Bickford of St. Charles

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I cannot express enough gratitude for the exceptional care and support we've received at Bickford of St. Charles. From the moment we walked in, the warm and welcoming atmosphere put us at ease during a challenging time. The staff is truly amazing! Each team member shows genuine compassion and dedication, making it clear that they are committed to creating a nurturing environment for all residents. The personalized care my loved one has received has significantly improved their quality of life, and it brings us great comfort to know they are in such capable hands. The sense of community here is remarkable. Residents engage in various activities that foster friendships and a true sense of belonging. It’s heartwarming to see my loved one thrive in such a supportive environment. I also want to highlight the family advocate who guided us through the transition process. Her expertise and understanding made a daunting experience much smoother, answering all our questions and providing reassurance every step of the way. Overall, I highly recommend Bickford of St. Charles to anyone seeking an assisted living community. The combination of great care, exceptional staff, and a strong sense of community makes it a wonderful home for residents.

The Bickford is the place to select only if you do not want your loved one to thrive. This comes after two years of frustration watching our loved one become depressed in their care. In our opinion, the problems reside at both the corporate and local management level. There are several nurses on staff that are wonderful and caring. Unfortunately, it's not enough to help your loved one thrive. First, this place cannot keep aids and because of that, it affects not just the level of care, but also the safety and happiness of the residents. Our loved one often didn't receive scheduled showers, which is both a hygiene and mental wellness issue. Once our loved one got stuck in a hall bath for over an hour. This is despite pressing that watch they make all the residents pay for and wear. Second, the food quality is extremely poor. It's like nutrition is an afterthought. They will make it seem like the menu is awesome, but in reality it is not. They will tell you if a resident doesn't like what's on the menu, they can always order a sandwich. Ours would try to do that, but something as simple as a grilled cheese wouldn't be delivered causing our loved one to go without a meal that lunch. Once, our loved one ordered a piece of toast. They didn't even bring that out. The Director told us that the menu is controlled by corporate and local chefs hands are tied. Does that make the kitchen team not care? Perhaps. Often we took our loved one out to eat just so a proper meal could be had. It's just always someone blaming someone else for the numerous problems of this place. The Director is never around. She is very nice, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear she knows how to manage, or perhaps, corporate doesn't let her manage. We don't know. The staff is always talking about her never being around and because of a lack of oversight, nothing is getting resolved. Our biggest takeaway from our loved one, as well as the other residents, is that there is NOTHING TO DO. That's right. You pay $8,400 per month to watch your loved one become depressed and in turn, simply look forward to dying. We selected the Bickford because they sold us on their numerous activities and we wanted our loved one to have fun and companionship. But slowly over two years they ceased all activities. They rarely went on outings; they stopped exercises and they even stopped card games. The only thing left is bingo, which is put on by St. Patrick's Catholic Church every two weeks. Why did our rent go up over two years when all services, staff and food decreased? This is for a resident that has a one bedroom unit (we even did laundry) and requires very little assistance (help with meds, help with showers). Unfortunately for the residents that like to sit outside, they even took their seating away recently. WHY? This isn't a prison, but it feels like it. We want our loved ones to be happy and nourished and stimulated. Instead, all these poor residents are becoming depressed and unhappy. They only have TV to keep them company, and that's not healthy. In fact, the majority of the residents coming in lately are severely debilitated and cannot communicate. Our loved one's companions dwindled as they watched others smartly leave for other facilities and unable to communicate with new replacements. Isolated and unhappy. Moreover, Bickford simply doesn't care how you feel. Every month corporate asks you for feedback, to which they simply don't address if it's negative. So folks, if you want your loved one to become depressed, unhealthy and generally unwell, put them here. Within a few days of moving our loved one, smiles returned! Phew! We are so thankful to be done with the Bickford. We're putting this out there to warn anyone else so you do not buy into the picture perfect facility they will try to sell you on. It's far from that.

WARNING: (The reason for the change to 2 stars) TO AVOID BEING CHARGED A ROOM & BOARD FEE OF $120 PER DAY. BE PREPARED TO CLEAR ALL YOUR LOVED ONES BELONGINGS OUT OF THEIR ROOM THE SAME DAY THEY DIE! The day to day caretakers at Bickford were wonderful people, but beware of the management and most certainly expect difficulty and resistance when trying to collect remaining balances on your account that are rightfully yours. This was a very difficult, stressful and frustrating process to go through while also grieving the loss of my mother. The Nurses, CNAs, Aids and other staff working with my mom were exceptional. They took care of her like she was their own family member. My mom passed away April 18, 2024. We felt love and care from most of the staff. On the day she passed, the director informed us that we could take our time with removing her personal items. She also informed us that we would be receiving a prorated check for the remainder of her rent of the month of April, in 6 -8 weeks. I informed management of the day we would be able to return to remove her belongings, and I was told that was OK. I did NOT receive the prorated check until almost 5 months later, September, 9, 2024. I called many times to inquiry and left voicemails and never received a call back. I received an email and had to send follow-up emails to get any response. I was told that a check was issued on July 25, 2024 and I should receive it in 14-16 business days. I did not. Once I received the check, I then realized they charged me for the additional days that we had not cleared out my mom's things. This charge started the day after she passed and was $120 per day. Oddly, this charge was not applied until August 1, 2024 on the statement I received. This may be the reason they did not send me the check for 5 months. Also beware that the month after your love one dies, Bickford "forgets" to remove your loved one from the direct withdraw. I had to fight to get my money back after they withdrew rent for the month of May. What I have learned from the management of Bickford is not to trust what they say. We were grieving and thought we could trust her word. I did not think that I had to go to my files to find the paperwork that I had signed almost a year before to check the procedures.

This community is very homey, and welcoming. Staff are always saying hello and making sure your needs are met the best they can!