My mother has lived happily in StoneRidge for over 5 years. This year, like for so many others, has been a challenge. While living out of state, I've tried to keep in close contact as she has undergone a variety of medical issues. Presently, at Avalon, she is receiving amazing care. The staff are tremendous and their care is just as a family. Moreover, the care teams are helping me to understand her needs and plan accordingly. As someone new to caring for for a parent who is failing physically and mentally, this is very reassuring.

Six years ago, my sister moved to StroneRidge/Avalon a senior living community in Mystic, CT that offers their residents a continuum of care. While my sister faces several healthcare-related issues she was able to live semi-independently until last year when she transitioned to Avalon, the nursing care side of the complex. I have been impressed with the quality of the facility, the staff and management team that operates this complex. This became even more apparent in the last six months as the Covid-19 pandemic has gripped our nation. The management team has shown true leadership in responding to the crisis and ensuring the safety of their residents (our loved ones). They have instituted operating policies and procedures based on best practice that ensure the health and safety of both staff and residents. They are highly effective communicators sharing weekly video updates on their on-going Covid-19 screening and prevention efforts. During this time not a single case has been reported at StroneRidge/Avalon. For someone who lives more than 1,000 miles away, this provides tremendous peace of mind for me and other family members spread across our county. They have also offered the residents social distant activities and events that help to mitigate the sense of isolation that comes with a long-term quarantine. In-person family visits are not possible currently due to government mandates and best practices prevention polices. In response, Avalon’s management team has developed multiple platforms and help to facilitate family member communication with their loved ones via Zoom, FaceTime, window visits, and more recently, outside social distance visiting through a plexiglass partition. I am most impressed with the quality of the direct care staff. I cannot say enough about the respect, genuine care and concern they staff have for the residents. I have witnessed this over and over during my weekly Zoom sessions with my sister. I am so thankful my sister is in Avalon and receives such high-quality care. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sincerely, Andrew M. Mosko

Bottom Line: Moving my father to StoneRidge was the best possible decision we could have made. The whole process went as smoothly, quickly, and positively as possible--far better than I could have imagined. He now has instant access to amazing friends, delicious food, and a fantastic range of activities, facilities, and support when he wants it. Now that he's settled, I only wish we'd found StoneRidge sooner. -- More Detail -- People: The people set StoneRidge apart. I cannot emphasize enough how incredible each and every member of the staff has been. From the first conversation through to ongoing care and support, it's clear everyone wants to go above and beyond to help residents be at their best. This goes far past meeting basic needs and comfort, to enabling residents to do whatever they love most. In addition to the staff, I was blown away by how friendly, engaged and helpful other residents were to newcomers--and how many sharp, interesting, active people have opted in to the StoneRidge community. Staff and residents helped connect my father to others with shared interests. We were running into friendly faces in the halls and having genuinely fun and meaningful conversations over meals within days; in just a matter of weeks it started to feel like home. Apartments and facilities: The facilities team were willing and able to make any customizations we requested to the apartment, meeting a very tight timeline and staying within our budget (note: my father has an incredibly extensive personal library he wanted to bring with him, so they installed beautiful, durable shelving from floor to ceiling to hold all the books that would not fit into bookcases). All shared spaces are modern, clean, spacious and very well-maintained. They have a wide range of amenities: salt water pool, gym, library, computer lab, large auditorium for speakers, break out rooms for special events, salon, on-site health services (as well as Transportation services to help with groceries, doctor appointments, etc. off-site). Food: Last but certainly not least, Richard and his dining team offer absolutely delicious food and impeccable service. I work in Food & Beverage and was very impressed with the high quality and variety of offerings. Most importantly, my father loves the food and is enjoying more vegetables (albeit as sides) than I've seen him eat in years!