Gardens Independent Living

Love the warm and friendly atmosphere! The community is bright and beautiful and the residents are so much fun!

My mom just moved in and she absolutely loves it ! Its beautiful and the staff are wonderful. Highly recommend.

These folks took care of my Dad with such care and genuine interest. Even when transitioning from independent living to more advanced care, all of the staff did their best to visit with my father, make sure he was still included in the community and showed genuine affection for my Dad. My Dad was not a 'joiner' by nature, but the staff regularly got him to do Bingo, Cheese and Wine parties, ice cream socials and even swimming. I just can't say enough about how much easier this place made it for my father. The Gardens should be on anyone's 'short list' when looking for comfortable, caring, senior accommodations at reasonable cost.

Moving my grandmother from Kansas City presented a few challenges. Not only was I unfamiliar with the senior care industry in Springfield but I also needed to find a specific residence. The residence needed to offer assistive services (assisted living), provide a Medicaid option in the event my grandmother outlived her savings, and accept new residents immediately. Meeting these essential requirements led me to choose the Gardens.Though I chose the Gardens based upon specific criteria, they have since given me reason to believe that the Gardens was ultimately the best place for my grandmother. They have earned my trust with regard to my grandmothers care. Below are experiences that led to this conclusion.Note: I am unsure if using specific names is desired so to retain privacy, I mention people by general titles.From the beginning of my search the marketing director helped guide me through the process of moving my grandmother. She responded quickly to my inquiries and the information she provided turned out to be accurate. The paperwork was straightforward and processed without delay. Most importantly, she was able to secure a room that enabled my grandmother to remain a resident even if she exhausted her personal expenses. It is worth mentioning that many facilities with Medicaid residents offer rooms similar to a 2-person hospital room. That is, two people share one bathroom and one room. The Gardens, however, are setup where the bathroom is shared but each person has his/her own bedroom and a shared living/kitchen area. In my opinion, this fact makes the Garden worth considering when searching for a residence. The location is clean, has two fairly-well maintained courtyards, and, via well-placed windows, a lot of natural light. The last point seems trivial but in comparison to my grandmothers previous independent residence in Kansas City, the natural light is pleasant.The nursing staff is attentive and caring. They are prompt in attending to my grandmothers concerns and requests as well as informing me of legitimate issues. As one example, my grandmothers nurse caught the early stages of pneumonia. As a result of her acumen, my grandmother recovered quickly. The head nurse of the Gardens is a genuinely caring person, checking my grandmothers physical and emotional well-being as well as ensuring her time at the Gardens is comfortable.One area of improvement, and I share this with hesitation, would be activities. Though there are various activities, given my grandmothers limitations she perceives her participation is limited. For residents in a similar situation, more board games or interactive socials might be of benefit. My hesitation in sharing this constructive criticism is, first, I think my grandmother could participate in more activities than she believes she can and, second, I feel we all share some responsibility in providing entertainment by, for example, volunteering or donating simple games.Overall, I would highly recommend the Gardens.------Side note. When I went to post this review, I noticed the previous post from Mr. Williams. It is true that the majority, if not all, of residents are caucasian. That is not necessarily true of the staff. Though my experience has been positive and I cannot envision the staff being unkind, I cannot speak to how current residents might treat a non-caucasian resident. It might be a point worth considering in your search.