Hickory Hills Alzheimer’s Special Care Center

My wife has been a resident at Hickory Hills since Sept., 2017. This is our first experience with Memory Care so I checked the area thoroughly. It seems that every facility has a few "reviews" that don't get top marks. Some of that I have learned are from former employees with an ax to grind. But some are honest opinions of people whose perspective is very narrow. Alzheimer's is a very difficult field and some who need assisted living or independent living included would do better to look elsewhere. The name is Hickory Hills Alzheimer's Special Care Center; and, that is what they do; and, they do it very well. The rooms are modern, laid out in a square with one separate hallway. The residents can walk around the square under roof or go out into the center courtyard in nice weather. There are fully staffed nurses stations at both ends of the square. The staff from top to bottom legitimately gets to know your resident and cares about them (and trust me with some Alzheimer's residents including mine that's not easy). This includes administration, nurses, caregivers and maintenance, laundry and food service personnel. All of these folks know your resident, call them by name, and look after them. Activities vary from day to day; and, not all residents (including mine) participate fully. You do not want to make an Alzheimer's patient do something they don't want to do. June 21st was The Longest Day Alzheimer's national fund raising celebration; and, Hickory Hills was the Hendersonville focal point. Four hours of fun, games, horses from the Hendersonville Police mounted patrol, and food. The residents loved it all. I think I have said too much; but, I want everyone to know that I am not related to anyone at Hickory Hills except my wife who is a resident. This is a very tough job; and, they do it very well.

Hickory Hills was really beautiful, newer, updated, and very pleasant. The rooms were very nice, beautiful, not very old, and not very big compared to other places but nicely sized. They had transportation when it's needed and activities all day long. The staff was very informative and very responsive to what we said our parents would need. They were great. The surroundings and the furnishings were pleasant. Everything was very nice and very comforting.

Hickory Hills is new, only about a year old, and it's laid out nice. My problem is, it's very large. They have a personal trainer, the building's laid out in a great big circle, and they walk inside the building in this circle. They also have other social classes and they have full service for meals. The staff was trained to meet and greet you. The room they showed me was a little on the dark side. I think the facility has too many clients, but not enough staff.