Dogwood Pointe

My mother stayed at the Dogwood Pointe assisted living. It was changed into a memory care facility, which she did not need. The atmosphere was very happy, there were a lot of activities, and the administrator was wonderful to my mom and my family. We celebrated her birthday and many occasions throughout the year, and it was a wonderful experience. She had lived there for 9 and a 1/2 years. The accommodations were good, but she did not have a refrigerator or a microwave. She had a small bathroom and a small closet. The food and the CNAs were good for the most part. Their activities were excellent.

My mother was at Dogwood Pointe, and it had a little bit more homey and smaller feel to it. They were wonderful there. Our only concern with our mother's situation was the cost of it. They had a lot of activities. They had something going on. They had people came in to do painting, arts & crafts, and other stuff with them. They were constantly making something. They had bingo, singings, and religious service. The food started out to be really good, but then, towards the end, their main cook quit. They had trouble finding somebody and keeping then. Then, the food was not good.

My mother has been a resident at Dogwood Pointe almost a year now. We have been very pleased with the care that she has been given. The daily activities, the home cooked meals, and the individual attention and care have been marvelous. Any concern we have had along the way has been thoroughly addressed. My mom loves it there and now refers to it as home. I would highly recommend this assisted living to others who are having to make decisions about their loved ones. One can rest assured they will be taken care of with love and concern.

My initial call to Dogwood Pointe did not go the way I expected it to. My wife and I had already entered into discussions with Mother about going to an assisted living facility in Columbia, her having moved close to us almost 14 years ago. With the health challenges she was now facing, all of us concluded that her going into assisted living was the right approach at this time. She threw us a curve ball though when she announced that what she really wanted was to go back to West Tennessee and possibly to Dogwood Pointe. She already had some friends and relatives there and she asked me to make a call and find out about it. I had never heard of Dogwood Pointe, and told her I really couldn't picture her making this kind of a move, but I would check on it. When I called the facility I first talked to Sabrina, the nurse and then to Administrator Melissa M. Sabrina gave me a general overview of how things worked there, services offered, etc. Then I talked at length to Melissa about Mother's health issues over the last four months and what was happening presently in all our lives. Without going into the details of the conversation, much of which is still too emotional to talk about, I came away from it feeling that this just might work. That evening I relayed the information to Mother and told her that my wife and I were prepared to do whatever would make her the happiest. It was up to her, whether to stay in Columbia or move to Milan to Dogwood Pointe. She said she wanted to go home. We have never met a person like Melissa, who has such a compassion for older people and the issues they face. She also has an understanding of the emotional turmoil families go through as they struggle to meet the needs of aging parents. This same spirit of compassion and caring can be seen throughout the whole organization. Upon our arrival all the staff members introduced themselves and told us how glad they were to have Mother there. Initially my wife and I spent two days in Milan getting Mother settled in. By the end of those two days, we knew for sure that this was a place that would help meet her physical, emotional and spiritual needs at this stage of her life. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Melissa and the Dogwood Pointe family for making Mother feel that she is truly home again.