Atria Forest Lake

I cannot say enough nice things about Atria. My mother lived there for over a year until her condition progressed to a point of needing a much higher level of care. The Atria and the staff were a blessing to mother and to my family. I wish she could've stayed there until the end. When mother first moved in, they permitted me to spend the night for a couple of nights to help her get settled. The residents and staff were so welcoming, and they even treated me to breakfast on the house. I had to take mother to a couple of doctor's appointments, and they made the process really smooth by providing me with a copy of her records and helping with the sign-in/sign-out system. I'm a nurse and work long hours. That first night, I didn't get there until really late and the staff were great about letting me in and showing me where to go, etc. The nursing director, Elizabeth, is an angel. You can tell she really cares about the residents and their families. I often saw her staying after hours, visiting with residents in the dining hall, and freely giving hugs and warm smiles. It's the little things like this that matter! I knew I could always ask questions and she would quickly help me. She was immensely helpful as we navigated a difficult family situation, and for that I will always be grateful. So many of the med techs were just amazing -- attentive and kind. They checked on mother often, reminding her of meal times, chatting with her, making sure she had her medications and that she got showered and ready for bed, etc. Mom made quite a few friends in the techs, and so did I. There were one or two techs who were kind of rough-acting with mother. Unfortunately, no business or facility is ever going to have 100% of the staff going above and beyond. My only other criticism is that Atria has a skeleton crew on weekends, so that can be challenging. None of the admin is there to oversee/direct and they tend to be short-staffed on those days. For this reason, I subtracted one star from what would have been a five-star score. Atria does a great of job of engaging with residents. My mother, unfortunately, was a bit socially withdrawn and didn't want to participate very often, but she was certainly never excluded from being invited. Atria offered exercise classes and social hour, had musical performances in the lobby, church services for those wanting to attend, scenic rides in the bus, etc. There's always something to do for anyone who wants to be active. Four months after mother left Atria, she passed away. During the time in-between, both Nicole (front desk) and Elizabeth (head nurse) checked in with me to see how mom was doing. When they found out she passed away, they sent flowers and called both me and my sister to offer condolences. I would absolutely recommend Atria to anyone looking for a nice place for their senior/aging parents.

Atria Forest Lake was a very nice, established facility that's been there for a while. They recently upgraded it. They had very nice grounds and plenty of room. We saw the dining room and the menus, which were fine. There was very little separation between the independent and the assisted living and while the apartment we viewed was excellent, the public restroom that I had to use could've used cleaning. It was smelly with urine on the floor. The part that really turned me off was they gave us one price when we came in and when they found out we were in the process of selling our house, the price suddenly went up by $1,000 a month. They were beautiful on the outside but not nearly so beautiful on the inside. They had a courtyard, a very small exercise room, and a library. The staff was nice, but I didn't get a really good vibe from them. The actual apartment was really nice, in good shape, and very clean, but the public areas could've used some more care, especially the restrooms.

Atria Forest Lake was pretty much a clean facility. The employees were friendly. However, the distance was not conducive to my schedule. I didn't want to put my sister there because I wouldn't have a lot of time to visit her or check on her there. The accommodations were really good. They were more on the same feel as the other facility as far as the way the apartment looked like. They had several different sizes. Their dining hall was accommodating. It was restaurant style.

We're very pleased with Atria. We have a smaller room, but it certainly meets all of my father's needs. The staff has been very helpful. It helped the family to feel like a part of their family. They offer a lot of activities, like exercises, programs, seasonal activities, games, and movies. I eat there at least once a week. The setting is lovely, and the food is good. The dining room is very nice and comfortable. I was most taken with the nice surroundings and the location. They're very attentive, friendly, and helpful.