The Best Communities in Blair County, PA

"I made a couple of visits to the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home. My grandmother used to stay there. The staff was really nice. There were plenty of people there so it was well staffed. The facility was really simple, but it's clean and kept up. The administration was nice and helpful. It's a really good place. They emphasize the hominess of the community. They have transportation, and they'll get them outside of the community for different activities."

"I am in the rehab section of Presbyterian Village. I think it is really an excellent place. My only concern is that it is kind of far away from my home and family. But it is very nice, the accommodations are very nice, and it's got a homey feel to it as opposed to a clinical nursing. The staff is relatively small town people, and they are very nice, very caring people. The food, I think, is above average in variety, and there are lots of choices. It is more like home cooking as opposed to institutional-like food, which you get in some places. And they have therapy as well. Physical and occupational therapy are available, and they have a really good team of people here to do that because mostly there are about five or six people in the therapy area. Excellent sanitation; it is a very clean place. There are always people around cleaning and mopping up, and taking care of things. They also do your laundry here, and they do a pretty good job of that as well. They also have a lot of optional religious kinds of things. They have a chaplain here, and they also have Sunday services, Bible study, mass, and rosary for Catholic people, so I guess because of the Presbyterian background, they also offer that kind of spiritual side as well. "

"Homewood at Martinsburg is probably as good as any place, maybe better. My mother was only there for two and a half weeks before she passed on. They had all kinds of activities; they had a full range of any kind of activities that you wanted to do. Like, if you couldn't talk, there were programs that they socialized you into. Truly, there wasn't anything that they would not offer you. It was beautiful, clean, orderly, and growing. It was a good home. They allowed you to bring your furniture if you wanted to, and this was in the single care rooms. They had Alzheimer's patients as well as those who could think, and they all had different things that they could do. They had programs posted on the wall for the entire week, what you will be doing, and they had programs of celebrations. I liked best the people who cared for them. One of the things that was nice was that everyone's got a window that they could sit by. And, you could walk out the door, if you could walk at all; you don't have to stay inside. You could take your walker or be wheeled out in the chair and sit by the grass and have flowers around. That's one of those things that mean you are not totally shut in, no matter how bad you are. Another thing is that you can buy in at any age after fifty-five. You can buy into a house, which is called a cottage, and they will take care of everything you need. And then, if you don't want to do that, you can buy an apartment and live there just like you would in any apartment at any place, except you buy in, and then you still pay a fee. Then, if you really get sick and you can't take care of yourself at all, or if, before that, you need any help, they will come for a fee, I think, and they will help you take a bath, make your bed, and wash your clothes. And, if that doesn't work anymore for you, you can move into a room with a window and as much freedom as they can give you. What they talked about and showed the people, it showed that no one was punished, and you didn't have to do anything that you didn't want to do; that is number one. Number two, you did have to go to your room once in a while, but they don't force you to. Then, if you didn't want to eat, they didn't make you eat, but no one lost weight. They wanted to be sure that they offered you all the wonderful things that you'd be willing to eat - ice cream, and all kinds of other foods that you will eat. Of course, it wasn't cheap either. "

"My sister is at The Village at Morrisons Cove. She's in independent living, but she gets some assistance. It's been wonderful. They were very informative and contacted me right back. They go from assisted to more assisted and then to nursing, so it's like a three-level step. They have the very independent living there. Then they go to another kind of apartment where they can have some assistance, such as with medication, other reminders, or assistance with meals. Then they go to a higher level of need, such as more nursing or more elderly care. It is why I chose that one. In other words, she doesn't have to move. She's in that same facility. She remembers everybody, and she has the same people taking care of her. The care is really good, and the facility is clean. They're very professional, and they have real nurses on-staff, not just med techs."

"I have only great things to say about Epworth Manor. My mother has been a resident at Epworth since September. I really didn't think she would live a week. It is now February and she is thriving thanks to the care she has gotten there. I would recommend Epworth Manor to anyone! "

"Cambria care was wonderful and great. The occupational and physical therapy was good; she was just not happy being out of the home. The rooms were spacious, the nursing staff was excellent, and everybody was very accommodating to her. The food was good, and they had a laundry facility. The price was good -- $155 a day -- and I think it’s a good price."

"The rooms were clean and she was happy with the way the staff treated her. Given healthy snacks and great meals. Had lunch with her on many occasions there. "

"My mother was Huntingdon Nursing and Rehab Center. Everything was good as far as the people. Right now, it was in the process of being renovated. They were updating everything. That was the only problem with that place. It was kind of old. Now, they were trying to modernize the rooms. They had a small gymnasium area. It had three floors. They had an Alzheimer's unit in one floor, and it was laid out a little different. However, that time they did not have a locked down facility. "

" We are planning on moving to Westminster Woods. We have spent 2 weeks there so far at their expense, we were provided with meals and lovely little guest Cottage. We had dinner With over 16 people while we were there. The more we did and the more we saw, the more we liked the community. It is a small community which is something we were looking for. There is a contract with the local Juniata College which allows residents to attend courses for free. The houses are spacious from 1350 square feet to 1700 square feet. The personal care or Assisted Living area has one room efficiencies. This may be what the prior review is referring to. The policy of the administration is to keep everyone in their home until the person becomes unsafe to themselves or to others. There are also 10 Apartments, either one bedroom or two bedroom apartments. We had dinner with the total of 16 people over the four nights that we were there. All were very welcoming and answered our questions very honestly."

"We will not be moving my father-in-law from Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center because it's just too convenient for the family. They give us medical attention, as well as the personal care. They're very caring towards their patients. They do what's necessary for their well-being. They keep the family informed. The physical condition of the facility is good. There are places where they allow the people to sit with their loved ones. My father-in-law has been in both semiprivate and private rooms. The rooms are nice, and they can bring in whatever they need to for his care. He is not able to do activities. I know they have activities there. We were looking into them at the beginning, but he went downhill so quick. He's not able to do any activities. They're taking good care of my father-in-law. With everything, there is always room for improvement; everything I have seen has been up-to-date. The staff members have been keeping us updated. Any time my husband called with questions, they either answer him right then or get back to him within an hour. The staff is good too."

"I think this is a pretty average facility--I found nothing outstanding about it nor nothing horrific. First, the problems: (1) I found that I often had to track down nurses to get them things that my mother had been hitting the nurse "buzzer" for for quite some time; (2) some nurses, if you ask them a question, are rude because they seem to regard you as annoying them; and, (3) the rooms are situated so that if you're walking down the hallway, you can see everything in that room, in other, words not much privacy. However, if you press them and call them on things that are wrong, they will fix them. You just can't be shy (which neither I nor my mother are). That said, the majority of staff members are attentive and caring and seem to care about their jobs. Also, the facility is very clean--I've never seen anything dirty there--the occupational therapists seem to be very good, and so is the food (and the kitchen staff seems to be very open to special requests and needed diet changes). Everything balances out, so it seems to be an average place. "

"My mother went to a rehab center at The Villa Crest to get better. She was there for about two weeks. It was friendly, clean, and personal. They get their own personal care rooms. They get physical therapy daily. They get their medical care plus their meals and anything else, but the main thing was the physical therapy and she got that every day, which was a positive thing. The care was good. The staff was courteous and friendly. They were good. She had a private room and it was very nice. They had occupational therapy, too. They didn't have activities daily, but they would have bingo maybe once a week or so. Other than that, you're more or less in your room. My mom loved the meals. She said the food was good. I was very pleased."