Benchmark Senior Living

everything about this place was more than satisfactory. As we stated this is the very first place we have looked into so being conservative on the rating at this time.

My visit was very successful in that I discovered that the provider would take care of my needs only for so long as my finances held out and at an estimate of nearly $10,000 per month for both myself and my wife, that was only about 4 years. If we survived after that we would be forced to move to a facility that accepted Mainecare. He was kind enough to suggest that perhaps his facility is not what we were looking for and referred us to an alternative of pursuing something like hospice or Visiting Angles and a facility that would accept Mainecare like Avita in Brunswick Landing. I will explore these other alternatives.

Visit only. Wait list. This was a very clean, spacious community. I liked the amount of space available for the residents to move around in though there didn't seem to be a lot of available independent activities. All staff were very friendly and informative. The one negative is that there is one nurse that administers medication who is on site 8-8. If anyone needed medication outside that time, there is no one to administer it. This won't work with someone who needs emergency medication like inhalers.

The lady was very helpful, but after talking with her, she felt they could not meet my husband's current needs. So we did not bother with the tour. Since we didn't complete the tour, it is difficult to give it a rating.

Very friendly staff. Lots of interaction with residents. Facility was nice but I noticed some deferred maintenance on the outside of the building and grounds.

Update on an earlier review I wrote about my dad (who has been there for about 2 years) not getting the oxygen treatment he needed. The problem has not recurred to my knowledge once the instructions got through to the folks in charge. Nursing staff is always friendly and caring. Facility is clean and well kept.

Very nice community, rep was fabulous, mom participated in a music therapy class.

I liked the facility itself, it was clean and the food was good, but the memory care unit itself. seemed a bit sterile, and I felt like I didn't really get a chance to see how the patients were treated or get a chance to see how people acted.

The staff are super friendly and really care about the residents. They take the time to understand each resident’s needs. Every resident is greeted by name by every staff member including the maintenance, dietary and office staff. The other residents also try to make new residents feel comfortable and part of the community.

From the beginning of my search for a dementia unit for my mom, the administrative staff were great with spending time meeting with me and my mom. They provided time and attention in giving me information, answering questions, meeting and assessing my mom. They were professional and kind. The facility has a home like feeling. The memory care unit, being in an assisted living versus a nursing home does not have an institutional feel. The nurse manager of the harbor unit is very knowledgeable in the area of dementia care and has been very helpful in facilitating my mom’s medication adjustments in order to obtain better control of her symptoms as well as getting medical equipment she needed. Some down sides to the unit I have found are: on the second shift, they need more staff to be attentive to the residents and better meet their needs. The 4pm-8pm activity aide position seems to be vacant and the two aides on that shift are too busy with dinner and evening care to do any activities with the residents so they are basically just sitting unattended in the living room area waiting their turn for evening care. They definitely need another staff person on that shift. Another area I think could be improved upon is the utilization of nursing staff. There is one nurse on second shift and she is responsible for passing medications to residents in the entire facility. This leaves no time for any other type of assessment or interaction with residents which adds to the feeling at least when I’m there visiting, that the staff is stretch a little thin to provide the type of caring attention that these unfortunate souls need and deserve. I am not able to visit earlier in the day but plan to make some time to visit my mom occasionally at that time to see how the care is at that time. Placing a parent or loved one in a dementia care unit or any type of care facility is a heartbreaking thing because you always feel that they are not getting the type of care that if possible you or other family members would provide. Academy Point while not perfect is the best option I found in my search for dementia care for my mom but it remains a very difficult thing to see her mind and body and quality of life deteriorate so.

My parents just moved in a few days ago, so I don't know how I'll feel in a month or a year, but these are things I'm sure of now: It offers all-inclusive pricing, a staff that really seems to want to help, and nice common areas. Dining is available all day, so if you want to avoid the noise and feel of a restaurant (as my parents do), you can have the dining room to yourself at 1:30 or 2. The drawbacks are that the apartment is small, and since it shares a room with the laundry room, they are bothered by the vibrations. Also, singing activities scheduled for the living room area make all of the downstairs areas feel loud because there is no door that closes off the amplified music. This will probably not bother a lot of people, but if you are like my parents, and treasure your quiet times, it will. Overall though, it's a nice place. A hard adjustment for anyone, but the staff seem genuinely warm and caring.

Very nice looking place. The Harbor is a little small and tight. The rooms are small but decent in size. The staff seem nice and personable. I would consider this residence for my mother.

Very nice and clean. Spoke to a daughter of a resident and she had nothing but great things to say. A great option for my dad.

Clean and spacious facility. Good variety of services provided. Staffing is professional and plentiful.

Did an impromptu visit on [date removed]. Met [name removed], RN who showed me around the facility. We briefly went over the cost and services. [Name removed], Dir. of Community Relations called to arrange to see and assess mom for possible admittance to Benchmark. Meet at [date removed]. [Name removed] and [name removed], RN will be there.

Waltham Crossing is a very nice facility and everyone was kind and patient with us. The only issue (to us) was the age of the patience; my sister-in-law is younger than those in memory care and we felt that might deter her from involving herself with the community.

overall a good tour. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable, Property/facility is well maintained and was very clean, lunch was very good with ample selections and wait service very friendly.

Overall, very good. I think they need more caregivers. Sometimes my mom had to wait too long for help. She only lived there 2 weeks before she had to go in the hospital and then passed away. They still made us pay for an additional 15 days per policy which is longer than she even lived there. They could have and should have made an exception under the circumstances.

A very homelike environment with multiple cozy common areas. Currently renovating apartments as they become available. Many of the residents we encountered during the tour seemed happy and ready to engage. Discussion focused on individualizing a plan for Mom that addressed her specific quality of life issues, both medical and behavioral. Overall, we left with a very positive regard for Ashland.

Nice facility, very clean. Rooms are shared suites which would not work for my Mom, but might be nice for others.