Merrill Gardens

My mother was a resident at the Pines for about two years. When she arrived, she was at a moderate level of dementia and so had some challenges. The staff at the Pines made her feel welcome and she integrated well into the community. As Mom's condition gradually grew worse, the staff continued to do a great job meeting her needs. Staff wheeled her from her room to common areas (including dining) when she lost her ability to walk. They also took care of her needs as she became incontinent. In the latter stages of Mom's stay at the Pines, the staff even pureed her food for her so she could eat. They also assisted her in feeding. I am very grateful for all the care that Mom received while she was at the Pines. I would also like to mention that the care Mom received from the Nursing staff was excellent; very attentive to her needs. I finally had to move my mother to a nursing facility recently, as her condition continues to worsen. I would highly recommend The Pines.

Their billing practices are questionable. Other than that, pretty good. Facility nice. Housecleaning so so. Menu limited. Food tasty.

The hands on staff are very attentive and loving towards my mom. The maintenance staff could use some common sense. [name removed], the general manager is an absolute gem. She has a way of making you feel supported in your decision to move a loved one into the facility and that she has your back anytime, day or night.

My brother is in memory care. He still has enough of his mental faculties to be a bit bored day-to-day, but overall he seems content. The staff are pleasant and kind. Meals are the highlight of his day, and my brother has become a member of the 'men's table.' There is a library where he can check out books to read.

I spent 6 mos there. In that time I met 1 person who was in my age bracket that lived as an independent who was blind. I became somewhat of a caretaker than just friends. There were more women then men but None my age. Entertainment consisted of board games and random speakers. A movie once a week sitting on hard chairs. Thursday thru Friday was a 2 drink happy hour followed by a 4pm dinner. While I was there many people were hospitalized with severe abdominal infections. They allowed people with Covid to rejoin the dining room as soon as they were discharged from the hospital. Multiple people required EMS every day from falls and such. I don't know if I mentioned my medication was taken from my apartment the day I moved in and later recovered

The activities are TBD (my Dad has yet to regularly engage in them). The staff is very helpful and responsive to all questions before placement and continues still now. All issues are addressed in a timely manner. Truewood is independent living, but they have an independent, on-site contractor for comfort care assistance. This helps our family keep our cost down but still provides the assistance our Dad needs in his aging stage.

Felt the staff was awesome. Yes, we would recommend this community to other families with the caveat of the food was questionable and portions seemed limited.

Facility is bigger than most would expect so be prepared for lots of walking or rolling. Nice enough staff. Food choices aren't great.

Caring staff. Clean. Nutritious meals. Would benefit from more activities

Initial setup and move in was great. Clean apartment, any issues were quickly resolved. My father in law adapted well, with the exception of the dining. More of a social issue than food quality Im guessing . . Lots of sidewalks for him the get his exercise. Not what you would expect. Would suggest to those that are looking for Senior Independent Living.

I would recommend to others. The food is not fried with olive or avocado oil.

Staff and residents are kind and nice. I really like that one can order meals from morning to 7pm throughout the day as it fits your schedule.

The aides are very caring and make a point to get to know the residents likes and dislikes. The only reason * didn't give a 5 is the food could be more traditional meals. They often serve odd food pairings versus traditional meat, starch, and vegetable

The staff is great. Billing was very poor. Beautiful clean facility. Friendly, knowledgeable and trustworthy administrators and staff.

Generally, very happy with Merrill. Good amount of activities. Care is good. The caregivers get to know mom so that personal touch/relationship is good. I have gotten calls when they can't find her (in the roof garden or was checked out and system was down) or when she fell. Negatives - food isn't great. Chefs and servers don't seem helpful in helping with food allergies/sensitivities. Also, lots of turnover with staff, especially key people: [name removed], Head of medical, head of medicine, chef, activities lead, sales people (not as big of a concern).

The only thing I didn't like about the location was the activities Director. She used to be the sales manager, but she doesn't have any personality at all, the only activities she did while I was there were with somebody who came in from outside to do it. She was not at all engaged with the residents, and I know a little bit about it because my wife did it for years. Other than that, it's a very nice place in a very good price.

Overall experience, I would rate it about a four. The reason of four is because sometimes it's hard to get help from Staff specially after hours or on the weekends. Cleanliness of facility I would say it's very clean certainly appears to be so I'd give it a five Friendliness they're very friendly there the guest as well as most of the staff I give you a five The staff does a good job with the amount of people they have to take care of which is appropriate amount. It's just still difficult. [name removed] tends to be a little shy and won't ask for help which doesn't help things at all so I'd give that a four. The administrative staff has always been helpful and friendly so I would think I'd give them a five As far as food goes, I hear it's pretty good. They don't give you very much of it. I think [name removed] goes in hungry a little bit. Of course I think you can ask for more if you. That's probably also a four Truthfully activities is hard for me to rank because my father-in-law just has a hard time getting involved. I see that they have things scheduled, but again I think that would be unfair for me to rank that. Value for your dollar that one's hard as well because I don't have a lot to compare it to you. It does feel a little bit like he's not taking full advantage of what he's paying for which is on him and not them.

The facility is beautiful and clean, and offers so many amenities. My only issue is sometimes the communication with staff / administration is slow or inconsistent.

Open dining from 7 am to 7 pm. Residents and staff very friendly. Walking distance to restaurants and waterfront and shopping. Lots of activities.

We get Care Conferences with the Resident Care Director, the staff helix schedule mom's appointments & transportation as we live out of state, &mom loves some of the activities.