Nursing Home Communities in Burlington, VT

"Tammy, who gave us the tour at Samuel F. Vilas Home, was outstanding. I met some of the senior people who work there. Tammy took us to some of the rooms, which were good. She took us to the restaurant, where I observed that the folks eating all seemed happy. It seemed like a good group of people, but I noticed the three people at the door to greet us with Tammy probably could use a little bit more training. They didn't seem to be that happy to see us. It was more of an effort, you could tell. There was no eye contact or anything with one girl. The other two were just fair. The dining area was fine. I didn't see anything wrong with it. It looked clean. They had a nice menu posted, which, if you didn't like, you could go to the alternative menu. Everything was well lit. The rooms were a good size with good furniture. The people have their little pictures and their names up, which is good. The hallways were well lit and quite wide, which is good. Everything inside the building was positive, except for the three people who were at the doorway. The outside was terrible. I know they had construction going, but even after the construction, with as much pavement as there is, I didn't see any room for flowers, nice lawns, birds, and nice shrubs. It just didn't look appealing. Overlooking Court Street wasn't bad looking out the south window, but you didn't have any courtyard like colleges have, for instance. So, if the people wanted to wander around in a nice grassy lawn with picnic tables and flowers and watch the birds and the squirrels and chipmunks, there wouldn't be any of that. It was rather expensive. That's another negative. The inside, I would give it a 5 plus, the outside, I would give it a 1."

"My mom is in Burlington Health & Rehab. It looks like an older place when you first see it, but when you get inside, it's very clean and it doesn't look and feel like a nursing home. The staff is very good. The food is adequate, not over the top, but they give balanced meals. I'm pleased. A lot of the activities are social interactions with guests and residents. They also have church, games, and puzzles in the main room."

"I live in Birchwood Terrace Rehab and Healthcare. I can't afford this place, but I have been here for a year and a half. Some things need to be improved. The food is pretty good, but sometimes the hot food is cold. And sometimes the waiting period for somebody to help you is a wait too long. I'm in a shared room. They have a game room, and they have card games. They have various games for the seniors here. The interaction with the staff is good. The aides are pretty nice people. They have a nurse 24/7, too."

"This is a nice nursing home. All of the staff there is friendly and seem to care about all the patients. The facility is clean and taken care of. They have all kinds of things for the people that stay there to do like exercising, getting their hair done, going outside, listening to music, watching birds, and an activity room. Every person that stays there gets all their meals provided to them. The meals are good sized and are made with quality ingredients. During the holidays family is welcomed to go there and eat with their relatives at no extra cost. The rooms are nice and kept clean however they are pretty small and most rooms have multiple people in them. The only downside I have seen to this nursing home is that it tends to smell. It's not a really bad smell but it smells like dirty laundry. Other than that this nursing home is a good place. "

"Wake Robin seems to be a wonderful place, though very expensive. All the apartments are nice and well equipped and there are ample community spaces, including pool tables, libraries, gardens, walking trails, etc. Peace of mind is almost quaranteed because of the onsite medical staff and round-the-clock care. When my step grandmother had to be moved into the 24 hour care facility (on site) it went really smoothly, even though she was reluctant to go. The nurses in that wing are so great and they cheerfully do all the tasks required of taking care of elderly people in their last stages of life. They even follow Alzheimer's patients around to make sure they don't get in trouble! If I could ever afford to go there when I need to stop living at home, I would. "

"My mom was at Clinton County for many, many years before she passed away. She needed help with her daily activities, hygiene, and she just wasn't able to do any of that at home. After her stroke, her attitude was very poor and it was impossible to reason with her so I thought she would do better in a nursing home. They tried and went out of their way to accommodate her. She was in a double room but they tried to make it as homey as possible but she would argue with the other resident. They actually had a construction people come in and put a wall for her and she had more privacy. They went above and beyond to try to make her comfortable. They had physical therapy there which the doctor asked her to have. She enjoyed the activities like bingo, arts and crafts. Because she loves cooking so much, they tried to have her do some cooking chores with them. They really try to accommodate her very much. "