Independent Living and Assisted Living offer many activities and have a caring staff. The Care Center staff faces many challenging situations and at times looks understaffed for the amount of need present. Make sure that your loved one can operate the call button, if they cannot, ask for a squeeze bulb type. Wait times can be longer than 10 minutes. There were several staff changes in the past few years that we found unsettling. Be sure to review your loved one's chart periodically--changes are not always noted.

My visit with Hidden Lake went OK. The actual living quarters impressed me. They were friendly. One thing that stuck in my mind was that when you were ready to move out of your home, they would actually help you. They had social activities. However, I guess because I didn't see anything else that was going on in there, it didn't feel homey. Even though it was bright inside the place, but it felt like nothing was going on. I didn't see them engaged in any activities or anything. The person that showed us around was very knowledgeable with what was going on. She showed us two different settings. One was inside the building, and then one that was located outside -- a garden view. She gave the menu of the food and the activities. I guess it would be a good place to live.

The facilities in Hidden Lake are well maintained and there are several nice garden areas where my grandparents enjoy walking. The staff are friendly and helpful, though they are not always very accurate with identifying patients before distributing medication. Because of this, my grandmother was almost given the wrong medication on two occasions. Despite the problems with staff being less than attentive before medicating patients, the community seems like a nice place and my grandparents appear happy there. The facility offers many opportunities for exercise and involvement for all of its residents and offers three meals each day as well as transportation via shuttle to several local destinations. The furniture and decor throughout create a very homey environment. With sofas and rocking chairs tucked throughout several nooks and corners, and a large fireplace and flat screen TV in the common room, there are plenty of places to sit quietly and visit with a loved one. There is even a piano in the common room where I once played Christmas tunes for my grandparents and their guests.