Assisted Living Communities in Buffalo, NY

"My parents have moved into Heathwood Assisted Living & Memory Care at Williamsville. They are enjoying it. One of the main reasons I chose them is because they do accept Medicare when private funds are not available anymore. The other reason was when I talked to other people, they had good reviews from other people that I knew that have had family members stay there. They were very friendly. The manager was very accommodating and friendly. We had a tour and there were lots of activities. My parents were in a condo by themselves, and they weren't socializing. But once they get there, every morning, my mom and my dad, both of them go to exercises they have for them. They have religious services or at least prayer groups. They have bingo, and little field trips for them once or twice a month. They take them out to go places either for lunch or a field trip to go look in someplace or tour some facility. They also have movies and a popcorn machine there, a nice movie theater with movie seats. They also have crafts every Monday and Wednesday. They have card groups that they play with. They even have these little miniature ponies that they brought in. For the residents that couldn't make it outside, they brought the ponies inside to their rooms. There’s live music every Friday, they have like a trio or a duo come in or maybe even a single person, they sing and play instruments. They're always active, and always doing something. They have a dining room, and I was told that during Covid, they used to have like an open dining, but the residents prefer to have their own seating at their own table. Each time when they go over, they get the same table. So, they have a certain time they have to go to their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's a huge thing for my parents, they love the food. If you don't like something, you can order something that you want. They always get a snack, and they have snacks at night. I had a good rapport with the social workers and the care workers there. They have employees who have been there for 25 years, 15 years, and 10 years. Everyone was very friendly, I enjoyed it. I feel like it's a very good placement for my parents and they were very happy with it. There's a choice of room, what my parents have is called a large private room, so they have one room with a bathroom. They do have apartments and there are a variety of rates. It's very nice and large, but they took that room instead of an apartment because the apartment is divided. Even though it does have like a little kitchenette in it and a little refrigerator. They're pretty well set. You can either take your furniture with you or they can provide pieces for you. But my parents took their bedroom set into the king-size bed, that's why we took that room. For Thanksgiving, they had them into smaller groups instead of one large dining room. They only had 12 people at their table. My father said it felt like a family eating a Thanksgiving dinner. So, they were very happy. My parents’ room is very convenient to activity rooms and very convenient to the dining room, which was important. My dad struggles to walk. I would say it's average-priced. It's all very clean, and I can't find any fault. It's just that there are other facilities that are more updated."

"My mother-in-law has moved into Elderwood Village at Bassett Park. I was very impressed. I was handled over there by Erica, who I believe is the administrator. We've only been there a couple of weeks, but the staff seems to be excellent. They've tried to help us in every way they could. They came out twice to assess my mother-in-law. The first time, they kind of turned her down because they didn't think that she could get up out of a chair. I called them up and told them that day they were there, she was just having a bad day and she can get out of a chair, and if somebody just comes and gives her a little bit of a boost, she gets out of her chair into her walker with no problem. They agreed to come out and reassess her. Erica, who is their administrator, came out and when they came, my mother-in-law got up all by herself, walked around the room with her walker and everything was fine. So, they accepted her. I thought that was great. They hit availability rather quickly and made the process easy. My mother-in-law's living space is fairly small, but there are plenty of other rooms. She's got a nice lounge right outside of her room with a big screen TV in it and everything and a lot of people. She was having problems before she went in there. But once she got in there with a group of people that are around her age and she is 100 years old, so far there's been like a complete transformation, and she was happy. She's always been a social type of person, so she enjoys talking to the people out there. At first, they put her assisted, assisted living enhanced, which we paid for. Then the administrator came out to us, gave our check back which was $5,400 at first, and said, Destroy that check and write us another one for $3600, because your mother-in-law doesn't need the care that we thought she was going to initially need. So, she's just in assisted living right now. There's a $150 extra charge in there for something, but that has to do with some of the care she's getting. But we're very happy with what they did there too. I had lunch with four people out there one day. My mother-in-law was 100, the other lady said she was 100, might be 101 or 102 she wasn't sure, and the other lady was 96 years old. I sit at the table with them. I thought the food was terrific. The staff, they were good people. I don't see any problems at all with the place. I don't know too much about their activities, but I know my mother-in-law's been involved with the bingo and Wii bowling. She's been involved with a lot of things, so she seems very happy. In terms of value for money, it's very good. Most places we had talked to were more money, and so far it seems very good. Although they did tell us there's going to be an increase as of the first of the year, they told us approximately how much it was going to be, but that's fine. It's not that far from where we live, it takes us 15 minutes to get there, but it's not a big deal. I like the area where it is in Williamsville, and it's just a nice setting. It's kind of in a wooded area and kind of like country almost. It's very nice. Their aides and staff out there have been very friendly to my mother-in-law and very nice to her. I can't say enough good stuff about them. I know I have only been out there a couple of weeks, and things can change. But, so far, everything gets my high approval."

"I liked Tennyson Court, but they didn't have a resident dog. The plus with the other place was we could walk the resident dog there. It's beautiful. It's lovely. They're rated right up there the same as the other place, but the deciding factor was the dog. They have social events, lovely dinners, and meals. The rooms were bigger. The staff was very accommodating. The eating area was nice, but they wanted the people to socialize within their place whereas in the other place we could sit down and meet with our loved ones. They didn't want outsiders to eat there."

