[neilbcox]

My wife and I moved to the villages two years ago. This last January my wife's mother passed away. Her dad who is a 95 year old WWII vet has dementia. My wife and her sister who moved to TV last month decided to move their dad from Birmingham Al to Serenades memory care center which is on Pharr road just south of hwy 466 by TV high school.

This week his younger brother who is 82 came to visit. Her dad said over and over how happy he was at Serenades. He said it is a very clean place and they take great care of him. He said he loves the food and at night it is very quite and he sleeps like a baby.

He loves Senerades and that makes his family feel blessed that he is living a great happy life!

Thanks Senenades for your great facility and great staff!

[rjm1cc]

I am glade that it is working out for all. This is a serious problem and too many of us will have the problem.

[gerryann]

Thanks so much for the post. We are in the process of searching for the right place. Serenades is one that we are looking at.

When I first read the title to your post I thought you would be asking for a recommendation. I was thinking of telling you about Serenades. Funny when I opened the post and saw that YOU were recommending the same place. Even though I know nothing about the place, I saw it being built as I take my 88yo mother to the library right next door, every 2 weeks. I just liked the look of the place--so cheery. It also looks safe as the courtyard is surrounded by the building. My mother & I did tour Lexington Park on 466 for Assisted Living and I noticed they also had a memory care unit. For others who are looking, I think these are 2 places to check out. Glad Serenades is working out for your f-i-l.

[pbkmaine]

How much does Serenades cost?

[salpal]

My Mother (92) was one of the first residents of Serenades and is happy. The cost is pretty steep. It depends upon square footage of his/her room and upon how much personal care is required. For example - it costs extra if person needs assistance with toileting, dressing, eating, etc. And, here is what really kills me, I have to purchase all of her tolietries, toilet paper, depends and latex gloves....I understand that but they cannot provide toilet paper for God's sake!!!! It is costing the family $6,000 a month!!! She has a private room, but you can reduce the cost if you share a room.

Although she is well taken care of and the facilities are clean, I have noticed that in the 18 months it has been open, there have been four executive directors come and go. Also, the staff (CNA's) and nurses change almost every other month. I can only assume they are not being paid well or there is some mismanagement of staff. Since this does not affect my Mother, I am currently not concerned.

I visit my Mom every single day to be certain she is well cared for. She has dementia, but still recognizes me.

[pbkmaine]

Thank you. I really appreciate the information.

[Miles42]

We have the elderly now trying to take care of the elderly and does not present a pretty picture. The cost often falls on those that are barely able to support them selves.

[Padraicin]

My sister is in the memory center of Sumter Place and is receiving excellent care. After two hospitalizations where she was discharged in an extremely weak condition, the aides and nurses worked with her to bring her back to optimal physical health. I cannot say enough good things about Sumter Place.

[neilbcox]

Thanks to all for your comments!

The price is under $6,000 a month. We visited many places around the villages. Several that were built but were not open while waiting on their state license. All were priced about the same except for Sumter on 466a which was about $7,000.

We did visit other older places which was priced lower...BUT they did not smell clean and had residents sitting out in the hallways doing nothing. They also looked looked more like hospital rooms...all the same.

We made the decision that a little more money for a better quality of life was worth the difference. And that decision paid off big time with his happiness. He was in a facility for a week in Birmingham and he/we hated the place. Most were Medicaid patients sitting around a crowed room. We never saw many visitors. It was heart breaking.