Village on The Park Steeplechase

My sister has already selected a place to live, and that's Village on The Park Steeplechase. We love it. We started her out with freedom so that she could feel like she is living on her own, but she has medicines administered to her daily, and she is living in a little cottage. As her disease progresses they have facilities for assisted living and memory care. They have three meals a day and social activities. I think the value for the money is good. It's a little bit cheaper than some other places we went to.

We have selected Village on The Park Steeplechase for my mom. We liked it for the amenities it had. It was close to some restaurants, they had a pool, and it was reasonably priced. The apartment was nice. It had a backdoor that led to a kinda patio outside instead of just having one door to the hallway. We liked that. We liked the pool, too. Out of all the places we looked at, this was the only one with a pool. It's close to the bus station, so that was a plus, too.

My mom has been here in Independent Living for just over two years. Initially pretty good but has gone steadily downhill. Complete change of staff several times over including at least 3 managers. The latest is another “interim”. In the dining room there are NO provisions or choices for heart-healthy, low fat or low salt diets. There have been 5-6 chef changes in the time she’s been here. The one good one did not stay long. Despite what we were told initially and is still listed on their website, there is no “12 hour continuous dining”. Breakfast is 7:30-9. Lunch is 11-1:15. Dinner 4-6:15. Other than those hours the dining room is closed and residents line up in the hallway waiting for it to open. Come later and items may not be available. And the rules change with no notice. Apparently as of today, a meal for a visiting guest or family member requires an $8 cash payment at the table instead of being charged to the resident’s account by voucher. My 95 year old mother was very upset and left without eating. Poor response for maintenance despite multiple calls and visits to the front desk. Yes, the apartments are larger than at other facilities but had we known then what we know now, we’d have made a different choice. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.

I liked Village on the Park because they have individual cottages. They also have everything you need in the kitchen. They said if we want to experience what it's like to live there, we can come and stay for a month. I definitely thought that was a fabulous idea. We had a meal there, but it was catered because they had a crawfish boil. They had different dining rooms for those who wanted a quick meal, and a bigger dining room for those who wanted a bigger meal. I liked that it's gated, and the staff is very nice. They also had an outdoor swimming pool.

Village on the Park was very nice. We liked it and think it's going to be our choice. The food was good, but the facility and the apartments were a little small. It was more assisted living than independent living. What I liked the most were the staff and cleanliness of the facility.

My father is actually moving in next week to Village on the Park. That is the one he likes the best. It is a very pretty place on the outside, and when you come in, it is also very pretty inside, very clean and well kept. The room is spacious with a nice living room area, a small kitchen, one bedroom, one bathroom, and it is well lit. It has a lot of different activity rooms, and all of them are very clean. They have a lot of outdoor activities where they take them, from fishing to the movies. They also offer a nightly movie there after dinner. They have an ice cream parlor. They have wine and beer socials a couple of nights a week. They have poker, dominos, and cards. Dad tasted a meal and in his words it was "delicious." All the meals will be prepared for him there, which is nice. He is thrilled to move in there and excited to be going.

We've decided on Village on the Park. It's going to be a new construction that is added to the independent living, so we must hold on until they complete construction. That's where my mom will be going. As soon as I found out that they were extending and expanding for the assisted living area, and also Alzheimer's wing, I knew that this was the best case scenario all the way around. My mother lived in the independent living part, and so the plus to us is that it will be familiar to her. There were a number of things that she really liked about it. They have flexible meal times. It's just not sitting down and eating at a specific time. The room is almost identical to the room that she had before and same layout as what she has now. The fact that it's new, and that we really like the place, felt very safe and secure, so we think that this is a winner. I do know that they have a variety of church services that are there that I know my mother will enjoy participating in. They have crafts. For holidays, they invite and include families. They have special times, and it'll be like going back home. The staff was great. Things that they did not have answers for, we will get answers to. I do know that they're working on that and planning and scheduling. They're very accommodating and willing to help. I've e-mailed several times, and immediately they've responded right back, so they've been very good at communicating.