Short-term rehab: Bug infestation during the day and night. Short staffed. PT/OT wrote my mother…read moreoff and barely did any exercises with her. Some CNAs were fantastic/others left my mother sitting in a chair without changing her for up to 8 hours. When a person is hoyered out of the chair and back to bed and urine rains down out of the hoisting pad - you know your loved one hasn't been changed or properly tended too. Lots of neglectful behavior.

Suddenly having a loved one need full-time care plunges you into a world where you're a novice,…read morelearning for the first time of all the choices, providers, payers, complications, pitfalls, and confusion of growing old in America. There is no handbook. It's little bits of knowledge you glean from friends, other people in a doctor's waiting room, caregivers, online searches, and AARP magazine. You piece together a plan: not knowing what all is available to you, what to avoid, what's a waste of time, what's going to be the best random choice you'll make, or what is going to happen next in terms of health decline or improvement. You make the best decisions you can, based on basically no knowledge/experience in a chaotic, complicated environment. Choosing Delmar for my mother was the best decision we made - luckily, fortunately, unknowingly. It comes down to, "What will her daily life be like? How will she be cared for, when I can't be there?" No online views of attractive facilities or happy residents can tell you that. It's a leap of faith, entrusting your parent to strangers. So I'm going to use this space to answer the kind of questions *we* had - in terms of what we found *at Delmar* , not the other nearby Smyrna/Atlanta places. For those, I can't help you - knowing teveryone gives the same standard info online, on the phone, in person. Every day I visit my mother, so I think I have a good handle on how they perform. **What care can she get?** This is a little complicated. Because I actually didn't know what kind of care she needed. Or how to determine that. I just knew that she could not live with us and he longer; her daily level of need was too great for me to manage. I was struggling to keep her showered, dressed, fed, taken to doctors, care with medicines & for wounds, much less entertained, loved, and cognizant of what's going on. A full-time job it had become. Even when I'd hire a "sitter" once in a while, I was using that free time to sleep or rest. Delmar helped me understand that they could do the care parts, so I could spend my time with her in other ways. She went into Assisted Living. (I had been so afraid she'd need Nursing Home care - which is a big jump from living on the same farm for 86 years, to basically a room. Though that's what she had, at our house for the past 6 months.) It was A LOT of "assisted" - and has grown to be a lot more, in the past 3 years. They did all the things I had been doing for her. She was still quite ambulatory, but had macular degeneration so her sight was about nil, and was very hard of hearing, so even with aids in, required yelling and patience. They offered MUCH assistance that we did not need. (But have since then needed): - Giving medicines - Getting her to the dining room for meals - Introduce her to other residents - Take her downstairs (for events, beauty shop, appointments) and take her back up - Do her personal laundry and also linens - Explain what is going on - Clean her apartment Eventually: - Give showers - Make her bed - Help her find clothes/dress - Remind her of dentures & hearing aids - Change diapers/help her remember - Walk her to bathroom in the middle of the night - Bring meals / snacks to her room And more. WITH A LOVING ATTITUDE, too. My mother is frustrating. But I've never seen a CNA or dining worker or maintenance person treat her with anything but kindness. Sure, there's the fact that I'm THERE and it could be otherwise when I'm not. But TRUST my mother would tell me! **How can I know things?" Delmar has been INCREDIBLY helpful in sharing what is available, outside of their own care - both free services and paid. They turned me on to how to get VA benefits, which halved her rent for us. Plus Medicare-covered podiatry services and flu shots. (Eventually, Covid.) And HOME HEALTH services to augment what Delmar does. Like, bringing in physical therapy, counseling talk-therapy, nursing visits. **Can we afford it?** It seemed SO expensive to us. But the other, less-great places around Atlanta were expensive, too. We didn't know how we'd swing it. But we DID know she couldn't live alone, nor could she live with us and get the care she needs. CONTINUED at https://mydelmaryelpreview.blogspot.com

I have the opportunity to visit many senior care and senior living facilities and Corso Buckhead is…read morea top tier place. They have the most amazing interior design and comfortable seating areas. Clean, professional staff and excellent food. They have at least two restaurants and so many nice places to visit. For the person/family considering moving into Corso I highly recommend a tour.

