Five years of investigative journalism curiosity, and concern exercised at four different senior…read moreliving places from fall 2019 until now, gave me the incentive to move into one with a shining"star" award in Senior living. what a relief to move away from that which is fraught with negative negligent and inexcusable behavior directed toward our most precious assets: our seniors. U.S. Senior living offerings are pandemic with misbehavior directed toward our elder humanity, which often has the effect of nullifying their existence . I was privy to NIC meetings, and I taped extensive meetings where investors clarified the meaning of what senior living really is , simply "real estate" with a steady stream, guaranteed by the inflow of walking talking gullible seniors and outflow of their bodies to whatever place they have prearranged their final disposition, if they have even done that! So I escaped senior living and fled to downtown Phoenix where I reinvented myself as JK Emerson Smith, my nom de plum, lived in a 24 story, high-rise, surrounded by ASU students and young professionals for almost a year and a half? While living there I was infused with their energy and vigor..... I felt desperate to never ever again live around "old people" and then what do you know? I landed on a 40 acre piece of property that feels like it was transported directly from heaven: a nonprofit, basically resident/volunteer run, operating with a likeness to an HOA called the GCA, and is not dependent upon squeezing every dime out of every Senior on limited to moderate incomes. In addition, this campus is staffed, with what I can only call caring, dedicated individuals, infused with the deepest desire to support, help, care about and look out for their senior residents. While I'm not easily impressed, I am not easily fooled..... except for not realizing that Senior living communities have a habit of over-promising and Under-delivering. One example might be the promise of "three chef prepared meals daily", while failing to explain the chef works at Stouffer's! Here where I live the Casitas are cozy representatives of the individual taste and style of the residents living within, and thankfully not the type of exterior that resembles a mental institution or prison. If you see a Community, which displays repetitious likenesses, for example, gravel instead of grass, no flowers, simply a sterile atmosphere and appearance, take note immediately and run like hell! I can almost guarantee that what you see on the outside is indicative of how leadership will act internally; that's institutional, thinking and I no longer live in an institution. I found a home ! Indeed, a home that respects my prior experience enough to give me a TV talk show weekly to interview the residents on the campus here so everyone can meet their neighbors and have the opportunity to present their previous skill sets, accomplishments, and successes, as well as perhaps talk a little bit about the failures that led to them being successes . When I vetted those NIC meetings, never once did I hear anyone mention concern for the quality of life of a senior resident. Pay attention when analyzing where you think you want to live . If the leadership decides that they want to turn everything into a low maintenance residential institutional type epicenter that simply caters to the famous revolving door of seniors with wallets, run the other way!! If you decide to run my way, you can appear on "Stories from the Porch", or better yet Google that title and add JK to your Google search and have a look at the stories told by the residents who live here and how they differ from the smiling artificial seniors in the ads for other senior living "facilities".... partially because this isn't a facility. This is your home! in closing, I can only tell you that I love my housekeeper. She spends an hour here paying attention to how clean things are. I love the food the choice of restaurants on the campus I love the staff in the fact that no matter what kind of a problem I may face I don't have to face it alone because there's someone here on this campus that I can talk to . You have the rest of your life ahead of you. Make sure you spend every single day wisely! You are now a human ATM machine in the eyes of the FOR-PROFIT "retirement industry" and don't give anyone your pin number.!! Furthermore, (and because when I say "closing" I'm never really close to closing) lose the title "Senior citizen" and when you move here I'll award you a V-POW badge....."veteran, vintage or valuable person of worth". Just move in and ask for JK. Everyone knows what the term "bang for the buck" means and you'll be shocked at clearly you'll come to understand that phrase when you do business with a nonprofit.

