Harbor House

Lynn

I went to look at Harbor House. I was given a lot of information. I was shown both community areas, as well as the different levels of rooms that they have available. In addition to Harbor House, the staff also showed me the other facility, which is their assisted living. Harbor House is the memory care section of the facility. After she heard my story and describing my uncle's symptoms and where he's at, she felt like he's kind of in-between; that is why she wanted to show me both places and the residents. So everything is up in the air for me right now, but I was very satisfied with the tour and what I got to see and hear. She showed me the rooms. They had some artwork that the residents had done, and those were on display. When I was visiting it was lunchtime in both facilities, so the residents were all in the dining rooms. She showed me all the different rooms where they have the activities. Some of them are quiet rooms if you want to get away from it all and just sit, read, or whatever. It was good.

Adam

I did a tour of Harbor House. They have both memory care and assisted living for unimpaired people. The Memory Care Unit was the largest that we saw it. They split up the residents into three groups based on their cognitive ability, which was a positive for us. The staff was very good, but the facility, not so good. There was one thing about the tour that concerned us. They explained how they were set up. Then we got to see how they interact with the residents. They left out one very important fact that I learned independently, and that was that they or the business is about to be sold. I heard separately that a change in ownership was imminent, but they did not mention that to me, which was a no, no; that was a mistake.

Barry

My mother just moved into Harbor House, and I like the idea that there's three separate areas in three separate floors. All the residents are of three different situations, some are very off, some are right on top of it and beginning to become forgetful once or twice, and then it gets worse; the residents that have gotten really bad. The adjustment from first floor to second floor to third floor varies on individuals. The entire unit is specifically for people like her. We knew through the neurologist that it's getting worse. We don't have to leave one place to go to another place when we can stay in the same location. It may be a different floor, or a different room, but we know our level of care will be fine. The neurologist comes in on a regular basis, and lets us know if she needs better care, or different care. The staff is first class, they are professional, and they are nice. They were an open book, which my wife and I enjoyed. They said, "Call me if you need me," as opposed to, "I work 9:00 to 5:00, and at 5:01, I won't pick up the phone," it's not what we wanted. We got excellent care from top management to the aides in the caring section working with the residents themselves. The rooms were not as important, and for a simple reason. The Harbor House staff made it very clear to us they want the residents out of the room. They want them participating and doing things outside the room. The room is just to sleep. The rooms were of less importance to my wife and I; it was more like a bed, a dresser, and a night table. To have a fancy bed or a fancy room was not that important. We kind of agreed with the people at the Harbor House that we want my mom outside communicating, talking, and eating, as opposed to sitting in a room and looking at a beautiful room, out of a beautiful window. We weren't interested in that, we were interested in her participating as much as she could outside of the room, so the room was secondary. The amenities were fine, from having a menu at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to an attractive outdoor environment. On a nice day, they can sit with other people of the residence, and enjoy themselves in a nice atmosphere from a garden to a veranda. For activities, they talk about trivia, arts and crafts, they talked about bingo, and they talked about music. The grounds are immaculate, and the cleanliness is immaculate. Everything was exactly what they said it was going to be, from getting medication on time, to taking a shower every day, getting assistance, and helping to dress her. They answered all our questions to our satisfaction, and we decided to go that route thinking this was the perfect place for my mom. The cleanliness was fine. It is never a problem at all, from dust that we did not see, to the floors being very clean, and everything else. Everything looked topnotch. It was first class.

R4272019

Harbor House is set up specifically for all ranges of dementia patients. It's very well thought out as far as like not having doors on the closet, so the person is not always wondering what's inside the closet. The facility is geared toward people who have dementia, and it feels more clinical. They're very detailed as far as what they have to offer a person who has dementia. The staff member came across extremely well. It could be a good fit for someone else, but it wasn't for us.

Provider Response

Virginia

The people at Harbor House were very low-key. They didn't realize what was going on. They didn't talk to the person to their right or to their left. It looked like they were not motivated by the staff to do anything. They just let them sit there. I used to work as a recreational director at a senior living place and I would never let my client sit around like that. It looked like they were waiting to die instead of enjoying what time they had left. The staff was very nice, but they weren't involved with the residents. The residents were just sitting there and I saw the staff conversing with each other. The facilities were fine though.

Provider Response

c301

OBM is a well run assisted care facility. My mother has been there for several years as her dementia/Alzheimer's disease progresses. She is well cared for. Daily cleaning of her room and laundry are done, and the facility itself is always clean and maintained. The décor may seem dated to us, but to the residents, I bet it is comforting. Many of the people here have memory issues, and the employees keep those people engaged and safe. I am thrilled that we found this residence and am happy to recommend it to anyone whose family member needs this care. I have not worry about my mother since she arrived. Mom is safe; Mom is well cared for, fully dressed and clean; Mom has all her medications; Mom is looked after by on-staff doctors and nurse; Mom is engaged in activities during the day and evening, and most important I believe the staff treats my mother like she is family and truly cares and loves her.

suls

After searching and researching all the options and different facilities, our family knew that Harbor House was the best place for our mother. It is a wonderful, lovely and caring place. Dementia and Alzheimer’s is all they do so they are experts. They have patients with all stages and functioning. The care is tailored to this. The staff at Harbor house is like part of our family. Mom has a lovely room. And we decorated it the way she likes it. She loves horseback riding, bingo, art, exercise, dancing and religious services and celebrations . ( they have Jewish and Christian).

emily628482

Harbor House to me was rundown. Everything seemed very dated. When I was there, most of them were sort of napping at their tables. I'm not going to say they're engaged in any kind of activities, so I can't say if they have good activities. It just looked a little rundown. But my mom was too alive for the place. It's the only way I could describe it. It's hard to say it is just a group of people they had at the time, but definitely the facility could use some updating. For the amount you pay, it could have been more updated.

Deidre877637

I visited Oyster Bay Manor. I found the staff to be very nice. The actual facility was OK, but not overwhelming. The dining area looked clean.

Anonymous116583850

Oyster Bay Manor was very nice, accommodating, and helpful. It was small, and the rooms were clean. There are activities going on, and the people who live there seemed to enjoy it. They said the food was good. The staff was very nice and friendly.

Paul77958850

Oyster Bay was very flexible. The rooms seemed very good, very nice, and spacious. They had church activities and outings. My mother said the food was OK.

Caring90671350

Oyster Bay did not seem like they had as many activities compared to the other assisted-living facilities that I have visited. There were not as many common areas, and it seemed like there were not as many planned activities. The residents did not seem engaged.

Provider Response

Mary94148950

Oyster Bay Manor is a converted hotel so the rooms are smaller. It has nice environment. The residents can participate in the activities and they make more frequent trips. The staff were fairly accommodating. We saw the dining area and it was very nice. They keep that restaurant-like feeling for the residents.

hwilson

My father was a resident of this facility for a year. I could not say enough good things about it nor recommend it more highly. The family and homelike atmosphere is dignified and lovely and such a wonderful contrast to the assisted living "chains" we had viewed. Most importantly, the staff are beyond superb and caring and the care that my father and my family received during his time there was excellent. I will always be grateful to them.