We visited Brookdale Bellingham. There were several things that we like about it. The staff was very caring. The food was very good. The people we met there seemed to appreciate that they had a good place to live. The cleanliness was fine. It was not brand new, and it was not pristine, but it was comfortable.

We are in Brookdale, and it’s a really nice place. The food is good, the staff is excellent, and the rooms are comfortable. It’s expensive, but that’s a relative thing. For some people, this would be modest, for others it would be impossible. It’s comfortable and clean. The dining room and memory care staff is very good and caring. I am the primary caretaker of my wife, so when I occasionally have to leave, she can be down to the Garden House, a memory care in the same facility. Here, you have room service once a week, and they clean up and take care of the laundry. They allow pets, so we could have our pet with us. The Brookdale memory care unit is a separate entity. It’s in the same building, but it is such that they have people there with various levels of Alzheimer’s, dementia and very advanced Parkinson’s. It is a sensory locked unit, so you can get in, but you can’t get out, so to speak. My wife and I stay together until such a time that she will perhaps need more care than I can provide. We’re staying in a comfortable apartment with a very small kitchen and attached living room, a small bedroom on the ground floor with a nice view to a green belt. It’s quite light which our cat likes. You must keep the cat happy. It’s a big change for us. My wife periodically goes to the memory care unit when I have a need to be out of the unit for a while to go shopping. They have a program here called the Bridge Program which you pay a fee for and allows you to put your partner or spouse into the memory care unit. The memory care facility does not have super high-end stuff. They’re clean and serviceable but not luxurious.

My mom has lived at Merrill Gardens for 2 years now. She particularly enjoys the "anytime" dining feature which allows residents to eat whenever they want (like at home) and from a menu with surprising variety. The "restaurant" is the center of her social life and the smaller size of this facility allows everyone to get to know each other, which is nice. The staff is excellent and makes a point to get to know the individual residents and accomodate their adjustments. My mom was made "ambassador" to greet newcomers which helped her, as a retired businesswoman, to feel she had a job and also took advantage of her social nature. I appreciate that personal touch. At this point, she has not needed much assistance, but what interaction we have had with the caregivers in that department has been very positive. I am kept very well-informed about any health issues she experiences when I am not there. So the staff takes care of my needs as personally as they do hers. They were a godsend in the throes of the move itself also: efficient administrators and part time psychologists! The facility is lovely and immaculately kept: both the main building and the cottages for the more independent. This is also a key thing I liked about Merrill Gardens, which is hard to find: as residents need more assistance they can stay right there and get it, rather than be moved away from their friends and home to get it. Cottage dwellers move up to the main building when they need more help and there the level of assistance available is quite comprehensive. An Alzheimers wing is also available. This is really nice as moving my mom from her home once was difficult enough! I highly recommend this facility.