I moved my husband with late stage dementia into Glencroft in January of 2025. It seemed to be a…read moregood fit. I won't speak on the issues he had, but only general things that I witnessed at the facility. Under staffing, a problem at most facilities, is also an issue here. Some of the staff truly cared but seemed to be very overworked and couldn't do for residents what I believe they would like to have done. Others were there for the paycheck. Things that really bothered me: nobody helped get hands washed before meals; there was a pitcher of water sitting out for residents, but most days there were no cups, and most of the residents were incapable of getting it or knowing they needed to drink which is so critical in preventing UTI's in dementia patients. The cups for meals only held about 5 ounces of liquid and no one offered refills. Hubby's underwear was not changed daily. Washcloths never seemed to be used; it didn't appear personal care was taken care of; his personal care items were in a locked drawer, but never seemed to be used including his shampoo and body lotion. The food was edible, but barely. I witnessed the woman in charge arguing with a dementia patient. But my biggest complaint is the lack of activities or things to do for the residents. There was one TV with several comfy chairs for well over 20 residents, but nothing else. They were left to wander or sit and stare. I visited 5-6 days a week and engaged him in water painting, playing ball and cards while he could, but that's not enough for someone suffering with this awful disease. I tried arranging for volunteers to go to entertain the residents, but though the facility said it would be nice, they made it next to impossible for volunteers to go. My hubby acted out and was kicked out after 2 months but I'm not surprised. I would act out too if left in those conditions. Perhaps Glencroft is good for independent living, but not for memory care.

I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Avista Sun City West Memory Care. The way my…read morefamily and I were treated was very unprofessional and upsetting, especially during such an emotional and difficult time. Before moving my dad in, we were told certain things that gave us confidence in choosing this facility, but after he was there, many of those promises were not followed through with. Changes were made without proper communication or notice, and it felt like our concerns as a family were not being respected or heard. One of the biggest concerns was the pressure we felt to switch my dad to a hospice company that the facility preferred, even though we already had a hospice provider we trusted and wanted to continue with. During that process, we feel they took advantage of our family's emotional state and the difficult situation we were facing to push for a decision that aligned with what they wanted rather than what our family believed was best for my dad. Another concern was our interactions with Melissa and Jackie. We found their behavior to be hostile, aggressive, and lacking the compassion and professionalism that families deserve during such a difficult time. Rather than feeling supported, we often felt intimidated and dismissed when trying to advocate for my dad's care and express our concerns. We were also uncomfortable with the approach of keeping my dad heavily medicated. We expected compassion, honesty, communication, and respect for our family's wishes, but unfortunately that was not our experience. Families place tremendous trust in memory care facilities when caring for their loved ones. We expected the care, transparency, and respect that was promised when we chose this facility. Instead, our experience left us feeling frustrated, unheard, and disappointed. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and works to improve communication, professionalism, and respect for residents and their families.

This is another review. Prior to finding my mother another facility (see my previous review) my…read moremother was moved to another room over the weekend to a bed that had no call button for help. It was a single room but they moved my mother into it with another woman who was residing there already. A few days later, my mother fell again (Mar. 7 and April 2, 2023) and hit her head. We think she fell from her wheelchair.The newer staff were working but they cannot explain how she fell backwards receiving a cervical fracture. It looks as if they tried to pick her up but because of her weight she fell backwards. One of her pillows had blood on it and the other pillow was missing, probably placed under her head to stop the bleeding. I'm speculating here, but they don't know what happened to the other pillow. The Exec. Director claimed the new staff was trained to not move her. She was rushed to the Banner ER then taken to the trauma center 5 days later on Thunderbird when they had an opening and put in a neck brace for 10 weeks. She is still complaining of pain but at least she is alive. My mom is wheelchair bound and weighs 180 lbs and could not have fallen forward and then backwards unaided. I've attached a picture of her bed which was moved into a single room acting now as a shared room but her side of the room had no call button. They would not allow my mother's medical alert to be used while she was staying at the facility because they said they had the room call buttons. Oh, one last thing, when I asked to see the cameras in her room so I could see how she fell, the Exec. Director Angie told me they were not working yet in that room.

