Brookdale River Road

Richard

I stayed on Brookdale River Road. I am an independent person who hates to be caged. I didn't like the regimentation and taking orders. It took me a while to get used to the place and get used to the people, but bottom line, the result turned out quite nice. A portion of it might say 25 percent of the people were caring individuals. The majority were mediocre though, not satisfactory. The facility is fairly well-maintained. It's not old and rundown. I'm a smoker and the smoking area is not adequate. They have a bus facility to go to medical treatments and shopping. It's not great. They're not on time all the time, and there are limited times to go to medical appointments, and you have to schedule your day around their transportation. The food is mediocre at best. It's rated pretty high, but for the most part it's tasteless. They're extremely expensive.

Charles

I'm now a resident of Brookdale River Road. The staff is very good and very nice. I like them. The facility is well-kept. It's older, but it's in good repair. I like my room. It is just about the right size. The only thing I have to mention is I don't think the food is up to par. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are snacks available, but the cooking is very commercial. They overcook their vegetables. Sometimes they repeat the same menu several times a week. They are developing a program of activities. Their activity director left some months ago. They just got a new one, and she is building up activities to have on a regular basis. They have bingo twice a week and movies. They have a bus, which is back in service. They are working on how to use the schedule right now. It's not really well-established. They have shopping twice a week.

Bret

I went and toured Brookdale River Road. It seemed fine to me; it seemed like just a typical senior living facility. It is what it is. The reason I did not go with that place is because it had a very poor courtyard or outdoor area. There wasn't really much room to get outside unless you get right on to the main road, so that was one of the primary reasons why I did not go with that place. The apartment was pretty average. There was nothing that really stood out to me. It was just another facility. I didn't really meet the staff per se, I just had the one person giving me the tour and that was about it. They had a decent amount of amenities.

Kristie

Our tour at Brookdale River Road went pretty well. The woman was very thoughtful. She sat down, went over her notes with us, and brought everybody that my mom and stepdad would have to meet or know there. She did a lot and my mom really enjoyed it. She felt really at home. It's a smaller facility. It's just the location was so far away, but I don't want her to worry about distance, when it comes to feeling at home and comfortable. She showed us three different apartments. They have one that has bay windows on one whole side of the apartment, and the others were standard dual living apartments. They were all pretty nice and more roomy than I thought they would be. They have a beauty salon and a formal dining room that is available for any of the residents to use. If they have a family that comes into town and they want to have a large dinner together, they can use the formal dining hall to have a big family dinner or friends over and stuff like that. They also had an activity center, a library/reading nook, and card tables where the seniors could come out and engage with one another in games. They had just started getting up more of their activities, and the seniors have really enjoyed that. They had a nice grassy area at the back where my mom could walk her dog. It's paved all the way around the building, so they can go for a little walk around the entire building. We weren't able to leave with any pamphlets after the tour, but the woman was still very accommodating.

Larry

I looked at Brookdale River Road assisted living, they have an opening and it was probably on our top 2 or 3 picks. It was a very good tour. They had options for a large 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, or a studio. They were a smaller place. I think they only have about 40 residents but I liked the smallness instead of my mom being in a 200-bed place. They detailed what it would cost for us to move in and the meal plans and everything so I liked that it was very, very thorough. It was a 2-story building and they had 2 elevators for those who couldn't go down the stairs. They have activities and they have a bus on certain days for doctor's appointments if they're scheduled.

Mary

We chose Brookdale River Road for my husband because it's very clean and they were very willing to work with me. They gave me a discount on the rent, so there's an incentive. They were so willing to work with me that they came to the house and did the assessment. They moved him and his furniture. Like all of these places, they're short staffed. I haven't really seen the food. He's only been there a couple of days. The staff is very caring and the manager is wonderful. He's right in there hands-on. It's very nicely landscaped, very clean, very neat, and very new. They gave me a discount, so that is very valuable, but the level of care is not like a one or a two. They do it a la carte, so you pay for each little thing that they need.