Harvard Square Retirement & Memory Care

As a professional, I know a good community when I see one. There is great value here and what I mean. Specifically is the people, the food, the atmosphere, the size and amenities of the apartments and again, the people, the people that work there, the people that live there. Simply the best. Marybeth, Linda, Yair, Axel, Razika, Daisy all top notch. Bravo, good on you Harvard Square. Ask for a deal when moving in, they are reasonable people.

Razika is amazing! She welcomed me and my mom who is the resident in assisted living and has taken care of all of our needs and wants. Th facility has a wonderful nursing director - Kendra - who is great to everyone and so professional and experienced. Mary Beth at the front desk area knows everyone and everything and is just the friendliest. The Executive Director - don’t know him - he never looks up and never smiles or speaks to anyone. Seems completely unapproachable but maybe that is ok. Whenever he sees us he never speaks or introduces himself but I guess he isn’t really needed by anyone it seems. Food is good! My mom is very happy here and I recommend it this place.

My wife and I lived in assisted living for a year. The staff is superb. They are friendly and helpful: I give them 3 stars instead of 5 because the food and food service is terrible: Food is served warm at best. The taste is average. The variety was limited.. It’s even worse if you have to eat in your room. Food is served cold and was usually incorrect or incomplete. I spoke with management about this more times than I can count. I got lip service but nothing ever really changed.

My mother was a memory care resident at HS for the last few months of life. She lived in three facilities and two states in that her year. HS is the only facility I would consider placing her if I (and she) had it to do over again. The care staff on the memory care side are simply exceptional. Among other things, they got my mother to shower regularly, which hadn't been a habit for a long time. It was really moving to see how appreciative my mother was with the care staff - the only place I saw her act that way. Seeing your loved one feel valued and comfortable is priceless and not so common. I had some struggles with the management of the facility, both on the memory care side and the overall administration. The memory care director was very hard to reach (hopefully that's been addressed) and not always a reliable purveyor of information. The weekly menus were rarely changed out. The corporate dietitian didn't seem to know or really think about how to prepare healthy and tasty meals for vegetarians. There were issues with billing and their communication with hospice. From my perspective, the administration didn't perform at the level of the caregivers, nor with as much empathy. I'm fairness, those are all hard jobs. Those issues were relatively minor compared to the rewards of seeing your loved one at ease, even laughing. The whole facility is very walkable, with abundant natural light, a garden area, and a very charming atmosphere. The other residents were everywhere on the cognitive map, many were very friendly and receptive, and most seemed to spend the bulk of their time outside their rooms (which says a lot). HS has my deepest gratitude. I highly recommend the memory care side for all the reasons that matter.