Food is wonderful, tenured staff and a solid management team. Centrally located and dedicated…read moreteam, here for the right reasons. Definitely would feel comfortable placing my mom or dad here!

This is a beautiful community with caring staff! The meals are delicious and there are so many fun…read moreactivities. I would highly recommend.

Super helpful and caring. Highly recommend, helped me understand and deal with life ending issues…read more Supplied a bed, wheelchair and walker along with personal items. I would have never survived it without them.

Can not in good faith recommend West side hospice of the valley. From day one it was a chaotic…read moremess! I had so many issues with this place that it took me filing with the BBB to get resolution. Day one a nurse arrived who said she was off but decided to come anyway to sort out meds. From the moment she walked in the door, she was a mess. I had to ask her to step outside because she was making me anxious. She was so far in over her head that I asked for another nurse to come out. The nurse freaking out left and decided an hour later to just walk into my house without calling or knocking. Bad move! You don't ever just walk into someone's home without them knowing and surely after you said you were leaving. You could have been seriously hurt! Common sense! She set the tone that was my entire experience with this company. My first nurse was all clinical. Sorry that doesn't work for me. You have to have compassion, you have to listen to the caretakers. Your unsolicited "advice" about me needing to rearrange my place was none of your business and out of line. How dare you think you're entitled to tell me how to arrange MY home. Just keep your voice down for the 5 minutes you see the patient. It's not that hard. After she and a cna broke two pieces of furniture and I asked for them to be replaced (denied), she wasn't welcome anymore. My furniture WAS replaced after I escalated it to people who weren't blowing smoke up my butt (Norma Jean ). Terrible team "leader". After the nurse change, I was chastised by the social worker who I used to really like. She asked why I wasn't comfortable coming to her all while defending the nurse I let go. Hmmm, I wonder why I wasn't comfortable talking to you........ You all were so concerned on protecting a nurse I didn't want you forgot you had a client to serve. My second nurse wasn't better and when I caught her in a lie and called her on it, the relationship was irreparable. Her fake attitude when calling just made visits dreadful. I hated every part of the experience with this company. Resources available were brushed off or denied. They made things so much worse when their job is to make them easier. I've had prior experiences with hospice and this was by far the worst. Stay far away! I CANNOT recommend them.

My family is very fortunate to have discovered The Cottages formerly Pacifica. My spouse had…read moresevere dementia with behavioral issues; and other facilities were not able to care for him and meet his needs. It was a blessing to find this facility with the help of a social worker. I met with the Executive Director, Erin who helped me understand the facility's approach to caring for its residents. She brought me a since of calm that I had not experienced since starting this journey with my spouse 3 years earlier. The office staff is professional and caring. The caregivers, nursing personnel and other staff are compassionate and always helpful. I no longer feared a call from an assisted living facility as I had in the past because I knew everything was under control, and my spouse was well cared for at all times by knowledgeable and tenderhearted personnel. As my spouse's condition deteriorated, everyone from office staff, to cottage staff were very kind and comforting. I routinely visited, unannounced, so I could check on my spouse. I found him well taken care of and happy during my visits. Hospice personnel who ultimately helped with the care of my spouse coordinated with The Cottages personnel, and my spouse was treated with respect and dignity. When he passed away, the staff were genuinely upset and empathetic toward my needs. I highly recommend The Cottages in Peoria AZ to care for your loved ones.

The community is amazing !!!!!!!!! I come from a big family and let me tell you this is the only…read morecommunity I will ever put my family members at! I have been in the community for two years with my grandmother and she has been taken care of so well that I rest easy at night. The Executive Director is an amazing woman that goes above and beyond for her community members. When ever grandma has something going on I am notified right away and the commutation is remarkable. The care team that works at the community are very educated and show they have great knowledge about dementia. I couldn't ask for a better community. THANK YOU PACIFICA