"The Amberleigh seemed to have more things to do the way they were set up. They had medical facilities within the building. They had activities. The staff during the tour was fine and very informative. They showed me around and gave me the information I needed. It was very clean."

"We toured the Elderwood Assisted Living at Wheatfield, and my husband's niece is in assisted living. It's a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. It was clean. People come in and help with the housekeeping once or twice a week. The staff we met who took us on the tour were very pleasant, welcoming, and patient, and tried to help us out with what we'd like at this level of care. They do the lawn care outside, and they send somebody once a week to wipe off the counters, do the vacuuming and stuff, and clean up the bathroom. There's an emergency call light in each unit, even though you're not in the actual nursing home."

"Brookdale Niagara Memory Community has been a life savers. Our mom was dads caregiver. When She passed away we realized how bad things has become for dad. We didn’t know what to do. A good friend gave us the Marketing directors name and number. We were given kind and capable advice. We followed Deb’s advice and were able to get dad on the short waitlist. He is now living his best life . He has gained weight enjoying the home cooked meals. The care givers and nurses have been outstanding. Nothing but good things to say. We made the best choice. "

"The people at Elderwood Assisted Living at Hamburg were very friendly. It's located very close to my house and to the downtown area. The staff was great. They were very nice and very helpful. The place was very clean. The dining room was very nice and big. They had lots of rooms for the people, and it was not all that cramped. They had a very nice activity center in the basement where they had activities going on all the time. I thought the studio room was fine, but my mother thought it was too small, so we decided on a one-bedroom for her."

"At Heritage Manor of Lockport, everybody seemed to know everybody. There's great communication. It seemed like a nice friendly place to live. It's a clean facility. Their dining area had assigned seating versus just having people sit where they wanted, mainly because it was a smaller place. The cook had been there like 26 years or something like that. There's a lot of home-cooked stuff. It was a very nice facility. They had single rooms. The only thing is if they had two to a room while you're waiting for a single room, there wasn't any privacy. There were two beds almost side by side. Some of the facility was a little dated."

"Mary Agnes Manor was excellent and they have very, very good people. They treat us like family, they make us feel welcome and comfortable, and we like that. When we dropped my grandmother off, it was a good feeling. They make you feel like family. The rooms have a beautiful view, and they're relaxing and safe. From my point of view, they're very good. Everybody says the staff treats you like family and they're pretty good. They have movies once in a while, they play bingo, they exercise, and they do puzzles. They have pretty good activities. The community's layout is good. It's next to the lake. Value for the money is reasonable."

"I visited my grandmother for two weeks in this complex. The complex itself is very beautiful. The grass is well kept and the dumpsters are contained in little houses so it looks very nice. The complex has the usual woes of any apartment complex: the windows are drafty, the appliances outdated, the HVAC needs to be cleaned, etc. There is, however, one HUGE complaint: my grandmother lives UPstairs. Who puts senior citizens in upstairs apartments? There are twenty five steep stairs leading to the second floor of her building that she must climb with groceries and trash. "

"I visited Oakwood recently and I have to say that I was impressed by the positive changes that have been made there. New owners took it over about a year or two ago and you can tell. I visited when the old owners had it and it was horrible. Now residents look and sound happier. The new owners are putting money into the building by replacing the elevator, polishing the floors, painting, etc. I was told that they have plans to remodel the dining room, activities room and lounges. They are noticable changing out older furniture in the rooms with more modern dressers, nightstands, beds and lamps. The staff is excellent. Three staff members really stood out to me. Amanda, Jeanette and Karen were extremely friendly and helpful. The dining room crew are accommodating and make homemade meals. This place has really turned itself around. If you need a place that takes Medicaid this is one of the few assisted living's that will. Check it out...you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Hospice Buffalo Mitchell Campus is excellent. The service is very good. The caregivers are very good. I have no complaints. I could call them anytime and they will come right out. The healthcare aides helps me with my showers and bath, the RNs set up my meds for me, and does the vital signs, and the chaplain comes around. It's pretty well taken care of. I would recommend them if anybody needed hospice. The nurses and the caregivers are professional, very nice, and very pleasant."

"My mom was in skilled nursing at McAuley Residence. The experience was very good. The rooms were good. The staff was very, very informative and very respectful. They were really good, and they were good to her. It was a good nursing home. I liked the way it was set up, and the staff members were very, very honest about things about her when I asked questions about her. They were always answering the phone, taking care of her, and doing things for me that I couldn't do. It was very good. I was very happy with it. The food was good. They had programs, and they had parties. They did things with the residents. They always got her up and put her in her chair. They were very respectful and very knowledgeable."

"My Dad lived at Eden Heights of West Seneca for almost 2 years. He was lucid & mobile, totally independent, & celebrated his 100th birthday early this year. The staff is extremely helpful & friendly. It's a one story facility - no stairs, no elevator. It has a covered outdoor space for everyone to gather. There is a variety of activities & music events. A community space gathers residents for the Bills' games. The facility features an ice cream parlor, beauty salon, game room, & a designated area for prayer & meditation. Eden Heights of WS was an ideal choice."