West Bladen Assisted Living and Memory Care

Summer

My mother has moved into West Bladen Assisted Living and Memory Care, and she's in the memory care unit. The reason why I chose it is because it's very small and it's kind of hidden. It's off the road and back in a wooded area. It's beautiful, calm, and serene. There's not a lot of residents there, and the staff literally treats all of the residents like family. It's very family oriented, and that is a comfort that my mom needed. She didn't need to be treated like a patient. She needs to be treated like family, and it worked for her. It was a blessing to us, and it was exactly what she needed. They also allow smoking. They have a system where everything is supervised. My mother is a chain smoker, and she has smoked her entire life. There's not a lot of facilities that offer that option. They encourage the nicotine patch and quitting, but my mother has Alzheimer's. Teaching her new things is not really an option. Keeping a normal routine with her is what works. Smoking is just unfortunately one of those things, but she's supervised. I don't have to worry about her burning anything down. They provide everything. She sees a doctor every week. She sees a specialist for depression. She can have her hair done there in the facility every week. They even have a jacuzzi. It's small and to look at it from the outside, you'd have no idea of the amazing benefits to a person that goes beyond those doors. It's just beautiful. Everyone is excellent. I've done that thing where you just kind of pop up unannounced just to kind of check the place out and make sure that she's met all the staff. They change from day shift to night shift. I wanted to know who was taking care of her. I want to make sure it was consistent, and it is. Everyone is above average. They are just genuine and they're compassionate. They show love and affection. My mother just adores all of it, and she's thriving in that community. It is not anything that takes your breath away. It's very small. It's kind of hidden, and it's back in a nice, little quiet, serene, wooded area. It's very peaceful and quiet. It's not luxury by any means, but it is clean and cheerful. Every season is represented. There are all these little hints and clues as to what month it is and what time of the day it is. They make the extra effort. In the memory care, they make it very homey, like the kitchen and dining area. Everybody is together. There's like a oneness. The food is good. It's like homecooked meals, and they sneak in vegetables, vitamins, and minerals. They do a great job. They have snacks all throughout the day. They're constantly offering food. My mother was on a special medication to encourage her to eat because she had lost the desire to eat. She's 97 pounds, and this woman is thriving. She is eating all her meals and snacks. It's because there's somebody with her, and she's with a family. She is encouraged to eat with everyone else. It's working. They have activities all the time. They have movies, music, arts and crafts. They take them out to the community when it is safe and appropriate. Everything's supervised. Corona kind of limits it a little bit right now, but they have parades and certain times of the year where they have little festivals they take them to. They're properly staffed. That way, I feel comfortable knowing that my mom's out there with them. They say that one person is supposed to watch after so many people, but I have seen her on numerous occasions where she had one-on-one care. You can't pay for that, that's just amazing to me. They were very reasonably priced. It's still a lot of money. In comparison to the other facilities that we had looked at, this was the best in price.