Columbia Cottage Hershey

What we like about Columbia Cottage Hershey is it covers all facets of my mother's life. There are 10 steps and she was placed on step 3. Step 10 would be the final step in her life. She's doing extremely well. She has a cottage and a lot of the activities are done and centralized around the dining hall area. She is doing much better with less assistance. We also are getting her an occupational and a physical therapist that Columbia Cottage has brought in to evaluate her, to make sure that she is doing the things that they want her to do. I said, "Mom, how do you like Columbia Cottage?" She said, "I do like it. I like the people. They're very, very friendly. They're taking good care of me. And you know what? I can bring my dog in for overnighters." That was the key. She wanted to make sure her dog come to see her. We haven't done it yet, but the dog is going to go for like an overnight in the next week or two. It's all apartments; they just call them cottages. Everyone lives in their individual cottage. It has a bathroom, a bed, and a living area. She's by herself. It's not like you have two people in a room. We like that because she likes, at times, her independence and being alone. During COVID, children cannot come into the facility. They have a beautiful porch in the front. My mother would be wheeled out to us or I can go in and get her and wheel her out and we can have activities on the front porch. They also have a courtyard and they have a communal kitchen. For example, if we wanted to celebrate her birthday, later on, say next year, we all can meet in the kitchen area and bring presents and share cake and ice cream. We can also go into the courtyard and grill hamburgers and hot dogs, and we can do that at any time. All of the staff is very, very friendly and very knowledgeable. My mother says the meals are fine, but I don't know anything about the food. They're going through major refurbishing. They're 25 years old and they're painting and putting in new flooring. They're doing it without much problem to the residents. They work around the residents very well. I like the layout because it's not a circle, but a roundabout way that people can go from the cottages to the dining area or from the cottages around the other way to say the nurse. It's just a very nice layout that is very easy to get around for the residents. The family is very pleased. My mother plays bingo and they have painting sessions. Those are the two activities that I know she has done so far, but they have other ones. She's very happy with what she's done so far. I like their scale of 1 to 10 because you pay per scale. I did other evaluations of some of the other facilities where right away you're looking at $12,000 or more a month, where here, we wouldn't get to that level until about step 9 or 10. She's in assisted living. They help her to the dining room.

My aunt was at Columbia Cottage Hershey, which was an acute care community, and was top of the line. It was fantastic and the staff was really nice. The setting and facilities are really well done; they're one of the best in the area. It's an odd-shaped building, but there were facilities around it. I liked the size of the rooms, there were bathing facilities in each room, there was a dining area, and activities area. They have a hair salon there, and even the personnel there were really nice when I was there. I was in the dining room when they were serving meals to my aunt and it looked like it was restaurant quality.

My mom is living in Columbia Cottage Hershey, and it is wonderful and perfect. I love the staff; they're very caring. There are a lot of activities like Bingo, getting their nails done, and exercising. The rooms are adequate.

I am very happy my dad agreed to Columbia Cottage. He was accepted while he was still basically independent, but the manager promised that increased attention would be provided as he declined, as was anticipated. He received excellent care as he deteriorated, and I was surprised how attentive the staff was as he became increasingly difficult.

We are eternally grateful for the kind and professional care which my mother received for the past 3+ years while at Columbia Cottage Hershey. The care given here was of the highest quality and the programs and food were perfectly designed and delivered for the precise needs of the residents. The leadership is outstanding, including the main office personnel who visit frequently, and we believe the Managing Director sets the marvelous tone for the caring attitude that is displayed by every single one of the staff. We never saw even a single deviation from that caring attitude and professionalism. We will happily endorse Columbia Cottage Hershey to all our associates and friends as the best assisted living facility we have ever encountered. It is easy and a natural joy to speak so highly of such excellence.

Columbia Cottage seemed a fine facility, but it’s just a matter of what we can afford and what we can't. The one who gave us the tour was very knowledgeable. We saw one room and it was very nice. The room is very spacious. From my memory, the dining room was nicely laid out. I think they need to have more activities for the people. They need a television room or activity room.

Our mother’s last 2 ½ years were so much better because of each and every one of the staff, from housekeeping, to food services, to all involved with her medicines and medical needs. We are proud to sing the praises of Columbia Cottage to everyone we know. Up until the last few months, mom loved to crochet. I hope you will find pleasure in some of her handy work. We will miss our visits to Columbia Cottage. Thanks to all of you, we had mom 2 ½ years longer than we expected to. A sincere thanks from our family.

The first thing you'd probably notice about the place was that it was decorated with a country feel. It did not have a nursing home feel to it. There was carpet, not linoleum. They even had rocking chairs on the porch. That was a nice touch. There weren't people in wheelchairs sitting in the hallways moaning and talking to themselves like in a nursing home. Mealtime was served in a dining room, not in their rooms. They had assistants who would come to her room every night to make sure that she took her pills and to help her with anything that she needed. They also did their laundry for them. That was probably the only complaint. There were times when they didn't return some of her items or returned something to her that wasn't hers. Around holidays (even Valentines Day) they had family parties. The residents could invite family members. It always made my grandma so happy when we came to those functions. It was sad to see the people though who didn't have family members show up. I believe they also had activities for the residents although I don't believe my grandma ever participated in those. My grandma always said the food was pretty good there. The food we ate at the parties was pretty good too. It's in a good location, easy to get to, and not in a noisy area. My family felt very comfortable having my grandma there.