Nursing Home Communities in St Charles, IL

"Cantata is the new name for what had previously been the British Home and apparently its name was changed just a few weeks ago. I was told that the name change is an attempt to overhaul the stuffy image associated with the British Home. The word "Cantata" is derived from the Italian word "cantare" which means "to sing" and the name change is meant to convey a kind of new age composition of voices to care for the elderly. To my mind I never had that image of the British Home as being stodgy. I used to go biking along the bike trail just outside the home and I was more curious than anything. I had always associated the Home with Brookfield Zoo which is practically in its backyard. Nevertheless I can appreciate what the nursing home is trying to do in recreating its image. I would recommend this assisted living facility based on its cleanliness, the amount of light exposure from its modern windows and an ample size health center that also allows membership from the community. Indeed on the day that I visited I saw some very energetic seniors on bikes and tread mills and I was very impressed. These folks were trying to live life to its fullness! That along with the light streaming from the floor to ceiling windows in the lobby and throughout sold me. Like any place that you are deciding to live there are pros and cons. Another positive is the proximity to medical staff that are housed at the facility. The thing that I did not like about the facility was the rather nondescript furnishings (the chairs and tables throughout). The sitting rooms just didn't seem like a place I could relax, but that could just be my own taste. The dining room I thought was pretty generic (except for the windows). The menu did not impress me, but I will say that I did get a whiff of what smelled like peach cobbler and that was fantastic. I was told that meal preparation had been taken over by new management recently. I also did not care for the individual apartments, especially the carpet which was dark and seemed institutional. I will say that the facility was clean and smelled good. The receptionist and customer relations specialist were very nice and helpful. Overall I would recommend Cantata and this may be a great time to move here not only because of its name change, but the kind of upbeat image it is trying to promote. "

"My parents-in-law are in Norwood Crossing in an area called Norwood Park in Chicago. My mother-in-law just moved in yesterday and my father-in-law has been there for two months in rehabilitation. They have both been appreciating and enjoying the activities there for about a month. They are very friendly there and they're getting good care. The staff are very involved in the well being of the residents. It's a wonderful place and I would recommend this facility to others. "

"Marian Village seems like a very good value; a lot is included. This one is run by the Franciscan Community. It's got everything we wanted for mom, especially the washer and dryer in the unit. She doesn't have to walk down the hall, and find out that the washers and dryers are busy and go back to her room. It was a good selling point there. Everything was nice and clean. All the meals were included. She's happy about having a bank onsite, a beauty shop, and a beauty salon there. The elevators and everything are more conveniently placed, and it is easier to move around than some other places. Everything was pretty straightforward. I toured the place first, and then my sister and I took my mom another time to check everything over again. They had a unit that would just be perfect for her. It was a 1-bedroom with a small bedroom/den so you could use it as a small bedroom or as a den. It was perfect. The unit she'll be moving into is close to the elevators, which is great for her. We found that some of the other places charge more the closer you were to the elevators. It was nice that they didn't charge more just because you were closer to the elevators. They have nice safety features and everything. It was important for her to be at a community where there was a church or a chapel. She's going into an independent living apartment, but there is always an ala carte menu. Just in case she likes a little help, maybe with dressing every day or showers every day. You can order that separately. Once we find that she need more services than we realized, she gets the first choice of moving into the wing where it's assisted living rather than someone who's just coming from the outside. She would already be a resident there, so she would get first choice. So overall, it would work perfectly for us. She gets all the safety measures, and she would be wearing a bracelet. If something happened, she could push the button. They would come running to help her. There's also some kind of monitor in the middle of the apartment, so if there was no movement after a while they would check on her. We saw the residents there, and everyone was friendly. I talked to many residents there on my visits asking them how they liked it, and they all loved it in every way. So that's really nice. We feel really comfortable about that. Their facility sits back farther from Route 7. They own a lot of land, so they could still expand even more. They have the option of building more as they need. My husband and I decided that if the day comes, we would love to live there. They have a cottage. They have garden homes for couples or people who still want to manage their own home with their car and garage. You could live in an apartment where you don't ever have to walk outside. They told us that if we would like to sit in the dining room and eat at some point with our mom, we could call and set a time so that they could have us come in there."

"Though we ultimately chose another facility for our Alzheimer-stricken mother, this location was a very close second choice. To summarize its appeal, the phrase "comprehensive competence" comes to mind. The overall physical condition of the facility is excellent, though one might be put off by the less-than-picturesque (though relatively safe) neighborhood. The professionalism and compassion of the staff are readily evident in even a brief visit and the overall layout of the facility supports the air of efficiency without being "clinical". The rooms/apartments are among the most generous in this price range and though St. Joseph's affiliation with The Catholic church is relatively subdued, the large and attractive chapel is one of the more notable physical assets of the property. Referring again to the layout, we found its main floorplan to be cleverly designed. As a major concern of ours was the possible prospect of having to move our mother again as her physical condition deteriorates, the way in which the assisted living wings were simultaneously connected to, yet separate from, the full-care nursing wings resolved this issue. As a residents'care requirements increase, they need only be moved a few feet to accommodate their physically diminished condition. While I might reserve recommending this for minimally disabled or earlier stage dementia patients, I believe this to be an extremely desireable for anyone requiring a therapeautic and structured environment with knowledge that care needs will be increasing indefinitely."

"My dad has been there twice in the past four months after hospitalization, for PT, OT to get stronger walking. The nursing and other staff are caring and kind and the facility is small enough that the staff really gets to know their patients. This is an older facility so it's not as shiny and new as more modern facilities, but it is clean and adequate. My dad improved well and was able to return to assisted living elsewhere. It's in town location, quiet wooded surroundings, and proximity to my home and my dad's assisted living facility make it pleasant and easy to visit. I am relieved that if he should need short term rehabilitation services again, we have a wonderful caring place for him to get the care he needs. "

"My dad is currently in rehab at River Crossing of St Charles. It's inviting and comfortable. They have a courtyard. The staff seems very caring. I think they're shorthanded as staff, so lack of attention sometimes is based on that."

