Bickford Senior Living

This community wasn't a good fit for my father and his needs. I was not happy with the community and the staff here. The building is nice and pretty clean. The staff wasn't very attentive to my father. I feel his level of care was to much for the staff. I would say if your love one needs more care then the average senior, this would not be a good fit for them.

I hesitated writing a review too soon-but my Mom has been there more than 5 weeks. What appealed to us was the size and atmosphere of the facility. Mom's room is lovely- great bathroom facilities. The front office staff has been very responsive to various needs. However, we had a major mistake with over-billing for meds. The pharmacy (Valumed) that Bickford contracts with are not responsive to phone calls. Nurse is aware of this as well - said they don't return her calls either. Mom's physical condition has declined - she was transferred from rehab for a broken hip. She is not as mobile as she was when she arrived - she is receiving rehab as an outpatient with an outfit selected by Bickford's nurse. She has lost a lot of her mobility- we are considering other options. The food is marginal - mom is also not eating. We were very optimistic about mom thriving here and now find ourselves looking at other options. We really feel that Sue and Tonya are doing a very good job, the nurse seems disconnected. I know these first few weeks can be very difficult- but as I see my mom decline physically at an assisted living facility - I feel in my heart that Bickford cannot meet our needs.

My mother moved into this community and just loved it, until the ownership changed. The transition has been rough for her with new restrictions and many staff leaving. We are still giving it some time to recover to the happy and resident friendly place that it was for one month after her move.

We toured this community and nothing was very memorable. The staff were not friendly, didn't look up at us while we were walking through. There were no residents out and about which seemed odd for the time of day and considering they were full. I liked the dining room and home-like feel of the community but there was a smell that was displeasing throughout the community. The community and the apartments seemed small and dark overall. I would feel sad leaving my loved one there.

Bickford is attached to an Alzheimer's wing, and so the doors are locked and there was no easy access. I came a little early for my tour, but the doors were locked when I got there, and there was nobody at the desk, I didn't see any staff around. It was very dark inside, dark wood, and hunter green. It was a newer facility, and the apartments were nice, but it wasn't warm and welcoming.

My Grandmother moved back home on December 15, 2013. She did not have a good experience at Bickford. She is independent with her knowledge but needs help physically. They treated her as though she was incompetent. As a retired City Treasurer of Peoria, Illinois she did not take this well. We eventually had to call corporate to get her billing and Long Term Care straightened out and she has been home with home care.

Care in the dementia area is very poor. Food awful. My husband fell numerous times & escaped the area several times & once was outside on the sidewalk. Staff poorly trained . No routine showers, shaves etc. I checked out the physician supposedly available & he in a chiropractor not MD I moved my husband & am happy with the care he is getting & the cleanliness of the facility. Amazing that clothes are not disappearing as they did at Bickford. --Most of his LL Bean sweaters, jackets etc 2 walkers gone. The rollater (spelling?) was never found. They found someone else's abandoned so they gave me that. (Socks still in the seat)

For the price point, I would absolutely not recommend to anyone. Poorly managed, dirty, not well-maintained, high staff turn over, including administrative team with no notice to family members. Huge disappointment.

The staff that cares for the residents are good. The administration is terrible...Particularly [name removed]. The meals and activities are fine.

Staff is overworked and unqualified. The food is horrible and the way the staff complains openly and just sits on their phones is unforgivable. My dad can't see without his glasses. They had 2 pairs in the nursing station as his memory was failing but no one checked to see if he had them. Even after we asked. Horrible. They did go like 10 days without an elevator which means no one on the second floor could leave their room. Not safe

I do not recommend them to anyone. However, there were some workers there that were awesome. The higher up staff was very disappointing. I actually had already had him set up to be moved, but the director talked me in to moving him to the Mary B Ward, where there was more one on one. I had to bring in Heart to Heart Hospice, because when he was in memory Ward, he fell twice, taken to the hospital the first time. Meds were being left on his table, and some I found underneath him. They were not cleaning his room, I did that for a while, and I did his laundry also. They would bring in his food, he woukd be sleeping, they wouldn't even bother waking him up to let him know it wad there. Then when I got there, he was still on bed, awake, couldn't get his legs put of his bed on his own, so his food was cold, I would microwave it for him, and help him to his recliner and table to eat. Heart to Heart Hospice was incredible, very good at picking up the slack, from what Bickford did not do.

