River Valley Estates

I visited River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care. The place was just a couple of years old, and it was very new. Everything was neat, clean, and orderly. I only met the one lady that did the tour. She was extremely nice and personable. The apartment was clean and new, but I just didn't have a feel for it. It had a range top and a microwave that sat on the counter. The size of the apartment was more than adequate. Everything was all on one level, so it was kind of spread out. I noticed there was one area where there was just a lot of craft stuff out in the hallway. They called it Crafts Corner, where the residents were enjoying working together. The building was just very much standard looking as far as design goes, so there was nothing personable about it.

I went to look at River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care. I like the look and aesthetic of the facility. I liked the room in each apartment. In terms of the amount of room given for each occupant, it was about almost double the amount of space that you'd see at other places, so that was a selling point. The activities looked very, very good. I was overall very impressed. The staff members were attentive. There wasn't a high turnover, meaning people liked their jobs. The turnover rate to me is an important indicator of what it's like for the people who work there because it's the workers who take care of your loved ones. They are knowledgeable, solid, and friendly. They look exactly like they know what they're doing. The residents liked them, and the residents looked happy. They knew everybody by their first name and enjoyed talking to each other. It's a relatively new facility.

My mom moved into River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care. It's a great place, and my mom loves it, but it's expensive. They were about the only ones that called me back, and we needed a place right away. Everything went smoothly. The staff members are so attentive and very nice. Their food is great. They assist my mom with everything, like bathing and laundry. They are taking really good care of her. They have a gym and a salon. They have activities, and somebody comes in and plays music. My mom is almost blind, so she can't do puzzles or anything like that, but they do keep her occupied.

I had an in-person tour of River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care. I liked that it was very clean. The people there seemed very friendly. I liked the secured area, so my dad couldn't wander off if he were to do so. The staff was very thorough. They had coloring, puzzles, and a TV. The rooms were nice and had good enough space. They weren't too large or too small, and I like that.

My brother-in-law lived in River Valley Estates until he passed away in 2020. He was under hospice and he was assisted living. He was there for two to two-and-a-half years. It was wonderful until they closed it down, then he got depressed. He loved the company and the people were great. Everything was going beautifully until March of 2020. By September, he was so depressed, he just went to bed and died. We had to visit him through the window. There would be nobody coming in that even talked to him or anything, so he'd sit there in his shorts and he was dirty and they passed the food to him because everybody was afraid to have contact with everybody. The only ones in and out of were the caregivers. They wouldn't even let his hospice nurse see him, but maybe once every two weeks or something like that. His medicines got all mixed up. He wasn't able to take care of himself and I wasn't able to help. They let me go in once because he was dying. I said, "If you don't let me in, he's gonna die." They did and within six or eight hours of spending time with him, I got him up and he was eating and I cleaned him up. From then on, they wouldn't let me in again. They had great care before that. They were very helpful. The nurses and everybody, even the cleaning staff were wonderful and cordial. They would go out and sit in the dining room and they'd come by and talk to him. There were things he could do if he wanted to. He loved the open dining. He sat with them and they had movies they could go to if he wanted to. They had activities going on all the time. He didn't always participate, but sometimes we did. We could go in and have lunch with him or dinner with him and they were great. Everything was before and nothing after March. He was fortunate he could afford to have a living room and a bedroom, a beautiful bathroom, and a walk-in shower. We had to provide all the furniture and everything. The room was very nice and he loved it because he could have his furniture, his recliners, and his TV. He wasn't always happy with the cooks, but they went through a lot of cooks. He liked home cooking, but when he did like the food, he praised them and told them it was very good food and he loved their desserts. I have nothing that I would have changed. They were very, very good to us all the time he was there. It wasn't their fault. We ate with him often. You had a menu you could choose from and it was different every day. We thought the food was very good. They gave him a good choice of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They get it in their room or they could go out to the dining area. The facilities were great. The activity director was great. Everybody seemed to enjoy the activities. They had music every other Sunday, they played bingo, they had puzzle rooms, and movies. They gave them a program every week and a menu and all kinds of things. It was getting a little pricey. It started fine and then it went up, but he got help from the VA. He never could have afforded it by himself had he not gotten help because you're talking $3400 to $3800 a month. The other rooms that were studio ones were not near that expensive. It depended on what care you need. You had to pay extra for care if they had to come in and check on them or they did laundry. Some of those things were extra. It was a little pricey in that area.