The Sheridan at River Forest

Our Mom just moved into the Sheridan River Forest and we’ve had a very pleasant experience thus far. It is a new building with a cozy atmosphere for the residents and guests. The daily activities are fun and can keep one busy throughout the day. From the start, Leslie has been extremely accommodating and welcoming to our Mom and our entire family. This transition would not have been as smooth without Leslie‘s help; she really went above and beyond and continues to do so for our Mom as she gets acclimated to her new setting. All of the staff we’ve been in contact with thus far have been kind and helpful. We are grateful to everyone who has made this transition so smooth for our mom.

An absolute nightmare and I would not recommend to anyone whose loved one needs memory care and has issues with daily living tasks like toileting. My mother stayed there from November 2021 until February 2023. We were promised the world when given a tour - the best food, best care, night motion detectors in case they get up at night, call button watches in case they need help, the works! Everything ended up being a catastrophic failure which was a combination of true neglect, staff turnover, overpromising, and lack of problem solving from upper management. Staff would take hours to answer a call alert. That means if your loved one falls off the toilet and presses their watch or the wall string, they could bleed out and never be helped. The excuse was that assisted living alerts were clogging the phones of memory care staff phones, but they never tried to figure it out, or we were told their phones were dead. I constantly had to go get staff if my Mom needed to be changed, or just end up doing it myself if I couldnt find anyone. If your loved ones medications change or they have a lot of meds, make sure to be on top of the staff. There were countless issues with getting the proper meds were I had to go home and grab backup meds when they werent able to fill critical meds properly. Neglect and lies from the nursing staff. i was called one day to be told my mom had fallen but they went through protocol and she was fine. Much to my horror, the ring camera I had in her room showed the fall, two caregivers helping her up and tossing her back on the bed. The nurse never came to do an exam. My mom clearly was shaken up from the fall as she was barely responsive and all the nurse ended up doing was trying to shove pills down my moms throat as she could barely hold herself up. I am crying as I write this thinking about how neglectful this was. I showed the video to the executive director and it was just a shrug. They terminated the Nurse but nothing else was done or changed with protocol. The food portions were abysmal. if you didnt make it to the diner, which my mom didnt because the stroke she suffered caused her to be fearful of being out in the main room, you would be left with the smallest portions. And despite the fact it was known my Mom had trouble feeding herself, they would just leave the food with her and I would come and just see a cold dinner and her not having eaten. The turnover in staff using outside agencies meant that either staff didnt care about their job or they didnt know the personalities and needs of the residents. There were times staff would sit my mom on the toilet and then say they would be right back and leave here sitting on the toilet for 30 minutes - as a fall risk that was absolutely unacceptable. I could go on and on but it was just absolutely awful. There was no way I could sleep at night or take a day off with so much going wrong all the time. There were attempts to create updated plans for her but they were never followed through due to staff turnover or just lack of follow through. Dont let the nice facade of the building and main lobby fool you when it comes to their memory care. Additionally, multiple management members cursed me out when all I was trying to do was ensure my Mom was getting the care promised.

The Sheridan is the ABSOLUTE BEST place for Elder Care. They offer five (5) levels of Care from Independent to Memory Care. The ENTIRE STAFF is CARING, COMPASSIONATE, AND PROFESSIONAL!!! The FOOD IS DELICIOUS and they accommodate ALL DIETS! They have FUN ACTIVITIES to suit a myriad of interests. The Sheridan is TOP DRAWER and the PERFECT PLACE for YOU and YOUR LOVED ONES!!!

My dear friend was diagnosed with dementia last year and I am her power of attorney. As her condition began to get worse, I had to decide to relocate her to a facility where she would get the best professional care she deserved. I called the Sheraton at River Forest, and I met the Assistant Director of sales, Michael Dubina. He escorted us as we toured the entire place and provided lunch for us on the tour. I must say Mr. Dubina and his team are caring, passionate and dedicated members of this community. Before my friend of more than 40 years moved in, I would call Michael with questions and concerns, and he would always ease my mind and spirit with the right answer. The staff is warm, professional and I know that my friend is in good hands. Thank you, Michael Dubina, for answering my calls after hours and even a few times on your days off (the weekend). You went above and beyond helping Joyce and me with making our decision easy because you showed us that you cared and that she would be taken care of with respect and dignity.