The Service plan is not followed. The Wellness and Medical Director says he will do something but never follows through. The Executive Director is never available and does not return phone calls. The current staff-to-resident ratio is inadequate.

They are frequently understaffed. They need to adhere to the care plans that are set up at the time of entry.

What we like the most about Bickford of Battle Creek is tt was small. I liked that. It was nice that each room had its own thermostat. They seemed to never be fully staffed. We had to call the kitchen several times because my mother did not received her meals. Very rarely did she get her insulin shot on schedule. Some of the people were very kind. My mother started out at the highest care. A couple months in, she was taking care of herself, doing her own laundry and the price never reflected the lower care level.

So don't get me wrong, this place is very nice and the staff is mostly warm and welcoming, but when we had signed up it was based on this pretty good deal that I thought we were getting (not necessarily an incentive, but just a deal on the monthly rent). Now my mom hasn't even been there 2 full months and they're already raising her rent a considerable amount! I'm trying to get a hold of management to speak with about this but it feels like they're avoiding my calls and still won't call me back. It just feels real deceptive and kind of a dirty trick. I remember the sales manager even telling me what a good deal we were getting because the rent was going up, but as in this shouldn't affect us! I guess I'm the sucker for not expecting the rent to go up so soon.

They have been in turmoil since my sister in-law was there. They had turn over of the staff from the time we started there. EVERYTHING related to the administration needs improvements. I would NOT recommend them at all.

Response time for calls can be very long depending on who is working. Sometimes up to 45 minutes. Some nights there was only one aide working! When she first got there and needed a lot of support I didn't feel comfortable leaving her there alone. She needed more help than they could give her. There was a huge change in management while my mom stayed there making it difficult to talk to anyone in charge about issues. The facility is clean, my mom's room was very dusty and cleanliness depended on the staff that day. When my mom went to the dining hall for meals they were good, when she ate in her room they were cold. My mom liked the kindness of the activity director, the cook and one of her caregivers.

I have been a volunteer at Bickford of St. Charles for many years. Recently, I've noticed multiple changes in staffing and administration. This may be why the quality of care is declining. I've seen too many examples of long delays in response to patient calls and general disorganization. I know many of the residents here and they deserve better.

I was told, when looking for a place, that Bickford was a skilled nursing facility. They are not. They are charging us a level 5 and we are not getting the care of that level. There is no communication with us, unless we call for a meeting. The move in process was rough. We were told we were getting a "new" apartment, but there was no paint and no new carpet. The meals are adequate. My loved one is very picky and they try hard to get her something she likes. They need more workers. And ones that care about people. They have one nurse who is the best and one CNA that is great. Others are off the street with no training. They have one maintenance worker who can't possibly keep up with things. We can't move because no other place has apartments. The housekeeping is below acceptable. I would not recommend this facility under present management and staff.

I was at Bickford for a few weeks in 2022 as a temporary resident. While the food is pretty good and some of the staff (mainly the CNAs) are caring, the overall atmosphere is that of a prison where the prisoners are occasionally granted some leniency. You can't question anything--such as your medication, why you can't go out for a walk (center courtyard is like the yard at a prison and very depressing), why some staff members (looking at you, nurses and administration) talk down to you like you're a child, etc. Also, some dementia patients just wander around and staff seems untrained to deal with them. Finally, it is a very sterile almost church-like atmosphere, too much Pottery Barn decor--ugh-- and crosses and Jesus everywhere. They don't seem to know there are other religions on the plant.