The facility that I'm most interested in and that I just visited was in Connecticut, and that's called The Cottage at Litchfield Hills in Torrington. I'm pretty impressed by them to the point where I'm going to take my mom back for an assessment. If I could, I'd take the next step up. They seem to be very clean, and very attentive, and it felt like a family atmosphere that's why I kind of liked it. I did not try any food but I saw a sample menu. Because of the rise in COVID, they were kind of feeding their people in their own spaces so I didn't get to see the food. I was told it was more like fresh farm-to-table food. It's assisted living and their food is served more home-style. We saw the assisted care during our tour and we're going to go for an evaluation this coming Monday to see what they feel she would need.

My mother-in-law is at The Cottage at Litchfield Hills. It's not a really large facility. They have enough space, but it's very close knit. Everybody that's worked there has worked there for a while. Everybody gets to know everybody and they keep everybody active and engaged. They're always checking up on everybody. She's always being checked up on. If she needs something, they always go down and make sure she's going to come to lunch and dinner, and if she doesn't feel like going down, they will bring dinner to her. They're always very friendly. There are never any complaints from the staff. It gives you more of a home feel. She's treated like she's at home instead of in a facility. We're not allowed to eat there because of COVID right now. They have a very strict policy. When you walk in, you have to get screened after screening questions, you get your temperature taken, your mask has to be placed on, and hands sanitized. They make sure before you step in the door that you have everything in place before you greet anybody in the building. It's very nice because at least I know that everybody's going through the same thing to get in the door. She's very happy with the food. The food is excellent, and there's enough variety. They change it up. It's a menu style, so she gets to pick and choose. She used to be a habitual snacker, now she hasn't snacked at all. She's very satisfied with her three meals a day. They always have something going on. They have movies, craft day, bingo, and they have a salon inside the place, so that makes it nice and convenient. They can go on bus tours where they take you for a scenic drive. Because of COVID, they don't let you off the bus right now, but at least they can get you out of the facility, and they drive you around to different locations and they give you a little history tour and whatnot. There's always something going on and they have snack time or whatever they deem in the afternoon. The staff is excellent. They always greet you. If you need something, they come right down to you. You call somebody and they'll get somebody right over for you. When the light bulb was out, a guy came right down and fixed it in like ten minutes. You're not waiting for anything. They're very attentive. She's been talking about her meals quite a bit. It's very beautiful there. They have enough stuff going on. You do have your downtime, but you can always be active.

It was a beautiful place. I was there when they were having lunch. The dining room was nice and clean, and the chef brought in a beautiful plate of desserts, which was sweet. The people in the administrative part were great. The rooms were fine, clean, and roomy, and I liked them. The nurse that came out to assess my aunt was wonderful. It was, however, too far and too much of a distance to travel.