"It's location is good for our family to visit. It's near us, just in the general area. They were easy to work with and the Marketing Director/Social Service person was very genuine and was very attentive when we had questions and didn't feel rushed. They're very open and willing to give tours to the facility and they took their time when they did one with us. That was a nice treatment we got! The size of my mother's room there is decent compared to where she used to be at, so it's adequate. I have not sampled the food there but mom says it's good though. My mom has been happy with it. The facility is actually under renovation. I think there are new owners of it so they're starting to make changes to the building which was encouraging. It's an older building but they're updating it. New windows, roofing, they're kind of modernizing it. So, that's a great outlook for us. "

"My friend is a resident of Batavia Rehabilitation & Health Care Center. They call it a rehab center, but they're not doing much to help her. What she's done, she's done on her own. It's clean, and all the people liked the food. They said it's good food. The staff is very attentive. They're awesome people. They are nice and try to meet everybody's needs. When I'm there, I see they help out a lot of people and my friend. They'll help her do things. If they don't have a lot of clothes, they give them clothes to put on."

"South Elgin Health Center was probably the cheapest one we've seen, but it was very small and quite old, but they seem to be taking care of the facility. We had kind of a positive feeling about it in spite of the fact that it was pretty old. The one thing is we did ask Alexian Brothers to check with them, and they never answered. I don't know what their problem was. You'd think that if they couldn't take him or maybe his health issues were more severe than they could deal with, they would just say so, but they never answered, and they had put in two requests. I even emailed them twice, and I never got an answer from them either. The rooms were quite small, but they seemed clean and neat. The residents that we saw -- including the ones that were pretty far along in the dementia area -- seemed to be pretty comfortable. But I think they didn't offer as much; maybe that is why they are cheaper. They expected these families to bring in more things like if you want a TV, the family should bring in the TV or that kind of thing. They had several dining areas that looked comfortable and homelike. My daughter and I had kind of a comfortable feeling about it even though it was small and old because it kind of had this comfy feeling, but it didn't work out. They didn't have a secured dementia area. They had an area that was for the dementia patients, but it was not locked away. They couldn't actually get out of the building because they had controls on that, but they didn't have a secured dementia unit. "

"We decided on Tower Hill Healthcare Center in South Elgin for my father. It's a nursing home and he moved in last week. So far, they've been great. They update us on anything that they notice about my father. Because of COVID, I didn't get to meet any staff. They were kind of very strict right now, so they're not very open. The person I worked with to get him in there and with the financial part was good though. I didn't have to do anything, she pretty much did everything so she was excellent. The place is just like a quiet little community within the residences. It's so quiet and peaceful. The whole application process was pretty easy, it's self-explanatory, and they pretty much do a majority of the work for you. You don't have to do a lot of research or financial research about things. They pretty much help you with all of it so that you don't have to worry about it."

"West Chicago Terrace was, at least when I visited it, a fairly clean place. When one first enters the nursing home, there are no blatant odors, but rather a smiling young face to greet the visitor. Also, I don't know if it was my personal timing, but the director was there to greet me with a brochere of the facility and a short tour. This particular nursing home has 5 wings, one of which was specifically for persons with greater needs. Even this wing was clean, and had only a slight odor of urine. The food I tasted was sub-par compared to other nursing homes, but the food is not for me, of course. I only visited this facility a few times, so I didn't really get a good read on the employees, but they all seemed rather kind. The one draw back, however, was what seemed like a lack of employees. They seemed a little short handed. But given the state of things, they were doing pretty well with what they had. "

"This is a facility that provides long term care for persons with chronic mental illness. It is situated in a safe, park-like setting; so much so that first time visitors are certain they are going the wrong way because the setting is unique and set apart a good number of blocks from any major residential or business area. There is plentiful outdoor space both in the front and the rear of the building that includes a large patio area where the staff will barbeque for special functions. Plantings are also done with residents and displayed on the patios seasonally. The interior of the building does not appear impressive as it is an older building, but it is clean and well maintained. Efforts have been made so that common areas are sufficient to meet residents and family needs, as most residents spend the majority of time out of their rooms. The rooms are generally above-average in size which allows for residents to bring in items from home. Most rooms are shared with very few privates available on occasion. The food is average to above average in presentation and tastiness; the chef does make and effort to meet individual preference. The staff is skilled and committed to the mission of the facility to provide excellent care; there is above average staff retention and tenure for this type of setting. As psychiatric oriented facilities go this is easily one of the nicest options. "

"I found my mom a really good place at Heritage Health. The grounds are nice. They have a little courtyard patio, and it's very clean. The nurses are very caring. They make sure everybody participates in their activities. My mom has shown great improvement since she has been there, and she has gained 10 lbs. now. When I first took her there, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was scared, but now she is coming around and she is fine. I am very happy with the place. They do an excellent care with their laundry. They have some activities, like bingo, and they have church services. I went in there the other day and they were doing manicures for the ladies. "

"My dad is at ManorCare right now in Elgin, but I would like to get something that has a little more social activity. They don't really have anything. It is more of a nursing home. I would say they are very nice. They seem to be caring, but there are not enough activities for him. There are just not enough family spaces. There is only one family space. It is so like a nursing home. The reason why I picked it is because of how they took me everywhere and how they treated me. They were so nice. They were willing to meet with me anytime I wanted to talk about anything. They have a really good rehab for his legs. Everybody was very nice. I would say they need to improve on activities to keep them busy. "