clean. I have been able to look in at our friend's apartment from an outside window, and it looks nice. It fits the need we were looking for. The staff members have been wonderful, very responsive and caring. Our friend likes all the staff that has been working with her. Because it's a smaller facility, they seem to get to know the residents well. I have no complaints on the staff. They seem very good and professional. Our friend loves the food. She thinks the food is very good compared to when she was in the hospital or in transitional care, and they're somewhat flexible. If she doesn't like something and she'd rather have just toasted cheese sandwich, they'll make that for her. As far as activities, they have some. Because of Covid, they can't do as much as they normally would do as far as taking residents out or bringing entertainment into the building. They're a little more limited, but they try to do them. They have an activity director. They try to do throughout the week: games, bingo or different activities for the residents if they're interested. In the past, before Covid, they did quite a bit more as far as taking residents on trips, bringing in outside entertainment, and things like that. I wish they had a fitness center or a little better area for fitness and workout. The value is very good compared to many others considering everything, the value and what you get there.

Caring91267450

We visited Clare Bridge and we liked it a lot, but they didn't have any openings at the time for what my mom could afford. They only had private rooms, no elderly waiver. It's just one floor and it's kind of in a square. It's set up in big, open areas where the residents dine in an open kitchen. The dining area was open right in the center like a restaurant. All tables and chairs are centrally located right off the kitchen. The way it's set up seemed very ideal for a person who has Alzheimer's. A shower and a toilet appeared to be in each room, which was great. The rooms were a fairly nice size with a window, which we thought was great as well. As far as bathing, they had a spot for a bath that people could step into that was centrally located, which was good considering that, for anybody who needed to take a bath, it was easily accessible to get into the tub with assistance. There were quite a bit of staff around, and they seemed attentive. They were having an entertainment evening, so the residents were in the central area enjoying food, music. Some were dancing, and the staff was around to assist them. The activity coordinator was also there interacting with them. They had a room where there were puzzles set up, and it seemed like they had games there. It seemed like a very well-laid out facility. There was plenty of opportunity for activity and interaction. They have 2 homes. One is a memory care home completely locked down. This one is more open, but every time the door opens, it's a really loud buzzer that goes off. They could use a different kind of an alert that isn't so obnoxious. That was the only thing that was negative, I think, about the facility. Otherwise, I fairly enjoyed the tour and I thought it was a great facility.

hockeyguy123

This facility appeared to be great for their residents. They had a caring core of staff, that seemed to be expertly trained on the multiple facets of the disease. They had on-call physicians and neurologists to expedite gaining prescriptions that may be necessary. Rooms seemed very cozy and appealing to the types of people at the facility. While visiting my grandfather there, I did notice that the staff all knew him by name, which was very important to me. I even was able to set up an appointment with the executive director of that facility and gain insight into just what it takes to run an assisted living home. It was a very eye-opening experience, and I thoroughly enjoy visiting there as often as I can.