I recently took a tour of the Corso Atlanta facility. This place has everything that any person…read morecould want. The staff is attentive. They have thought of everything from the flower shop, valet, salon, wine room, activities, cafe. I can be a big critic but I could not find anything to criticize about this place. It is a major consideration for me as I get older.

I was visiting from out of town and had excellent caregiving services from Senior helpers. They…read morewere terrific!

The home health nurses are very friendly and make my life and families life so much easier with…read moretheir help What would we do without Senior Helpers

Moving my mother to Smyrna Village was a decision made with a heavy heart and it still weighs…read moreheavily on me, but it has proven to be the right choice for us both. The team's attentive and thoughtful care has guided us through this transition with meaningful reassurance and a stabilizing sense of support. I'm grateful for the care she receives.

From the owner: Smyrna Village provides an advanced level of assisted living to help those who suffer from memory…read moreloss conditions associated with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. You will find us near the center of town, near plentiful local restaurants and stores, and a short distance from premier healthcare at Wellstar Windy Hill Hospital. As a family-owned, state-licensed memory care community, Smyrna Village is dedicated to serving the needs of our residents and their families. Our caring staff works to create a supportive environment and welcome family and friends into residents' lives.

Kind and helpful from the front desk staff. Twanda was so welcoming and knew how to point me in the…read moreright direction.

My mother-in-law lived in the Evergreen neighborhood for persons with dementia. I cannot speak…read morehighly enough of the care she received there. The staff was so sweet and engaged. Everyone was very loving with my mother-in-law and it was obvious they genuinely cared for her. One care giver even came in on her day off to help my mother-in-law celebrate her birthday with a big cake. No place is perfect, but I can honestly say we felt blessed that we chose Arbor Terrace to help us care for my mother-in-law. Good people make such a difference!

Community Links has been exactly what my family needed!! They were friendly and accommodatingread more

From the owner: At Community Links Home Care, we treat our clients like family by providing an intimate and…read morepersonalized approach. We strive to provide compassionate, high-quality home care services that promote independence, dignity, and improved quality of life. We are committed to supporting individuals and families with professional, respectful, and reliable care right in the comfort of their homes.

Lynn was instrumental in helping us find a memory care place for my Mom. She is in a good place…read moreand we are forever indebted to her!

After a neurologist diagnosed my stepmother with severe dementia, a social worker in the doctor's…read moreoffice recommended Atlanta Senior Advocates to consult with on next steps for her living arrangements. At the time, I thought "Yikes, I wonder how much money that's going to cost?" After a few weeks, I called Atlanta Senior Advocates to feel them out on their services and the fees. Turns out, they don't charge to put together a list of long term care facilities that meet your budget and geographical preferences. They even make all of the appointments for you for tours of the facilities. Everyone I dealt with at Atlanta Senior Advocates was great -- so kind and helpful. Lynn Linnane was the person who put together the long term care facility list for me to choose from, arranged all the tours, and followed up after the tours to get my feedback. But, she did so much more than that. There were a couple of bumps in the road (including the pandemic) that delayed my stepmother's admission to the facility we chose, Lynn was on top of everything and provided emotional support as well as problem solving for me to get my stepmother happily moved in. In short, Lynn was amazing -- and I never paid a cent for all of this service.

Woodland Ridge is amazing. Their leadership has a true passion for senior care and it shows. I…read morewas not surprised to learn that Woodland Ridge is a non-profit organization. My father, afflicted with Parkinson's Disease, needed a home where he would be cared for, even as his condition rapidly declined, and we were so blessed to find this amazing facility. Actually, a better term for it is "family." The staff truly love this place and you see it every day in how they care for the residents, even when the residents are having a bad day and aren't able to return the love. My father has passed on but I will be staying involved with Woodland Ridge as a supporter and volunteer, hopefully for many years to come. If you are looking for a home for someone you love, I would strongly recommend that you consider Woodland Ridge.

My mother In law spent time at Woodland Ridge in their memory care side and it was truly a blessing…read morefor our family. The staff are truly kind and treat the residents as family. We are grateful for the cozy rooms, the nice clean facility and the delicious food! We would highly recommend WR to anyone looking for an assisted living facility for a loved one!