Truewood by Merrill, First Hill

JC

We were favorably impressed with Merrill Gardens at First Hill. It seemed like a very nice place to live for seniors. It's the kind of place a person would be willing to have their parent live when necessary. The studio was certainly adequate. There were plenty of activities, and the dining room looked very nice.

Ned047801

I chose Merrill Gardens because of the attentiveness of the staff and the quality of food. I have been there for two months, and it's been quite acceptable. It's nothing fantastic. I am living in a studio room, and I consider the room to be rather bland, but it's quiet and I sleep well. I wasn't looking for anything fantastic. They're starting to do something to improve the appearance of the facility. It's meeting expectations.

Provider Response

Veronica176467

Merrill Gardens at First Hill was a lovely place. The people we talked to were very nice and friendly. The rooms seemed nice. The kitchen was small but well maintained; it looked pretty, and the colors were nice.

Provider Response

Martha115023450

My mother has severe dementia, and Merrill Gardens at First Hill is able to accept both of my parents. They have a really nice balance, and it’s been going very well for my mother. It’s been amazing, so far, and I think it’s because they have a fantastic staff. They have been very gentle and very reassuring for my mom. This has been a good place for my dad, too, because his biggest concern was my mom. As for the activities for the memory care unit, they have exercises and live music almost every day and also have art activities and watch movies together. For the assisted living unit, they have more diverse activities, like cooking demonstrations. Sometimes, they’ll have people come in to talk to the residents. The food seemed good. The thing I like most about this facility is the fact that they have a very bonded and attached staff who really care about the residents. They really connect to them as individuals, which I think is really valuable. The facility is very flexible to be able to accommodate a pretty broad range of individuals.

Provider Response

Jeanne23

I was at Merrill Gardens for three-and-a-half months. I broke my femur, so I had to be in assisted living for a while. The staff were very helpful. My room was clean and small because I chose to go to a studio as I knew I wasn't going to be there forever. I enjoyed the breakfast and some of the meals, but my main concern was that it was very salty, which I complained to the chef about, but it didn't change. The dining room was fine. I was in a place that had many people with various stages of dementia, so their activities were aimed at those people, which at first really sort of put me off, but it turned out to be fine. There was an activity coordinator there that was absolutely marvelous. They couldn't have chosen a better person to be caring and accepting of every single person there. He made it worthwhile.

Caring101193650

My son-in-law and my daughter found Merrill Gardens in a local big neighborhood, but it’s on a hill where you can’t get out for walking. It also as it turns out has about two-thirds of the people there have dementia. I decided that I would be part of it; I went and played bingo, I tossed balloons, and in fact I did make friends with quite a few people. The people that worked there, the people that give you your pills made a great effort for the service workers. They all know your name, and they were really quite wonderful. The food was mediocre; I did talk to the chef twice, many meals were deep fried, and the salt was used very generously. There was a fire drill, and we really wondered what was going on because they really had never said anything about fire drills. They sort of alerted to the staff, but these people’s memory was not good. I felt that there should be something on the door of the apartment that you are in that says what to do. The doors are thick metal doors and that just says the place for you to be, but they never told me that. They have an outside company and there is a physical therapist and occupational therapist who comes on Tuesdays and Thursday to work with people. When I went in there, they said our chef is so wonderful, everyday he goes town to the market and buys fresh vegetables but the only meal that I really enjoyed there was breakfast. They were very solicitous, and they know everybody’s name. They have a sheet of paper with everybody’s picture and their name in there. Everybody knows who you are, and that’s very important to be recognized for who you are. You go in the dining room and they say good morning Jeanne and everybody knows you. It really is nice.