This place does not have empathy for its clients. Their memory care is awful. Please do not leave your loved ones there. They promise you the world until you sign on the dotter line. Then everything changes. Many of the workers are very nice, but management is very treacherous. The nursing staff is inept and often negligent. read more

I'm the Community Relations Manager at Willow Lake Place and have been here just over 3 months. While I've enjoyed professional success for over two decades in other industries I needed more service and giving in my life and an opportunity at Willow Lake Place found me at just the right time. Serving the families and residents in our community has made a profound impact on my life in the short period of time I've been here and allowed me to use the skills I've earned over my career in new and amazing ways. The entire leadership team at Willow Lake Place is new to this community and each and every individual brings such an amazing set of not just professional skills to the team, but a wonderful collaboration of drive for success and genuine desire to make our community an amazing place for our residents to live and thrive. I have seen bad reviews and listened to frustrations from the past at this community but I can't speak to what did or didn't drive those experiences. What I can speak to is what I see every day when I come to work at Willow Lake Place: - I collaborate with our interim Executive Director (ED) as she works so very hard to keep a keen eye on where improvements can be made. She listens to all concerns, managing expeditiously if action needs to be taken and truly drives for excellence, ensuring if/when she hands over the reins to a new ED, that transition flows seamlessly. - I smile watching our Life Enrichment Coordinator (LEC/Activities), hugging and laughing with our amazing residents as she engages with them in activities she's worked hard to ensure the success of. - It's thrilling every time I get to watch Charles our Memory Care LEC have success getting residents to rock out with him as he gets his groove on to the music they have listened to and loved throughout their lives. - It's a daily challenge to tie down Renita, our Care Service Manager (CSM/Director of Nursing) so I can get her to assist me with new potential residents because she's so busy ensuring the level of care for our current residents is paramount. It's inspiring to witness her knowledge in nursing and how she commands excellence for those caring for and supporting our resident's needs. - I've gained weight already because Brandy, our Director of Dining Services (Chef/Dietary) has a love of baking and making delicious meals she has her team prepare extra of so the staff can taste and provide feedback on, to ensure our residents are being fed well and enjoy the meals she takes ownership of. - I've been humbled watching our nurses lovingly monitor, comfort and calm a beloved resident having a health crisis, acting with amazing precision in engaging protocol to expedite receipt of care and ensure the best possible outcome for someone who is not just a resident, but a friend that we have watched thrive, care about and have the pleasure to serve. These are the things I can attest to seeing and experiencing every day I am blessed to come to work at Willow Lake Place. I see from my team members and personally behave in a manner that I have desired and want for my own elderly family members. This is what I can share about what happens within this beautiful brick home that houses, assists and serves the most amazing people I get to laugh with, dance with, listen to, cry for and serve on a daily basis. If this is what you desire for your family member then I can say with confidence that is what you'll find at Willow Lake Place. We do realize excellence is always a work in progress, but you couldn't find a group of people more dedicated to doing whatever it takes to help our friends, neighbors and their families thrive and enjoy the life they're living while in our care. read more

