I went to Arden Courts of Sarasota. I liked best that it was convenient. It seemed very clean and well put together. It was not as updated as some of the other facilities, and I really wanted something that was fresh and light. I didn't care for it. The people were nice. It was kind of dark too, which was another reason. I really feel like these patients need to be in the sunshine, you know, in the open. They do have a beautiful courtyard. I just didn't feel like it was as nice as some of the other places, and it was expensive. It was really higher on the scale from the financial viewpoint. It's really close to my house; it's like two miles away. There's a shopping center right down the street, a school, and restaurants all over the place.

My mother-in-law moved to Arden Courts after being a resident in two other local memory care facilities without much success. Those facilities did not have the nursing care and over-site she needed to help us and her physician find answers to her issues. Agitation was a big problem for her. After much experimenting with the right medications and with the input of nursing and care giving staff at Arden Courts my family member has much improved. There is nursing staff in the facility 24/7 to provide the optimum medication management as well as supervising the care giving staff and managing emergencies. Mom loves to go outside in her wheelchair for "walks" or to sit on the porches (their are multiples) and enjoy nature. The huge secure backyard is beautiful. The activity staff provides lots of different types of programs and caregivers assist residents to activities several times per day. I have noticed many of the residents have made friendships and often sit together. The Executive Director, Nicole, has been at Arden Courts for many years and has a big heart as well as being an expert in dementia care. There are also many caregivers who recognized the residents , know their likes and dislikes and seem genuinely fond of the people living at Arden Courts. When problems and challenges do arise as Mom's needs change the staff works with us to find answers. The building is homey, bright and cheerful. The 4 small housing units with their own living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms make the building look and feel like a real home and not a facility. As a family we are happy with our choice of Arden Courts for our Mom.

My mother-in-law lived at Arden Courts for several years. We did a lot of research before moving her in and decided it was the best place. She became very difficult to handle with her dementia, but they provided wonderful care and kept her happy until her death at age 97. I would not hesitate to recommend Arden Court to anyone faced with this difficult decision.

My brother is at Arden Courts of Sarasota. It is excellent and specifically designed for dementia patients. It's small; there are only 56 people. They live in homes with only 14 residents per home, which I like. The people who work there are competent and have worked there 15 to 20 years, so they have loyalty. I thought they were consistent and cooperative. The environment is exactly what I was looking for. I was very impressed that they have a full-time nurse on staff and their own personal on-call doctor for any medical needs that come up.

We moved my mother-in-law to Arden Courts in Sarasota, but her health; just even the day we moved her she fell in her bedroom, and we had to call 911. They took in the emergency. She didn’t know how long she had been there, she could have fallen at midnight, and she could not get up. The experience seemed to be fine, and I thought this facility was very nice. Everybody seemed to be concerned, and attentive especially the caregivers. She is 92, has some dementia, and I think she had a lot of pain with arthritis. I think she just lost what the French word Joie-de-vivre, the joy of living. She is just trying to give up. When she was in Arden Courts, we moved in on January sixth. That was the day that she fell, and then on January seventeenth I got a phone call from Arden Courts saying they were very concerned. She just seemed unresponsive, and they were thinking maybe they should go to the hospital. I agree that I think she should go. The first time that she fell, the day that she went into Arden Courts, they did diagnosed her with dehydration. So they took care of that, but I don’t know if that occurred again at Arden Courts. I tried to go over everybody while she was there, and her ankles were swelling in the leg. It did go down. I think they were able to keep her hydrated, but as I said, I think she just mentally was ready to throw in the towels. On January seventeenth she went back to the hospital, and she just was in a downward spiral. I talked to my husband. I had to fly back to Maryland. They do as much as I think. I was not there to observe everything, but they were able to get her up to get her dressed; which was major. Before she got there when she was at the house, and I was staying at the house and we got caregivers, it was really difficult to get her up.

Arden Courts is very nice and has a lovely outdoor space monitored every 15 minutes to check on the people that live there. It was a smaller facility that is bright and cheerful, and I really like it. The caregiver seem to know the patients well. It was a friendly atmosphere. The rooms were very nice, medium-sized, clean, and nicely furnished.

My father stayed at Arden Courts of Sarasota, and it was very nice. It is interesting because they were divided into four quads so the residents lived in smaller areas with a smaller amount of residents. They had their own little lunch and dining areas within it. The staff was very caring and very helpful. They gave a lot of personal attention to the residents. They had music programs, exercise programs, and games that all of the residents love to play. They had a store where the residents could go and simulate shopping, and then they had a wood shop in the area where the residents could go in. There was an office area, an adding machine, paper, and a desk, so people could pretend they were at their office. The staff to resident ratio was too high. If they could make it a 1:8 instead of a 1:10, that would improve it.

This facility is very nice and pleasant to visit. The door to enter is hidden, as the patients who live here all have memory conditions. As all facilities for the elderly are, they can be saddening for family members of those living there. The atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming, the staff is always very nice and they have lots of activities going on all the time for the patients. Each person gets their own room or one with a roommate and they have a bathroom. Because they have so many activity rooms and decorations in the facility it helps lighten the atmosphere. The staff seems knowledgeable and caring. There is a dog that lives there, which I think is therapeutic for the patients, as many are quite out of it. My grandmother always seems well cared for and all of the staff members know her by name. It is a smaller facility, with fewer than 50 residents.

The interaction of the staff with the residents is outstanding during daytime hours. But like many facilities of its kind, staffing available does not always = resident need during the evening and nighttime hours.