Lutheran Life Communities

My loved one is happy here. My loved one thinks everyone is friendly and nice. The meals are really good and my loved one says they haven't had a bad one yet. The staff have been good to work with the family. Some of the activities include bible study, movies, and more for the residents to choose from. They are pet friendly and are very welcoming to the residents and guests.

We had a good tour with Luther Oaks but they required a buy in so we went with another facility.

During the initial tour, I worked with the admissions director. But all of their sales staff were very helpful. They walk you through the entire process. We were able to see many different apartments. They wanted to know about and hear about my loved one, and that helped guide us to apartments and locations within the independent living community. With her mobility, they recommended a first floor apartment which has worked out perfectly for her. They just genuinely want to know about the residents. They offer a lot of activities, and though she's still getting acclimated and trying things out, she's really been enjoying what she's done so far. The staff even asked her recently what type of activities she would like to see, because they want to make sure they're meeting the wants and needs of their residents.

I toured this community to help my friends. The staff answered all of my questions. It was very high end here and nice. It was clean. There were different levels of care and they would have to evaluate my friends to see what level they were. This just wasn’t a good fit for them. This was the Cadillac of Communities but you had to pay for that Cadillac.

I have lived here in Independent Living for over two years. I am almost 85 years old and still very active. I love it here so much and only wish I had moved here sooner. The staff is wonderful, the meals are absolutely fine dining and there are many, many activities to take part in, if you so wish. Also, I have made many new friends and love eating dinner with them or sharing activities. If you are thinking of making the move.... do not wait too long!

My mom said "I don't have to cook or clean." Based on the experience we have had so far, we would recommend the Lutheran Home to other families

My loved one was previously a resident at Luther Oaks and the overall experience was very good for her. The cleanliness and friendliness were good. The staff, care services, meals and activities were also good. Based on our experience, I would recommend Luther Oaks to others.

They are good with communication. Like most of the assisted living places, there is a shortage of staff. The staff has been very friendly with my mother. I would recommend to other families,

My loved one likes the food a lot. Sometimes they are short staffed. There is a group of CNA's who are good, which has been a positive experience. They should get paid more, since they work well with the residents. Overall, the facility needs to communicate, much better. If you need to talk, to a nurse they are in the locked memory care area. They are always helpful.

We have an amazing staff, every single person greets you every time they see you. The common areas are very clean. Overall opinion is very good.

I like it very much.

There were some rough patches. I would suggest to, request a copy of the contract early, and make sure you get a resident's handbook. Furthermore, if things aren't clear, ask until you get an answer.

My aunt seems to enjoy her time here.

Mom likes the food at Wittenberg. She does wish there was a little more variety of options. The staff have been great. They were fantastic to work with when mom moved in and they introduced her to many of the residents. They are very accommodating. They do offer daily activities and the community is very clean. I would recommend this community.

If this is the trend for healthcare in our society for the elderly, we are in deep trouble. I don't know how other facilities work, but if this is an example it is a sad reflection on how we treat our elderly. Don't expect a lot from housekeeping, they basically take the garbage out and run a Swiffer over a couple of surfaces and that's about it. The move-in process went fairly well, however, they employed teenagers that cared little about others' property. The meals are okay considering it's an institution food service. As long as you're mobile and in good health it's not a terrible place to live. If you have any difficulties whatsoever with memory mobility chronic health illnesses a person will be shoved aside and ignored. The bottom line for this institution and possibly all the institutions like this is, they want to get their hands on your money and once that happens you're out of luck. For some reason I thought this type of facility would be a higher quality. I was sadly mistaken. As long as someone does not believe anything that they tell you at the time of signing contracts because they are pathological liars and will tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get a check from you. Keep in mind it is a big check that they make money on and you will never see it again. I could not, in good conscience, recommend this facility.

This is a nice community, and I had a good tour of it. I toured it for my mother, and her needs. Everyone was friendly, and nice. The community looked good, everything was nice, and clean. The staff was polite, and helpful. The experience went well. It was not the right fit for my mother, but my tour went well.

I felt uncomfortable here. It was very quiet. They were showing a movie and only two residents were attending (movie was from 70s, would have liked to see a more current movie). The rooms are nice, but I was told that the current residents prefer to stay in their rooms most of the day. There is nothing "wrong" with this place, but I'm looking for somewhere my parents can have social interactions, not just housing.

My first impression of the facility was five-star worthy however I witnessed an incident in the memory unit that made me shake my head in disbelief. One of the staff members was dealing with an agitated resident and called out for back-up at least five times and not one of the group of 3 or 4 staff members standing around talking went on to help out. That's not even the worst of it. A family member who was visiting one of the residents ended up running out of her loved ones room to assist the staff member! Is that how little they care about a resident who is agitated and in need of help? The staff in the memory unit at Luther Oaks should be ashamed of themselves.

We put our money down and picked a move in date, we did not get the 40 page contract until the day we moved in and we had to sign it right then and there. It then took a month to get a copy of that contract. When I got it and read it I realized there was a resident handbook that we did not get. They told me they do not hand it out anymore even though things I read were very important. When you move in, you are practically on your own to figure things out. Someone is supposed to clean residents rooms for an hour every other week and I do not see anything being done other than the bed being made. It is not clean unless I go in and do it for her. They are having staffing issues, they have a shortage of people to do things like clean and serve the meals. The options on the food menus are not healthy, they have a lot of bread and fillers. Their big meal is at night, I think it would be beneficial if they changed that to lunch time. I know they have just hired a new food service, I am hopeful that things will change. Overall there have been many things that we are disappointed with during our experience. It is a very nice facility that has a ton of potential.

My grandparents moved into the Wittenberg Village roughly eight years ago. My grandfather passed away nearly three years ago, and my grandmother, who has experienced significant cognitive decline, moved to another assisted living facility two years ago. It was not until my grandmother moved out that we reviewed the contract they had signed when they moved in. What we came to find out was seriously concerning. Wittenberg is a “buy-in” community, meaning that my grandparents paid a $300,000 “entrance fee” (in addition to $2000/month “service fee”) to reside in the community. They did not own the residence they lived in, nor, per the contract, were they “tenants.” The contract provides that 90% of the $300,000 entrance fee (notably without interest) is to be returned upon moving out once Wittenberg has found a new resident for the same home. Effectively, the contract gives Wittenberg massive leverage over the significant financial “entrance fee,” and even perversely incentivizes Wittenberg to delay finding new residents and reimbursing the “entrance fee.” It has now been two years and Wittenberg has not refunded the $270,000, despite having their employees reside in my grandparent’s old residence. When we inquired about employees residing in the residence, Wittenberg was extremely evasive, but ultimately confessed to having their director living in the residence. They still asserted they had no obligation to return the $270,000 entrance fee until they found a new resident, nor could they point to any reasonable efforts they’ve taken to find a new resident. While I can’t speak to how the medical/care staff are at Wittenberg, I can confidently say that Wittenberg’s management cares only about their bottom line, and their business model is highly deceptive. I would strongly recommend against this “buy-in” facility. To anyone considering Wittenberg, I would be happy to provide our experience if you reach out.