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One word of caution: Without persistent involvement by family, no assisted living experience will completely be successful. Family involvement is the key, and is welcomed and encouraged by staff at Willow Lake Place. If you as family are willing to take an active, participatory role in your loved one's care, then Willow Lake Place offers a not-too-large, friendly, welcoming and pleasing home-style environment. Pros and cons follow. Pros: 1. Cost is a B+ and very competitive when compared to other facilities. In my experience, facilities that cost less are also dingy, noisy, and frankly depressing. Willow Lake is clean, quiet, bright, and uplifting. 2. Location is an A. Next door are Krogers, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, Walmart, MCL Cafeteria, etc. While the facility fronts on 86th Street, a moderately sized lake with a gazebo and wraparound porch with rocking chairs separate the facility from the road noise. 3. Aesthetics are Midwestern simple, which is why my mother chose this facility. It reminded her of the Victorian farmhouse she left behind. The interior is spacious but not sprawling, and is sunny, with television and a fireplace, lots of different types of seating, including a bistro, sunroom, dining room, hair salon, and balcony. There are always tons of fresh flowers throughout the facility. 4. The physical size is medium (maybe about 60 units?), three floors (secure memory care on the third floor) with a community of residents small enough that no one is really a stranger to anyone else. 5. Pets are welcome, and staff will routinely bring in their own puppies and dogs, which have come to know the residents and give them lots of joy. 6. Staff are compassionate and responsive. I text and call the frequently, and they never leave me waiting for a reply. They are also proactive in contacting me if they think mom needs extra attention. 7. Activities are reasonable in scope an frequency, with twice-weekly outings to restaurants, happy hours every Wednesday night with music, beer, and wine, and routine social events daily. 8. Food is a B, not too fancy, but healthy and filling. However, if your family member is used to cooking their own meals, or eating out at restaurants, there could be a concern here. This is not gourmet dining, but places I found that offer gourmet dining also cost a lot more money each month. On the plus-plus side, family are welcome to eat with their loved one at no additional cost. (I have yet to find an assisted living facility where the residents don't complain about the food.) 9. The staff leadership team has remained stable since Mom came here in August 2018. 10. Security is very good. Doors remain locked at all times, and guests have to be buzzed in by staff. Family is eventually provided the door codes to get in and out. Residents wear GPS tracking devices around their necks that also have panic buttons to call staff. 11. Medical care--Residents have the option of using MyMobileMD's visiting physician and nurse practitioner, who make house calls, and whom we've used and have been pleased with. Residents are driven to doctor and dentist appointments twice a week if family are unable to do so. Cons: 1. The facility is not a Medicaid waiver facility. 2. There is a degree of staff turnover, which my research shows is an issue for almost every assisted living facility, given the hot economy and the willingness of staff to jump ship for other facilities for even a slight bump in pay. Nevertheless, the leadership are very focused on seeing that new staff are appropriately trained and responsive to resident needs. Overall my mother is safe and very happy living here, and that should be the most important criteria. I am happy with how staff has engaged us and responded to any concerns--and of course there will always be concerns. So far, I am satisfied with those concerns have been addressed. read more

My parents had a horrible experience at Willow Lake Place. I was a very active family member, and I visited my parents at least five times a week. They gave my dad drugs that were not prescribed by a doctor or ok'd by me on memory care, because another patient was agitating him. He had a horrible drug reaction, and he almost died. Luckily, I had enough sense to take him to IU North. Willow Lake's Nurse Director was not monitoring my dad as he continued to fail. As a matter of fact, she went home without even checking in on him. No one was checking in on him. The doctors told me he would have died that night had I not brought him in. He never physically 100% recovered. I could have sued, but I'm not a sue happy person living in a sue happy society. The Memory Care Director would post activities for the day, but she then would not do the activities. People in memory care would just sit in the dining area and stare off into space unless they had family there to entertain them. Often times I would do activities with residents to get people up and moving around. Several times we bowled, played pictionary, and had sing-a-longs. The food was horrible. Half the time they didn't serve what is on the menu. The other half you couldn't recognize what was in front of them. Most of the time residents ended up ordering grilled cheese. To be fair the place is under a new Executive Director and Memory Director, but you need to be careful. I'm not sure about the Nurse Director. If it's the same person....run! She cannot be trusted. She lies like a rug. She will tell you one thing, the caregivers something totally different, and the doctors yet something else. She will do anything to keep herself out of trouble. When my dad was in the hospital at IU North, she told the floor nurse she was on her way up there. She had no intention of going there. She told me something completely different. It held my dad's release up for five hours. It took me two hours to put it all together, and by that time we couldn't reach her. I'm sure that was her plan. The woman is dangerous. In the end, I had two nurses at Willow Lake tell me to get my dad out of there before something really bad happened, and I had three caregivers tell me they would never bring their family member or loved one to that facility. I think that says it all. I immediately put moving my parents in the works. Willow Lakes Regional Director tried to stop me. Why? He got really nasty too. This is a free country last time I checked. If I have to hire home health care to come in, because you aren't doing your job....it's time to leave. Yes, that's right. I had to do that too! I moved my parents to Bickford of Carmel, and we couldn't be happier! Check it out. They too are under new direction, and my parents are very well cared for, and I love everything about the environment. It's a family. read more

As the new Community Relations Manager here at Willow Lake Place I am proud to be part of a team that cares so deeply for our residents. They truly do become like family and it's great to see everyone bond and pull together in times like we're experiencing now with COVID-19. To all of my coworkers - KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! To all of our residents - WE APPRECIATE YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES read more